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Signifying Rappers: Rap and Race in the Urban Present by David Foster Wallace, Mark Costello
cmadrenas's review
3.0
Mediocre as a rap book…mostly unoriginal and occasionally vaguely offensive (stuff about rappers as yuppies and about stereotypes just being “synecdoche” instead of, um, NOT THAT AT ALL.) Awesome as a History-of-DFW book, though. Guy is constantly making the hokiest grammar/linguistics jokes in the most inappropriate places. Every bit the messed up son of Avril Incandenza I MEAN his textbook-writing mother. I love him.
h2oetry's review
4.0
M. Costello and D.F. Wallace wrote this sampler on rap before the genre exploded, and, as they wrote, "If you're reading this in print it's already dated.(71)"
They pass the written mic back and forth throughout the book with short essays propelling the narrative, with "M." for Mark and "D" for David. Sometimes they respond in a footnote to the other's essay. Those familiar with either author can glean the distinct voices offered.
Although both M.C. [i(pu)nitials intended?] & D.F.W. seem to have let this work whisper in the background of their more popular or accessible offerings, you really get the sense in reading the book that it was a highly interesting topic to them. They address the obvious questions of "intellectual yuppie love" w/r/t rap with self-reflective digressions, but I was pleased with many of the arrived conclusions.
"It's at the distinctively pop-cultural bregma where common-sense polarities like art vs. politics, medium vs. message, center vs. margin conjoined and must cohabit that even an enthusiastic white establishment-cog's try at some 'objective aesthetic appreciation' of rap runs aground."
Again, this was written in the 1989-1990 era. Keep in mind this was before Snoop and Dre, B.I.G. and 2Pac, or NaS and Wu-Tang were commonplace rappers. Dr. Dre was still in N.W.A. and Tupac was in Digital Underground. LL Cool J is still in his heyday, as are the Beastie Boys(who are pretty severely dismissed almost altogether, which I disagreed with for the most part). Public Enemy(a longtime favorite group of mine) is mentioned often, as does Schooly D, whose track "Signifying Rapper" is dissected and essentially glorified, not the least of which is the title of the treatise. Run DMC, Def Jam, Erik B. and Rakim also get mentioned.
"Ironies abound, of course, as ironies must when cash and art do lunch" ... "Walk This Way" is an unwanted reunion of 80s black street music with part of its rich heritage, as that heritage has been mined and mongrelized by Show Biz. If this is desegregation, then shopping malls hold treasure."
They also discuss DJ Jazzy Jeff and Fresh Prince, which is a highlight in the book for a few reasons. First, it mentions a sampling of the "I Dream of Jeanie" theme song, and juxtaposes an episode of that show which was syndicated on the night of the Tampa Riots, offering a po-mo imagining of the actual riot spilling out into the episode, exposing the stark truths and falsities of entertainment and Real Life. Secondly, it has a few throwaway sentences about the group having a TV show, which is funny because that actually happened, and Will Smith is more famous than "I Dream of Jeanie" nowadays.
"If the formal constraints outlined throughout this sampler are what help limit and define the rap genre's possibilities, it's usually 'content' issues — the musical mugging of classical precursors, or the wearying self-consciousness of the rap itself — that best alienate mainstreams, help keep this riparian genre so insulated, dammed, not-for-, fresh."
Parts of the book are really dated, but that is to be expected. Again, this was perhaps the first lengthy analysis of rap to get some sort of traction. Yes, it was written by Ivy League-educated white yuppies. But don't cast stones unless you read it. There are shortcomings to the book, but it is worth the read overall.
It isn't very easy to find a copy -- it has long been out of print. My local library has it, luckily. But since you read all the way to the bottom of this review, here is a link in which you can read the sampler in toto:
http://openlibrary.org/books/OL1870835M/Signifying_rappers/borrow
They pass the written mic back and forth throughout the book with short essays propelling the narrative, with "M." for Mark and "D" for David. Sometimes they respond in a footnote to the other's essay. Those familiar with either author can glean the distinct voices offered.
Although both M.C. [i(pu)nitials intended?] & D.F.W. seem to have let this work whisper in the background of their more popular or accessible offerings, you really get the sense in reading the book that it was a highly interesting topic to them. They address the obvious questions of "intellectual yuppie love" w/r/t rap with self-reflective digressions, but I was pleased with many of the arrived conclusions.
