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Why Hip-Hop Can't Save Black America
Gotham
June 2008
On Sale: June 19, 2008
186 pages
ISBN: 1592403743
EAN: 9781592403745
Hardcover
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Non-Fiction
The bestselling commentator, hailed for his frank and
fearless arguments on race, imparts a scathing look at the
hypocrisy of hip-hop—and why its popularity proves that
black America must overhaul its politics. One of the most outspoken voices in America’s cultural
dialogues, John McWhorter can always be counted on to
provide provocative viewpoints steeped in scholarly savvy.
Now he turns his formidable intellect to the topic of hip-
hop music and culture, smashing the claims that hip-hop is
politically valuable because it delivers the only “real”
portrayal of black society. In this measured, impassioned work, McWhorter delves into
the rhythms of hip-hop, analyzing its content and
celebrating its artistry and craftsmanship. But at the same
time he points out that hip-hop is, at its core, simply
music, and takes issue with those who celebrate hip-hop as
the beginning of a new civil rights program and inflate the
lyrics with a kind of radical chic. In a power vacuum, this
often offensive and destructive music has become a leading
voice of black America, and McWhorter stridently calls for
a renewed sense of purpose and pride in black communities. Joining the ranks of Russell Simmons and others who have
called for a deeper investigation of hip-hop’s role in
black culture, McWhorter’s All About the Beat is a
spectacular polemic that takes the debate in a seismically
new direction.
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