THE HIP HOP WARS
What we talk about when we talk about hip hop - and why it matters.
Rose argues that the music that most embodies the hallmarks of gangsta rap- drug dealing, sexual excess, rogue capitalism and distorted, violent portraits of black masculinity-now dominates the airwaves and the media. While "conscious rappers" such as Talib Kweli and The Roots may receive enormous critical acclaim, it's the rappers who employ what Rose calls the "gansta-pimp-ho trinity"-rappers like T.I. and 50 Cent-who sell the most records and, therefore, dominate the recording industry, TV, film, and radio. As a result, the most visible and most widely consumed hip hop sets forth a troubled vision of ghetto street life that not only defines young, already at-risk, black men and women to each other, but defines them to a large white audience as well, one which comprises 70% of hip hop consumers. In THE HIP HOP WARS, Rose shows that hip hop has become the primary means by which we talk about race and culture in the United States-and the conversations surrounding it deserve attention.)
REVIEWS for The Hip Hop Wars
“Tricia Rose's take on hip hop is smart, provocative, analytical, gutsy and shines with a righteous indignation balanced by love, compassion and economic, political and social context."
— JILL NELSON, author of Volunteer Slavery: My Authentic Negro Experience
“A loving, smart and searing critique from the pioneer of Hip Hop studies. The Hip Hop Wars breaks the impasse between those who always regarded the music as the source of our contemporary moral panic, and those hardcore defenders willing to justify anything in the name of 'keeping it real."
— ROBIN D.G. KELLEY, author of Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination
“In this impassioned and brilliant book, Tricia Rose shows how hip hop has been harmed by both its friends and its foes, how the myths spread by both its attackers and defenders hurt the people who created hip hop in the first place."
— GEORGE LIPSITZ, Author of Footsteps in the Dark