"It's at the distinctively pop-cultural bregma where common-sense polarities like art vs. politics, medium vs. message, center vs. margin conjoined and must cohabit that even an enthusiastic white establishment-cog's try at some 'objective aesthetic appreciation' of rap runs aground."
Again, this was written in the 1989-1990 era. Keep in mind this was before Snoop and Dre, B.I.G. and 2Pac, or NaS and Wu-Tang were commonplace rappers. Dr. Dre was still in N.W.A. and Tupac was in Digital Underground. LL Cool J is still in his heyday, as are the Beastie Boys(who are pretty severely dismissed almost altogether, which I disagreed with for the most part). Public Enemy(a longtime favorite group of mine) is mentioned often, as does Schooly D, whose track "Signifying Rapper" is dissected and essentially glorified, not the least of which is the title of the treatise. Run DMC, Def Jam, Erik B. and Rakim also get mentioned.
"Ironies abound, of course, as ironies must when cash and art do lunch" ... "Walk This Way" is an unwanted reunion of 80s black street music with part of its rich heritage, as that heritage has been mined and mongrelized by Show Biz. If this is desegregation, then shopping malls hold treasure."
They also discuss DJ Jazzy Jeff and Fresh Prince, which is a highlight in the book for a few reasons. First, it mentions a sampling of the "I Dream of Jeanie" theme song, and juxtaposes an episode of that show which was syndicated on the night of the Tampa Riots, offering a po-mo imagining of the actual riot spilling out into the episode, exposing the stark truths and falsities of entertainment and Real Life. Secondly, it has a few throwaway sentences about the group having a TV show, which is funny because that actually happened, and Will Smith is more famous than "I Dream of Jeanie" nowadays.
"If the formal constraints outlined throughout this sampler are what help limit and define the rap genre's possibilities, it's usually 'content' issues — the musical mugging of classical precursors, or the wearying self-consciousness of the rap itself — that best alienate mainstreams, help keep this riparian genre so insulated, dammed, not-for-, fresh."
Parts of the book are really dated, but that is to be expected. Again, this was perhaps the first lengthy analysis of rap to get some sort of traction. Yes, it was written by Ivy League-educated white yuppies. But don't cast stones unless you read it. There are shortcomings to the book, but it is worth the read overall.
It isn't very easy to find a copy -- it has long been out of print. My local library has it, luckily. But since you read all the way to the bottom of this review, here is a link in which you can read the sampler in toto:
http://openlibrary.org/books/OL1870835M/Signifying_rappers/borrow
deepfede's review against another edition
3.0
Le scritture di Wallace e Costello si alternano, si fanno l'occhiolino e danno perfettamente l'idea di come sia vivere in quell'appartamento di Boston nell'89 riportandoti a un falso ricordo, quello di ascoltare veramente con i due i NWA, Ice-T, Schoolly D, KRS-One, i Public Enemy, ecc.
Come negli altri libri di DFW la genialità non manca, con spunti interessanti e aneddoti assurdi condivisi anche da Mark Costello, che scrive similmente al coinquilino con le tanto amate note a piè di pagina più spassose del libro stesso.
Tuttavia si soffre tanto il non detto, la parte mancante.
Nel primo capitolo scritto da Wallace viene posta la domanda fondamentale: “Con che faccia due yuppie bianchi cercano di scrivere un saggio sul rap?”
La risposta viene esplicitata nel capitolo 3, sempre a opera di Wallace, che spiega perfettamente come la penso anch’io.
Chiunque può scrivere saggi sugli argomenti che più si vuole trattare, ma, e forse è qui che invecchia male il saggio, mi sembra quasi assurdo che per tutto il saggio D e M dicano di aver frequentato molti ambienti dove poi è nato il rap che tanto amano per poi non veder coinvolto nessun artista o persona appartenente alla sottocultura che ha fondato il rap vero e proprio. Due pagine dopo essersi posto la domanda, Wallace riporta una definizione del genere di una rivista dell’ambiente musicale: “il rap è la più innovativa e pura forma di espressione dei neri dal jazz delle origini a oggi”.
Eppure non si vede mai un’intervista, una conversazione, un’opinione su un tema ad opera di una POC.
Un gran peccato, visto anche il titolo (in originale "Rap and Race in the Urban present") che rimanda alla questione etnica.
