R&B (Rhythm and Business): The Political Economy of Black Music [Paperback]

Norman Kelley (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2005

“Hot stuff for politically and economically astute pop-music collections.”—Booklist

“A great primer on how poorly the music industry tends to treat its artists.”—New York Press

Courtney Love and Public Enemy’s Chuck D join Kelley and other journalists to examine how black music has been developed, marketed and distributed within the structure of American capitalism.

Norman Kelley is the author of The Head Negro in Charge Syndrome: The Dead End of Black Politics (Nation Books, 2004) and the Nina Halligan mystery series. He lives in Brooklyn.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Seminal rapper Chuck D of Public Enemy once asked the musical question, "Who stole the soul?" In this anthology, perhaps the first to deal solely with the business of black music, Chuck D, editor Kelley (author of the Nina Halligan mysteries), and other name contributors (including Courtney Love) attempt to come up with some answers. This is not a study of the appropriation of African American musical styles which was ably covered in Leroi Jones's Blues People: Negro Music in White America, among other titles but rather an examination of why white-owned entertainment conglomerates have profited so much and blacks as a whole so little from the worldwide explosion of hip-hop. Kelley's introductory piece sets the tone, describing the current state of the music industry as a continuation of a "structure of stealing" that has plagued African Americans for centuries. The history of the modern recording industry, including the gray line between major and "independent" labels, is dissected in several eyeopening contributions that should be required reading for anyone interested in popular music. The collection comprises 20 pieces (seven are new and two are substantially revised) from a variety of journalists, music industry insiders, and historians, as well as an interview with Rap Coalition founder Wendy Day. Recommended for larger public and all academic libraries. David Valencia, King Cty. Lib. Syst., Seattle
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

This book's message is that the pop music business has ripped off black performers and fans for years. The copiously referenced pieces in it, whose writers include both academics and musicians, identify the industry's sins, general and particular. David Sanjek, director of the BMI Archives and consultant to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, critiques a never-made-public Harvard report on the early '70s "soul market," which found that Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk possessed almost no "soul content" and recommended strategies for leveling the industry playing field. As Sanjek reports, the effects of those recommendations have been mixed. Former Public Enemy member and rap legend Chuck D. details the "morphing of" certain "black folk into a new race: the Niggro. The Niggro is rewarded by ignorance [and] lauded in Vibe and Source for its thug spirit." As D. sees it, Niggros accept "'nigger ways,' confusing it with the soul root of black people," and become easily entertained members of lucrative marketing demographics. Hot stuff for politically and economically astute pop-music collections. Mike Tribby
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 330 pages
• Publisher: Akashic Books (August 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1888451688
• ISBN-13: 978-1888451689
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #752,839 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Freshest music anthology in years!, July 31, 2002

By 

Raul Deznermio (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: R&B (Rhythm & Business): The Political Economy of Black Music (Hardcover)

Covering not just hip hop and issues facing today's black artists, this collection of essays takes a highly informed historical look at how artists have fared in the music industry back from blues to jazz to R&B, up to today's contemporary music. Plus the book explores the *economic* side of the equation, which few writers touch in today's timid world of music journalism. Norman Kelley and the other contributors to this book should be applauded for raising the bar on serious music journalism.

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid Effort, June 23, 2009

By 

Sam White "Sam" (Springfield MO) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: R&B (Rhythm & Business): The Political Economy of Black Music (Hardcover)

Despite the other reviews, this book does a pretty good job showing how the music business treats musicians, especially African Americans ones, poorly. Is the perfect? No, but it does offer a nice overview of how folks have looked at this question. It is a good first book (for readers) on this topic.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid analysis that you won't find anywhere else, July 17, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: R&B (Rhythm & Business): The Political Economy of Black Music (Hardcover)

This book, despite a few flaws, is a good book. The whiny musician from new york is correct that the book is a little bit redundant, but it remains a good book because no one else is talking about what they are talking about. Many of the essays are very strong and a pleasure to read, especially the editor's essay. So what if Courtney Love is in the book, so is Chuck D. Why can't a white musician speak to the exploitation of artists by the major record labels in a book that focuses on racism in the music industry? The subtitle afterall is the Political Economy of Black Music, which means that the issues discussed are race AND class. Duh? And, Courtney should be in the book because gender is a factor that matters just as much as race and class. Most of the books on the music industry out there are [bad] because they are written from the point of view of the major record labels and they are either cheezy biographies of musicians that tell you nothing important about how the industry works, or stupid boring guide books written by lawyers that try to fool you into beleiving that the corporations are ready to give you mad dough for playing your guitar if you just follow the steps outlined in their book. NOT! Thank God for Norman Kelley. We finally get a book that tells the truth about the exploitation of musicians by the major record labels. If you want to find out exactly how the major record labels and the corporate establishment exploit musicians than go buy this book.