thereadinglist|
Tuesday, August 11

the hip hop generation: bakari kitwana



book info: published in 2002, Basic Citivas Books
author: Bakari Kitwana is a journalist, activist and political analyst. For more check out www.bakarikitwana.com.

Hip-hop fans, writers, intellectuals, but most importantly the next generation of torch-bearers...this book is for you. Read it. Understand it. Bakari Kitwana's The Hip Hop Generation is an excellent foray into the world of hip-hop. It chronicles the history of those who influenced the movement, according to him those who were born from 1965-1984. It is framed in two parts. Part one discusses the conditions that caused the crises in African-American culture. While part two, is about confronting these crises. Not merely a narrative about music, Kitwana discusses hip-hop from a standpoint of its social, political, and economic foundations. If we understand all these factors, we get a better understanding of hip-hop. Maybe Oprah and others should take a look as well.

quote:

"Both rappers (Notoroius B.I.G. and Tupac) like their peers who saw promise in their short lives, were hip hop generationers--those young African-Americans born between 1965 and 1984 who came of age in the eightes and nineties and share a specific set of values and attitudes. At the core are our thoughts about families, relationships, child rearing, career, racial identity, race relations, and politics." (pg. 4)