Hip Hop World

by Dalton Higgins

In Hip Hop World, Dalton Higgins comprehensively examines the hip hop scene as it exists throughout the world. The book reveals the form's musical inspirations from Trinidad, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Jamaica, African American sex satirists, comedians, civil rights-fuelled funk musicians, spoken word luminaries, and dub and Nuyorican poetry. Author Higgins examines hip hop's racial, multicultural, and multilingual listening audiences, the development of global rap slanguage and its influence on standard English lexicons, and hip hop herstory and cultural taboos around sexuality. He highlights the burgeoning Aboriginal hip hop scenes in Canada and Australia, and movements in colleges across North America and Europe that use hip hop lyrics and artistry to help engage students in learning. Critical of hip hopsters' use of language, the cult of bling, violence, and money, this book takes readers beyond a superficial look and delves into all the issues surrounding this form. Higgins taps into his own powers of pop culture prognostication to predict the future of the genre and the youth culture that spawned it, as this irresistible musical and cultural form spreads literally to the furthest reaches of humanity.

Genres: Nonfiction, Music

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Brian Rapp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Admittedly, the author knows way more about Hip Hop than myself. I listened to quite a bit in the late 80's and early 90's, but didn't know too much about the early years and pretty much stopped caring with most of what I've heard since. We share the same belief that Hip Hop today is pretty much about materialism and not much else. To me, it's story telling set to good beats.

The book is pretty good about delving into Hip Hop's influence in the world. I don't much about music in general outside North America and maybe the UK, so this did enlighten me on some artists from all over the world. That being said, I can't honestly say that I'll try to check out their music. I wished he'd maybe gone into a little bit more history, but that's not the title of the book! He does a fine job of getting his information across, the subject matter is just of not that much interest to me. I could see other people who are way more into the scene loving this, but to me it's just okay.

[Cole Patterson · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

This book has quality content but the writing is hopelessly corny at times.

[Ricki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Admittedly, I don't know much about Hip Hop, other than what I hear from my students. I remember when Tupac died, and I am used to hearing about Young Jeezy, TI, and Lil Wayne in my class, but I don't know much about them. Higgins is a music critic. He gives a comprehensive history of hip hop and its roots and then focuses on issues concerning hip hop. Each chapter focuses on differing parallel issues like b-boying, graffiti, and fashion, as it is concerned with hip hop. He also delves into issues like: Is it okay to use the n-word? Is hip hop becoming more popular with whites than blacks? What issues do hip hop artists promote today and how are they different than those in the 80s? What are the motivations behind hip hop artists in other countries?
At times, I saw a bias in the book, but I think this is perfectly appropriate for a critic. Higgins makes it clear that he believes the hip hop industry is in a downward spiral if hip hop artists continue to focus on misogyny, getting rich, and drugs. He clearly favors the original hip hop artists who promoted political change over the money-driven artists that appear to be popular today. He states that future success of hip hop lies in the artists around the world, rather than those in the western world, as they seem to be more focused on change and social action.
This is a fascinating book that would be very successful amongst high schoolers or adults wanting to learn more about hip hop and related issues. I am very excited to share it with my students who enjoy listening to hip hop because it will be a challenging, yet interesting book for them. For classroom practice, I think it would be great to have copies of this book, along with other groundwork nonfiction books (Slavery Today, Empire, Technology, Being Muslim, etc.) in the classroom for students to select and discuss in small groups.

[Canadian Children's Book Centre]

Reviewed by Naseem Hrab

In this latest edition of Groundwork Guides series, Dalton Higgins takes teen readers on a tour-de-force exploration of hip hop culture. Fans of deejaying, breakdancing, rapping and graffiti will revel in this fascinating guide to all things hip hop. In a pocket-sized 150 pages, Hip Hop World covers the economics of hip hop, its various musical subgenres (Homo Hop, Horrorcore, Nerdcore, etc.), the social impact of the culture, its future and more. Hip Hop World also features original interviews with notable hip hop artists and practitioners including Public Enemy’s Chuck D, Sudanese raptivist Emmanuel Jal, hip hop culture photographer Ernie Paniccioli and many more. Hip Hop World is conversational, candid and good to the last drop. As a music programmer, pop culture critic and journalist, Higgins is clearly passionate about hip hop culture and he knows how to write about the subject in a way that will excite readers. Higgins also discusses some of the more controversial elements of hip hop culture including homophobia, racism and sexism – making this book the perfect jumping point for exploring a variety of topics with teen readers. With so many teens interested in hip hop culture (whether they be consumers or creators), this book is an excellent resource to have on hand at home, in media literacy and music classes, or in the library.

Canadian Children's Book News (Fall 2009, Vol. 32, No. 4)

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not so much an overview or examination of hip-hop and its history as it is a set of short essays examining different themes, both good and bad, in hip hop culture-----Higgins includes thoughts on music, dance, fashion and graffiti in his writings. Themes tackled include the presentation of women, the obsession with money and bling, gang culture, and the sharp drop-off in innovation and social criticism in today's hip hop. By the end we get to the main idea behind Higgins's book: currently the important innovators are found in non-western nations like China, Saudi Arabia and Israel and the only way for hip hop to continue as a viable art form is for western practitioners to start looking at these artists abroad. While not great for newbies looking for ways to learn about hip hop, Higgins does give us a very good----and short----volume covering issues fans of hip hop culture should give serious consideration.

[S10_tommccormack · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book contains an impressive history of hip-hop and a broad survey of the diverse hip-hop scenes and styles worldwide. Higgins starts by discussing the roots of hip-hop. He covers DJ Kool Herc, the supposed father of hip-hop, influences from Africa and the Caribbean, and the cultural context in which hip-hop emerged. Then, he chronicles the rise of hip-hop across the globe. Finally, he addresses the problems with today’s hip-hop. The text is very readable (and full of references that students will be familiar with) but it is slightly academic at times. This book has been marketed to middle school students, but it would be much more appropriate for high school.

[Shila Iris · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Listening to modern-day commercial rap is like having surgery without anesthesia." I quote the author. Great little book.

[Eboni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Couldn't agree with everything he had to say regarding Western hip-hop, but it was a good insight to the global reach.

[Jackson Sides]

Great book. You learn a lot from it. It shows how much hip hop and rap have really changed the world we live in today.