Hip Hop Matters: Politics, Pop Culture, and the Struggle for the Soul of a Movement (Paperback)

February 19th, 2010 | By

From Publishers Weekly
Beneath the glitz and glut of mainstream hip-hop, there’s an underground movement of “conscious rap,” political angst and an anticapitalist ethos that would make even Bill Gates throw his hands in the air. That conscious rap is what Watkins, an associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin, champions in this solid book. It’s an ambitious attempt to cover a culture that began in the late ’70s and is now an almost universal influence on global youth. Watkins wisely chooses to focus on what has not been said—like that it was a 43-year-old woman who produced hip-hop’s first hit, “Rapper’s Delight,” or that hip-hop lit is one of the fastest-growing markets in book publishing. He tells his version of hip-hop’s history in lyrical prose, often mirroring the rhythms and wordplay of the music he’s discussing. He doesn’t assert an overt thesis, but it’s clear he believes that the more conscious, political hip-hop (think Common instead of Fifty C (more…)

Dance off the Inches: Hip Hop Party

February 17th, 2010 | By

Getting Fit Doesn’t Have To Feel Like Work. Anyone can dance off the inches we’ve made it easy. Just 10 moves are all you need to dance this hip hop routine and we ll show you how. No matter what your age or fitness level, you can have a great time while dancing your way into great shape. You ll want to do this workout because it s FUN and that s the secret. The more you do it, the more inches you ll lose. It s that simple. Losing inches has never been so easy! Welcome to Dance Off the Inches Hip Hop Party. This fun and funky dance workout will help you melt calories plus tone and tighten your abs. We all know that dance is an effective way to slim down, but here you get an extra bonus: the motion used in hip hop dance is known for developing unparalleled flat, sleek abs without crunches! Who doesn’t love that? For this program, dancer Jennifer Galardi has created a routine using three different styles of hip hop that will have you losing inches, gaining confidence, fe (more…)

The Hip Hop Wars: What We Talk About When We Talk About Hip Hop–and Why It Matters (Paperback)

February 16th, 2010 | By

Hip-hop is in crisis. For the past dozen years, the most commercially successful hip-hop has become increasingly saturated with caricatures of black gangstas, thugs, pimps, and ’hos. The controversy surrounding hip-hop is worth attending to and examining with a critical eye because, as scholar and cultural critic Tricia Rose argues, hip-hop has become a primary means by which we talk about race in the United States. In The Hip-Hop Wars, Rose explores the most crucial issues underlying the polarized claims on each side of the debate: Does hip-hop cause violence, or merely reflect a violent ghetto culture? Is hip-hop sexist, or are its detractors simply anti-sex? Does the portrayal of black culture in hip-hop undermine black advancement? A potent exploration of a divisive and important subject, The Hip-Hop Wars concludes with a call for the regalvanization of the progressive and creative heart of hip-hop. What Rose calls for is not a sanitized vision of the form, but o (more…)

Dr. Dre Sues Death Row Records

February 13th, 2010 | By

Producer/rapper Dr. Dre has just filed a lawsuit against Death Row Records/WIDEawake Entertainment since he has yet to receive money from his album The Chronic in over 14 years.
Upon leaving Death Row Records in the mid-nineties Dr. Dre was no longer cut in on any of The Chronic’s profits. Even when the album was re-released last year as The Chronic Re-Lit he did not receive any kind of payment from the label.

“When it came to paying artist royalties and honoring limits on Dr. Dre recordings that could be released, the ‘new’ Death Row Records, to quote our client, ‘forgot about Dre,’” Howard King, Dr. Dre’s attorney, said in a statement. “This lawsuit will make sure they remember.”

Dr. Dre also claims that WIDEawake Entertainment, the company that bought Death Row Records, released The Chronic Re-Lit without his consent and that the company profited greatly from the re-release. Dr. Dre is suing for at least $75,000. 

Death Row Records/WIDEawake Entertainment have yet to comment on the lawsuit.

Hip Hop Hits

February 11th, 2010 | By

Packed with 7 #1 hits from the day, Hip Hop Hits runs the dial from gangsta rap to West Coast hip hop andJamaican roots rap to hip-pop, making for one phatcompilation of the hip hop genre.We’ve got the biggest hits from the late 80s through2001 including Just Coolin , Gangsta ‘s Paradise, Whoomp(There It Is), Country Grammar and Shoop. Featuredartists are Nelly, Naughty By Nature, Ice Cube, 2 LiveCrew, De La Soul, Queen Latifah and Method Manfeaturing Mary J. Blige. It’s an ultimate CD of hip hopmusic sure to get the party started.

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