The first book-length study of one of the most essential elements of hip-hop: musical borrowing

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A panoramic experience that tells the story of Beastie Boys, a book as unique as the band itself—by band members ADROCK and Mike D, with contributions from Amy Poehler, Colson Whitehead, Wes Anderson, Luc Sante, and more. The inspiration for the Emmy-nominated Apple TV+ “live documentary” Beastie Boys Story, directed by Spike Jonze NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Rolling Stone • The Guardian • Paste Formed as a New York City hardcore band in 1981, Beastie Boys struck an unlikely path to global hip hop superstardom. Here is their story, told for the first time in the words of the band. Adam “ADROCK” Horovitz and Michael “Mike D” Diamond offer revealing and very funny accounts of their transition from teenage punks to budding rappers; their early collaboration with Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin; the debut album that became the first hip hop record ever to hit #1, Licensed to Ill—and the album’s messy fallout as the band broke with Def Jam; their move to Los Angeles and rebirth with the genre-defying masterpiece Paul’s Boutique; their evolution as musicians and social activists over the course of the classic albums Check Your Head, Ill Communication, and Hello Nasty and the Tibetan Freedom Concert benefits conceived by the late Adam “MCA” Yauch; and more. For more than thirty years, this band has had an inescapable and indelible influence on popular culture. With a style as distinctive and eclectic as a Beastie Boys album, Beastie Boys Book upends the typical music memoir. Alongside the band narrative you will find rare photos, original illustrations, a cookbook by chef Roy Choi, a graphic novel, a map of Beastie Boys’ New York, mixtape playlists, pieces by guest contributors, and many more surprises. Praise for Beastie Boys Book “A fascinating, generous book with portraits and detail that float by in bursts of color . . . As with [the band’s] records, the book’s structure is a lyrical three-man weave. . . . Diamond’s voice is lapidary, droll. Horovitz comes on like a borscht belt comedian, but beneath that he is urgent, incredulous, kind of vulnerable. . . . Friendship is the book’s subject as much as music, fame and New York.”—The New York Times Book Review “Wild, moving . . . resembles a Beastie Boys LP in its wild variety of styles.”—Rolling Stone

This book contains the complete lyrics to 200 old school rap songs, with a history and overview of this musical form up until the early nineties. Once dismissed as a fashionable music form, rap is a vital force in American culture itself. From music awards to McDonalds adverts, sounds of rap have permeated the media. Controversies caused by groups such as Public Enemy, and sometimes coarse language and lyrics of the street have caused the public at large to scrutinize popular music in an attempt to control it. Like every other genre of music, the lyrics run from socially aware to hedonistic and everything in between.

Documents the rise of rap stars, The Beastie Boys, from their beginnings as a band in Greenwich Village New York. It features interviews with other hip hop stars such as Run DMC and producer Rick Rubin, details their outrageous lifestyle, and provides insights into the recording of their albums.

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.

The advent of the internet and the availability of social media and digital downloads have expanded the creation, distribution, and consumption of Black cultural production as never before. At the same time, a new generation of Black public intellectuals who speak to the relationship between race, politics, and popular culture has come into national prominence. The contributors to Are You Entertained? address these trends to consider what culture and blackness mean in the twenty-first century's digital consumer economy. In this collection of essays, interviews, visual art, and an artist statement the contributors examine a range of topics and issues, from music, white consumerism, cartoons, and the rise of Black Twitter to the NBA's dress code, dance, and Moonlight. Analyzing the myriad ways in which people perform, avow, politicize, own, and love blackness, this volume charts the shifting debates in Black popular culture scholarship over the past quarter century while offering new avenues for future scholarship. Contributors. Takiyah Nur Amin, Patricia Hill Collins, Kelly Jo Fulkerson-Dikuua, Simone C. Drake, Dwan K. Henderson, Imani Kai Johnson, Ralina L. Joseph, David J. Leonard, Emily J. Lordi, Nina Angela Mercer, Mark Anthony Neal, H. Ike Okafor-Newsum, Kinohi Nishikawa, Eric Darnell Pritchard, Richard Schur, Tracy Sharpley-Whiting, Vincent Stephens, Lisa B. Thompson, Sheneese Thompson

When it was first published in 2003, Rebel Musics sought to explore how musical activism resonates as resistance to the dominant culture, and how political action through music increases the potential for people to determine their own fate. If anything, these issues seem to be even more pressing today. Rebel Musics offers a fascinating journey into a rich, complex world where music and politics unite, and where rebel musicians are mobilizing for political change, resistance, and social justice. Daniel Fischlin and Ajay Heble cover a wide range of artists, genres, and topics, including Thomas Mapfumo, Bob Marley, William Parker, Frank Zappa, Edgard Varese, Ice-T, American blues, West African drumming, hip hop, gospel, rock'n'roll cabaret, Paul Robeson, and free jazz. This book shows how rebel music is at the heart of some of the most incisive critiques of global politics. With explosive lyrics and driving rhythms, rebel musicians are helping to mobilize movements for political change and social justice, at home and around the world. In celebration of the 50th anniversary of Black Rose Books, this revised and expanded edition of Rebel Musics will include all the original essays, as well as a new contribution by the editors. Rounding out the new edition will be several new pieces from artists and scholars that will continue to spark debate about these vital topics in compelling ways.