The Cambridge Companion to Hip-Hop

This Companion covers the hip-hop elements, methods of studying hip-hop, and case studies from Nerdcore to Turkish-German and Japanese hip-hop.

Justin A. Williams (Edited by)

9781107037465, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 12 February 2015

370 pages, 20 b/w illus. 11 music examples
24.4 x 17 x 2.2 cm, 0.79 kg

'For those new to the scene as well as hip-hop heads looking to broaden their understanding and appreciation of this complex and often misappropriated culture, Justin A. Williams's The Cambridge Companion to Hip-Hop stands out as a valuable addition to one's library. … Justin A. Williams has succeeded in his aim to bring a comprehensive, globally aware and culturally situated exploration of hip-hop to light.' Patrick K. Cooper, Journal of Popular Music Education

It has been more than thirty-five years since the first commercial recordings of hip-hop music were made. This Companion, written by renowned scholars and industry professionals reflects the passion and scholarly activity occurring in the new generation of hip-hop studies. It covers a diverse range of case studies from Nerdcore hip-hop to instrumental hip-hop to the role of rappers in the Obama campaign and from countries including Senegal, Japan, Germany, Cuba, and the UK. Chapters provide an overview of the 'four elements' of hip-hop - MCing, DJing, break dancing (or breakin'), and graffiti - in addition to key topics such as religion, theatre, film, gender, and politics. Intended for students, scholars, and the most serious of 'hip-hop heads', this collection incorporates methods in studying hip-hop flow, as well as the music analysis of hip-hop and methods from linguistics, political science, gender and film studies to provide exciting new perspectives on this rapidly developing field.

Introduction: the interdisciplinary world of hip-hop studies Justin A. Williams
Part I. Elements: 1. MC origins: rap and spoken word poetry Alice Price-Styles
2. Hip-hop dance Imani K. Johnson
3. Hip-hop visual arts Ivor Miller
4. DJs and turntabilism Kjetil Falkenberg Hansen
5. The fifth element: knowledge Travis Gosa
6. Hip-hop and religion: from the mosque to the church Christina Zanfagna
7. Hip-hop theater and performance Nicole Hodges Persley
Part II. Methods and Concepts: 8. Lyrics and flow in rap music Oliver Kautny
9. The musical analysis of hip-hop Kyle Adams
10. The glass: hip-hop production Chris Tabron
11. Hip-hop and racial identification: an (auto)ethnographic perspective Anthony Kwame Harrison
12. Thirty years of rapsploitation: hip-hop culture in American cinema Geoff Harkness
13. Barbz and kings: explorations of gender and sexuality in hip-hop Regina Bradley
14. Hip-hop and politics Chris Deis
15. Intertextuality, sampling, and copyright Justin A. Williams
Part III. Case Studies: 16. Nerdcore hip-hop Amanda Sewell
17. Framing gender, race, and hip-hop in Boyz in the Hood, Do the Right Thing and Slam Adam Haupt
18. Japanese hip-hop: alternative stories Noriko Manabe
19. Council estate of mind: the British rap tradition and London's hip-hop scene Richard Bramwell
20. Cuban hip-hop Sujatha Fernandes
21. Senegalese hip-hop Ali Coleen Neff
22. Off the grid: instrumental hip-hop and experimentalism after the golden age Mike D'Errico
23. Stylized Turkish German as the resistance vernacular of German hip-hop Brenna Byrd
24. 'Bringin' '88 back': historicizing rap music's greatest year Loren Kajikawa
25. 'Where ya at?': Hip-hop's political locations in the Obama era Michael Jeffries.

Subject Areas: Rap & Hip-Hop [AVGR], Theory of music & musicology [AVA], Contemporary dance [ASDT]