Very interesting (but "brilliant"???)
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This is an impressive interpretation of Black musical culture, with loads of interesting information and pertinent feminist content. I've read several books with somewhat similar subject matter, from Dick Hebdige's broad and helpful survey to the rather pretentious book by Russell Potter; but none of them captured my interest as much as this one.
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"more brilliant than the sun"
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brilliant, exhausting and informative... provides a feminist point of view from the inside for all important aspects... read it and love it...
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five years on and still the best
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What elevates this book above all other books written specifically on rap music (thus far) is its willingness to examine areas that previous (male) authors have avoided like the plague; such as women's participation (or lack of it) in rap music, and the reasons for this. The feminist concerns which run throughout the book do not however impinge on her discussions of the aesthetics of the music. Chapter 3 gives the single most complex (and therefore most substantial) analysis of rap music and its production yet committed to paper. Perhaps this book will alienate the casual reader as it is very much written from the perspective of an academic, but this in no way demeans her subject matter. The book is worth buying for the final chapter on women and rap alone, and begs the question: If more women (with feminist concerns and a passion for music) wrote about rap, would our perspective on it be deepened? If Rose is an example of the possibilties of women's writing on the subject, then the answer would be an unequivical yes.
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United States | 
United Kingdom | 
Canada