Listening to Rap

by Michael Berry

Over the past four decades, rap and hip hop culture have taken a central place in popular music both in the United States and around the world. Listening to An Introduction enables students to understand the historical context, cultural impact, and unique musical characteristics of this essential genre. Each chapter explores a key topic in the study of rap music from the 1970s to today, covering themes such as race, gender, commercialization, politics, and authenticity. Synthesizing the approaches of scholars from a variety of disciplines―including music, cultural studies, African-American studies, gender studies, literary criticism, and philosophy― Listening to Rap tracks the evolution of rap and hip hop while illustrating its vast cultural significance. The text features more than 60 detailed listening guides that analyze the musical elements of songs by a wide array of artists, from Afrika Bambaataa and Grandmaster Flash to Nicki Minaj, Jay-Z, Kanye West, and more. A companion website showcases playlists of the music discussed in each chapter. Rooted in the understanding that cultural context, music, and lyrics combine to shape rap’s meaning, the text assumes no prior knowledge. For students of all backgrounds, Listening to Rap offers a clear and accessible introduction to this vital and influential music.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction

288 pages, Paperback

Published June 13, 2018

About the author

Michael [4 Spaces] Berry - Rap

Reviews

[Tom Burdge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Near perfect introduction to listening to hip hop. Intersectional, critical, and educational.
Berry focuses on the earlier history of hip hop, which is likely the ideal to teach the genre given hip hop's constant literal and metaphorical sampling.

Berry admits at the start that he will inevitably overlook some genres and artists, because it's an introduction to rap, not a survey. But almost not including *any* rap from people not in some way tied the Americas seems like an oversight really (no African rap, no British rap, a very brief passage on early Japanese rap). It's an extremely America-centric book.

Rap moves quickly so the book feels like it could warrant a second edition already, I hope it gets one. (The most notably out dated part is where Berry praises Russell Simmons, co-founder of def jam and now Polanski-like sex crime exile, as a role model for future generations. I'm sure the allegations hadn't publicly emerged at time of writing.)

[Debo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Writing my thesis on a topic I'm passionate about is the best thing ever. By doing so, I also discovered this book, which I love.
This is the gateway to hip hop studies. It devotes itself to a subculture I adore while not shying away from critisizing what is wrong about it or about the way it is perceived/consumed. At this point in time it is probably the most progressive outlook on things, paying mind to intersectionality, current politics and artists - it is really, really good!
As a textbook for class it is brilliant, but having read it on my own, it was just as educational!
Thank you to my uni's library for having this in stock, 'cause I love!

[b bb bbbb bbbbbbbb · Rating 3 out of 5]

I came across this due to it's mention of the KFAI freestyle sessions. It's an alright read. I learned a decent amount. The book is fairly academic tone, though not always as scholarly as I'd like. Despite an obvious effort to cover more than just the commercial hits, it mostly stays with popular artists and frames the culture and history around them. That's ok and probably the most relevant way to go, but I wouldn't have minded a slightly wider lens. It's also true that there is so much to cover that any book or even series would have trouble.

ps. There are so few reviews here that it should be mentioned: I rarely rate anything more than 3 stars, so don't read too much into it.