Come negli altri libri di DFW la genialità non manca, con spunti interessanti e aneddoti assurdi condivisi anche da Mark Costello, che scrive similmente al coinquilino con le tanto amate note a piè di pagina più spassose del libro stesso.
Tuttavia si soffre tanto il non detto, la parte mancante.
Nel primo capitolo scritto da Wallace viene posta la domanda fondamentale: “Con che faccia due yuppie bianchi cercano di scrivere un saggio sul rap?”
La risposta viene esplicitata nel capitolo 3, sempre a opera di Wallace, che spiega perfettamente come la penso anch’io.
Chiunque può scrivere saggi sugli argomenti che più si vuole trattare, ma, e forse è qui che invecchia male il saggio, mi sembra quasi assurdo che per tutto il saggio D e M dicano di aver frequentato molti ambienti dove poi è nato il rap che tanto amano per poi non veder coinvolto nessun artista o persona appartenente alla sottocultura che ha fondato il rap vero e proprio. Due pagine dopo essersi posto la domanda, Wallace riporta una definizione del genere di una rivista dell’ambiente musicale: “il rap è la più innovativa e pura forma di espressione dei neri dal jazz delle origini a oggi”.
Eppure non si vede mai un’intervista, una conversazione, un’opinione su un tema ad opera di una POC.
Un gran peccato, visto anche il titolo (in originale "Rap and Race in the Urban present") che rimanda alla questione etnica.
melsuds's review against another edition
3.0
i will love DFW till i die but.... they could really re-edit this book to make it more accessible to anyone born after 1990
piccoline's review against another edition
4.0
I'm no expert on rap. At all. But this seemed a good read, to me. I feel like I learned quite a bit. I appreciated the chance to finally read this. It's strange it was OP for so long. I expected it to be a bit more of an embarrassment, given how long out of print it was.
Plus it had me finding Schoolly D, Public Enemy, and NWA on youtube to continue my education. Excellent.
Plus it had me finding Schoolly D, Public Enemy, and NWA on youtube to continue my education. Excellent.
ehawk's review against another edition
5.0
So much confluence in my life, as I've been learning how to sample, remix, and make music this spring. I've also been thinking about ownership and remaking. This book takes that a step farther to stand along other reading I've done to think about what class and race have to do with that ownership and remaking. That the whole thing is also set among stomping around Cambridge at a time where I lived not too many miles away, and was just starting to fall for the landscape, and I can remember what was going on at the time... just makes this read all the sweeter.
darwin8u's review against another edition
3.0
“It was made to fail, born to be co-opted and subsumed into the junky ferrywake of media's coaching.”
― David Foster Wallace, Signifying Rappers: Rap and Race in the Urban Present
My relationship with RAP started out a little funky. I remember hearing Ice-T's "Girls, L.G.B.N.A.F." on a 9th-grade biology trip to Southern Utah. Sony Walkman shared in the back of the bird bus. A bunch of white, prep-school kids from suburban Utah with no tangible idea what the ghetto, urban or underprivileged was like experimenting with early RAP excess to pubescent abandon.
Fast-forward a year: I'm living in Izmir, Turkey, getting a letter mailed 1/2 around the world from a friend and girl referencing said trip with L.G.B.N.A.F. stamped all throughout. Letter is discovered and read by Father. Father demands to know what L.G.B.N.A.F. means. There is no way in HELL to explain to Father, while driving in Asia Minor, what that ICE-T song meant in Moab or what it means in the here and now. The result of this failed explanation is I can never hear Journey's Greatest Hits (the abumn I was listening to in the car as my father was interrogating me) without thinking of Ice-T (strange mental ebbs and flows). Now fast-forward two decades: watching my wife watch Ice-T on Law & Order: SVU. It is all just a little trippy -- weird convergences of RAP, Journey, Turkey, and crap television all fighting for meaning in my memory. The world IS indeed a DFW essay.
But, like my diet Dr Pepper left outside overnight or a green pear eaten too soon, this book hints at (DFW's) later genius without quite delivering the thing you want. It over-promises and under-delivers on the what, why, and wherefores of RAP. It is almost exactly what you would expect an overwritten book about rap put together by a young, tired genius who hasn't yet found his literary voice/mojo and his college roommate to be like.
Anyway, it was genius in parts, smug in parts, dated in many many sections, angry and alienated through-out, and still -- despite all its flaws -- it moved me and was worth the money. And, as Lil Wayne never gets tired of telling me "only money make me move".
