Title | Stare in the Darkness: The Limits of Hip-hop and Black Politics |
Publication Type | Magazine |
Year of Publication | 2011 |
Author | Spence, Lester K. |
Pagination | 245 |
Publisher | University of Minnesota Press |
Place Published | Minneapolis |
Publication Language | eng |
ISBN or ASIN Number | 816669880 |
Copies at the Archive | 1 |
Rap's critique of police brutality in the 1980s. The Hip Hop Political Convention. The rise (and fall) of Kwame Kilpatrick, the "hip-hop mayor" of Detroit. Barack Obama echoing the body language of Jay-Z on the campaign trail. A growing number of black activists and artists claim that rap and hip-hop are the basis of an influential new urban social movement. Simultaneously, black citizens evince concern with the effect that rap and hip-hop culture exerts on African American communities. To what extent are African American hopes and fears about hip-hop's potential political power justified? In Stare in the Darkness, Lester K. Spence answers this question with a blend of neoliberal analysis, survey data, experiements, and case studies. By considering the possibilities inherent in the most prolific and prominent activities of hip-hop politics, Stare in the Darkness reveals, in a clear and practical manner, the political manner, the political consequences of rap culture for black politics.