When Rap Music Had a Conscience: The Artists, Organizations and Historic Events that Inspired and Influenced the Golden Age of Hip-Hop from 1
In her introduction, cultural anthropologist McQuillar (Rootwork: The Folk Magick of Black America) reflects on contemporary urban youths' "reluctance to reflect on the broader world around them, their obsession with non-action (except when it comes to partying), and their fierce determination not to deal with the past." In particular, McQuillar is concerned about young African-Americans unfamiliar with the politically conscious rap produced by acts like Arrested Development, Public Enemy and X-Clan during the 1980s and '90s. Most of the slim volume, however, covers the symbols and byproducts of mainstream hip-hop culture. For instance, McQuillar devotes a chapter to films like Boyz n the Hood and Do the Right Thing, making a connection between these films and conscientious rap lyrics that's tenuous at best, and all the weaker for McQuillar's lack of lyrical examples. In fact, there are few examples of rap lyrics included, an oversight that's hard to miss amid McQuillar's cumbersome prose. What at first seems like a those-were-the-good-old-days diatribe makes a good point, in that contemporary rap is largely fixated on "ass, guns, cars and jewels," with almost zero concern for social or political issues; unfortunately, McQuillar doesn't present a solid case.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.