― David Foster Wallace, Signifying Rappers: Rap and Race in the Urban Present
My relationship with RAP started out a little funky. I remember hearing Ice-T's "Girls, L.G.B.N.A.F." on a 9th-grade biology trip to Southern Utah. Sony Walkman shared in the back of the bird bus. A bunch of white, prep-school kids from suburban Utah with no tangible idea what the ghetto, urban or underprivileged was like experimenting with early RAP excess to pubescent abandon.
Fast-forward a year: I'm living in Izmir, Turkey, getting a letter mailed 1/2 around the world from a friend and girl referencing said trip with L.G.B.N.A.F. stamped all throughout. Letter is discovered and read by Father. Father demands to know what L.G.B.N.A.F. means. There is no way in HELL to explain to Father, while driving in Asia Minor, what that ICE-T song meant in Moab or what it means in the here and now. The result of this failed explanation is I can never hear Journey's Greatest Hits (the abumn I was listening to in the car as my father was interrogating me) without thinking of Ice-T (strange mental ebbs and flows). Now fast-forward two decades: watching my wife watch Ice-T on Law & Order: SVU. It is all just a little trippy -- weird convergences of RAP, Journey, Turkey, and crap television all fighting for meaning in my memory. The world IS indeed a DFW essay.
But, like my diet Dr Pepper left outside overnight or a green pear eaten too soon, this book hints at (DFW's) later genius without quite delivering the thing you want. It over-promises and under-delivers on the what, why, and wherefores of RAP. It is almost exactly what you would expect an overwritten book about rap put together by a young, tired genius who hasn't yet found his literary voice/mojo and his college roommate to be like.
Anyway, it was genius in parts, smug in parts, dated in many many sections, angry and alienated through-out, and still -- despite all its flaws -- it moved me and was worth the money. And, as Lil Wayne never gets tired of telling me "only money make me move".
neftzger's review against another edition
4.0
One of the most interesting things about this nonfiction book is that it was written during the early years of rap music as the industry was just beginning to expand into a formidable genre. It's almost like reading the biography of an an established and successful individual to learn about the person's early years. Granted, this is the insight of one individual, but that person is David Foster Wallace who has written some excellent commentary on other aspects of American culture. The essays in this book are similar to others he's written and certainly worth reading, especially if you're a fan of DFW's work, which I am.
Whether or not you listen to rap music, a number of DFW's point hold true across the arts — and these points make the book worth reading. For example, my favorite quote from the book: "Ironies abound,of course, as ironies must when cash and art do lunch."
Recommended for fans of DFW or individuals who enjoy art commentaries, in general.
Whether or not you listen to rap music, a number of DFW's point hold true across the arts — and these points make the book worth reading. For example, my favorite quote from the book: "Ironies abound,of course, as ironies must when cash and art do lunch."
Recommended for fans of DFW or individuals who enjoy art commentaries, in general.
pivic's review against another edition
3.0
This is a very wordy book written by a couple of late 20-year-olds who possess great knowledge of the English language and of hip-hop. This is written in the late 1980s, and as such, it's a great testament of both culture and music of the day, in the USA.
The authors collaborated on the whole, but each chapter is written individually.
All in all: surgical precision when it comes to the authors' use of grammar and words, but at times the intellectual level of the book is its biggest downfall. "Stoopid fresh" isn't exactly it, when I got the feeling that this book was partly written as an intellectual exercise to impress peers, rather than to explain hip-hop and rap (which I don't hold as synonymous, despite the authors wishing to do so).
However, it does contain a lot of great insight into hip-hop, displaying it as "CNN for black people", to paraphrase Chuck D., also as the Shakespearian poetry of the now - and, indeed, during the 1980s.
The authors collaborated on the whole, but each chapter is written individually.
All in all: surgical precision when it comes to the authors' use of grammar and words, but at times the intellectual level of the book is its biggest downfall. "Stoopid fresh" isn't exactly it, when I got the feeling that this book was partly written as an intellectual exercise to impress peers, rather than to explain hip-hop and rap (which I don't hold as synonymous, despite the authors wishing to do so).
However, it does contain a lot of great insight into hip-hop, displaying it as "CNN for black people", to paraphrase Chuck D., also as the Shakespearian poetry of the now - and, indeed, during the 1980s.
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