The first full-scale history and analysis of hip-hop, the most influential pop music since rock 'n' roll. Fernando illuminates how an exuberant form of dance music became simultaneously an expression of social and political protest, black nationalism, and cultural pride.
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Like the culture it chronicles, The New Beats contains a rapid-fire series of quick changes of tone and attitude. A chapter on rap's early days, when DJs showed their mix tricks at big Bronx street parties, jumps from the Jamaican patois of rap pioneer DJ Kool Herc to the scene at upper Manhattan dance clubs, all without missing a beat. Fernando, a frequent contributor to hip-hop magazine the Source, relates a rich history so current and alive, it seems to come off the paper. The reader learns about rap's forbearers, Jamaican reggae and 1970s funk; how rap lyrics, so fascinated with crime, have antecedents in the African folk hero Anansi the Spider and the fictional New Orleans outlaw Stack-a-Lee; and why rap music has been referred to as "the black CNN." With a mix of in-your-face journalism (the author traverses dangerous territory with Los Angeles gang members), and a knack for communicating musical sound through the written word (James Brown's voice is "thicker and juicier than prime rib slathered with extra gravy"), Fernando has created a fast-paced oral history that will prove important even when the dust settles from this still-developing form. Photos. QPB selection.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Using material from the many interviews that he conducted, Fernando has written an excellent social history of hip-hop culture (covering break dancing, fashion, language, and a graffitied visual art) and rap music (tracing the genre's Jamaican and funk musical roots). He also discusses the prominence of gangs in most urban areas and the music's unique expression of contemporary urban experience. Fernando outlines the role of rap as a chronicle for youth culture and uses examples to demonstrate the pleas of many rappers for a more humane, cooperative, less violent, Afrocentric community. The author concludes each chapter with a list of essential recordings. A frequent contributor to The Source, the oldest rap-music magazine, Fernando offers an excellent study, which will serve as a valuable companion to David Toop's path-breaking Rap Attack 2 (Serpent's Tail, 1992). Highly recommended to anyone interested in today's music or youth culture and indispensable to music and social history collections.
David Szatmary, Univ. of Washington, Seattle
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
David Szatmary, Univ. of Washington, Seattle
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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More About the Author
S.H. Fernando Jr. strikes a singular figure in the media/arts community. After graduating from Harvard and the Columbia University School of Journalism, he began his career as a music journalist for The Source magazine. He parlayed his knowledge and expertise in the field of hip-hop into the critically-acclaimed book, The New Beats: Exploring the Music, Culture & Attitudes of Hip-Hop (Anchor/Doubleday, 1994), which has become an important document of the culture behind rap music. The New Beats has since been published in England, France, and Japan.
Not content to just write about the music he loved, Fernando borrowed $1000 from legendary music producer Bill Laswell, and started his own label, WordSound Recordings, in December 1994. Over the last 18 years, WordSound has released 64 full-length albums (10 albums produced by Fernando himself)--including a handful of singles on its vinyl-only subdivision, Black Hoodz. Running the gamut from dub and hip-hop to drum 'n bass and electronica, WordSound boasts a diverse and eclectic catalog, known worldwide for its innovation, experimentation and originality.
Fernando continues to run the label single-handedly from his home in Baltimore, MD, creating music under a variety of pseudonyms (Spectre, Slotek, The Eye). He also freelances for such publications as The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Spin, and Vibe. He has most recently contributed to Spin's Alternative Record Guide (Vintage Books), Vibe's History of Hip-Hop (Three Rivers Press), and he wrote the introduction to the Tupac Shakur bio, Rebel For the Hell of It (Thunder Mouth Press).
In addition to the word and sound, Fernando's other passions include film and food. His first foray into film was writing, producing, and directing the independent feature, Crooked (2001), a unique docudrama that offers a revealing look inside the music industry as seen through the struggles of real-life rapper Sensational (formerly of the legendary Jungle Brothers) in his quest for major label stardom. In 2004, Fernando released The Greatest Thing You Never Heard a "dubumentary" about WordSound, to coincide with the label's 10th anniversary. In 2007, he shot and edited Industria Brasileira (Made in Brasil), a documentary about the new music scene in Brasil.
Fernando also lived in Sri Lanka for one year, where he researched and wrote his first cookbook, Rice & Curry: Sri Lankan Home Cooking, in which he hopes to expose the delicious and healthy cuisine of his homeland to the world. The cookbook will be released by Hippocrene Books in November 2011. He also writes the Rice & Curry blog, and makes and markets his own brand of curry powder called "Skiz's Original."
Not content to just write about the music he loved, Fernando borrowed $1000 from legendary music producer Bill Laswell, and started his own label, WordSound Recordings, in December 1994. Over the last 18 years, WordSound has released 64 full-length albums (10 albums produced by Fernando himself)--including a handful of singles on its vinyl-only subdivision, Black Hoodz. Running the gamut from dub and hip-hop to drum 'n bass and electronica, WordSound boasts a diverse and eclectic catalog, known worldwide for its innovation, experimentation and originality.
Fernando continues to run the label single-handedly from his home in Baltimore, MD, creating music under a variety of pseudonyms (Spectre, Slotek, The Eye). He also freelances for such publications as The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Spin, and Vibe. He has most recently contributed to Spin's Alternative Record Guide (Vintage Books), Vibe's History of Hip-Hop (Three Rivers Press), and he wrote the introduction to the Tupac Shakur bio, Rebel For the Hell of It (Thunder Mouth Press).
In addition to the word and sound, Fernando's other passions include film and food. His first foray into film was writing, producing, and directing the independent feature, Crooked (2001), a unique docudrama that offers a revealing look inside the music industry as seen through the struggles of real-life rapper Sensational (formerly of the legendary Jungle Brothers) in his quest for major label stardom. In 2004, Fernando released The Greatest Thing You Never Heard a "dubumentary" about WordSound, to coincide with the label's 10th anniversary. In 2007, he shot and edited Industria Brasileira (Made in Brasil), a documentary about the new music scene in Brasil.
Fernando also lived in Sri Lanka for one year, where he researched and wrote his first cookbook, Rice & Curry: Sri Lankan Home Cooking, in which he hopes to expose the delicious and healthy cuisine of his homeland to the world. The cookbook will be released by Hippocrene Books in November 2011. He also writes the Rice & Curry blog, and makes and markets his own brand of curry powder called "Skiz's Original."
Customer Reviews
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Go and get it......what are you waiting for?,
By A Customer
This review is from: The New Beats (Paperback)
This is an excellent book - read it! It provides a really comprehensive history of rap, along with sociological perspectives, predictions for future trends and striking photography. It's laid out a lot like an academic text so it's very easy to track down specific sections or references using the artist's name etc. It's a must-have!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent and unique book,
By Tim Jones (tim.jones@snet.net) (Greenwich, Connecticut, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The New Beats (Paperback)
I would highly recommend this book to anybody interested in the history of the culture and music surrounding rap music! A very thorough job. My only complaint was that its discussion of different genres of rap reflected a disposition towards Gangster rap on the part of the author. The gangster rap chapter was much longer than any of the others. More mellow and jazzy rappers, such as Tribe Called Quest, were barely mentioned. Still, it's chapters on the history and roots of rap dating back to precolonial Africa were very informative and helpful. A good book!
1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
IF YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT HIP HOP THIS GET THIS BOOK,
By A Customer
This review is from: The New Beats (Paperback)
THIS BOOK IS FULL OF OLD SCHOOL AND NEW SCHOOL HIP HOP HISTORY.
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