Next week, Yale University Press will release “The Anthology of Rap”, a comprehensive collection of lyrics to more than 300 rap songs in print form. Sam Anderson, a book critic for New York magazine, reviewed all 788 pages of the book without having heard more than a few songs. He’s a book critic–how much whiter can you get? (EDIT: Poor wording! See the comments below.)
Anyways, after experiencing hip-hop for the first time, he writes that he is “evangelically excited” about the book. He even suggests Big Daddy Kane is the best rap artist of all time, on paper at least.
See, the man has never listened to hip-hop. Ridiculous.
So, NPR decided to bless this convert with the actual audio to some of the songs he now loves, and his reaction is incredible. His opinion of some artists completely changes–Lil Wayne, for instance, is “100% different out loud than in my mind.” This article is essentially a play-by-play of the Anderson’s response to everything from “Brooklyn Zoo” by ODB to “Monster” by Kanye, Jay-Z, and Nicki as he experiences them, as a man in the upper echelon of literary knowledge, for the first time. Incredibly interesting read, right here.
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2 Comments
“He’s a book critic–how much whiter can you get?” This is probably the saddest idea that I’ve read in a very long time. I’m not going into detail about just how problematic this statement is but on a fundamental level, to equate a “book critic” with “whiteness” does SO much damage to the legacy of African American book critics in this country.
The Indignant Generation: A Narrative History of African American Writers and Critics, 1934-1960- Lawrence P. Jackson
You’re right. BUT! My intention was not equate being a book critic with being white, but to highlight how misunderstood hip-hop is in the context of modern literature. Context is the whole point–hip-hop is entirely different when it’s removed from its environment, such as it is in Yale’s anthology. Even though he proclaims to be “evangelically excited” about hip-hop, Anderson is only furthering its misconception by intaking it in such a bizarre way. Why did it take NPR for the critic to finally listen to the music he was reading? Shouldn’t he have developed an intrinsic interest in listening, in going to the source? The critic was content with his small-minded impression, when one of the most revolutionary things about hip-hop is how it has stretched way beyond stories and rhymes. “Rap really is poetry!” is an annoying but ubiquitous revelation–like, of course it’s poetry! But it’s so much more! And why couldn’t Anderson understand that? Because he is interpreting hip-hop within his own boundaries–boundaries set by normal literary critique, by the mass media, many of which come from misunderstanding on the part of the white people, a world apart from the hip-hop world of the 80’s and 90’s, who set these deep-set boundaries in the first place. Hip-hop is beautiful because it conveys its environment, it encourages people with no roots in its world to stretch their boundaries. Most hip-hop fans, especially white ones, found hip-hop on their own. It really is a learning experience. While it’s great that the critic is so emphatic about his newfound love, I wish he knew how much he’s missing out on and thus perpetuating the misconception! I guess it was hypocritical of me to perpetuate one of my own.