Rip It Up: The Black Experience in Rock N Roll [Paperback]

Kandia Crazy Horse (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 3, 2004

When Mos Def, platinum-selling New York-based rapper, decided to make a foray into rock 'n roll he called his band "Jack Johnson." The name choice was a telling one: Johnson was the first black world heavyweight boxing champion, a man who has been described as "fighting not only for his own dignity but also to knock white America off its haughty perch." The band Jack Johnson continues the tradition of setting the story straight by challenging the notion that rock is an exclusively white domain. Collecting the stories of Jimi Hendrix, Arthur Lee and Love, Prince, the punk band Bad Brains, and more obscure black members of "white" bands, along with original interviews with Slash from Guns n' Roses, Little Richard, Lenny Kravitz, and others, it becomes clear that the true story of blacks in rock has remained largely untold for far too long. This is essential reading for any rock fan, presenting the history of rock from an angle unseen until now.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"What a terrific book! As exciting as it is valuable--a resource!--Rip It Up is the most uniquely satisfying volume on music my eyes (and heart) have seen in YEARS."--Richard Meltzer author of The Aesthetics of Rock and A Whore Just Like the Rest

"Rip It Up--an eclectic mix of interviews and essays on black rock 'n' roll--filled with fascinating information and and provocative ideas."--Michael Lydon, author of Ray Charles: Man and Music

About the Author

Kandia Crazy Horse is a rock critic. She lives in Manhattan.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan; 1st edition (January 3, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 140396243X
• ISBN-13: 978-1403962430
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #574,211 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I wish more people would write about black heavy metal, April 12, 2004

By 

Sherance M. Brothers (Jasper, Alabama United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rip It Up: The Black Experience in Rock N Roll (Paperback)

man this book was good I had to get this knowing that I'm a music lover and a fan of black rock funkadelic is my favorite rock band and they taught the whole industry a lesson also talks about jimi hendrix, artur lee, and love, sly stone, plus interviews with lenny kravitz, slash, and vendetta fields a former ikette yes ike turner helped pioneered rock n roll talks about bad brains, and how black people still cannot do the music they helped create which is sad black people just rock harder and better than than people like kid rock, limp bizkit, and beck who are really copying trends set by black artists.

black people today need to study their musical roots and embrace our heritege without artists like these there would be no rap today.

4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars About time!, January 6, 2004

By 

Robert Clark (Philly) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rip It Up: The Black Experience in Rock N Roll (Paperback)

At a time when most books about "rock" leave out black artists
(the laughable Spin Guide to Alternative Rock didn't mention
Fishbone at all but predictably drooled over much lesser acts)
and when dull retreads such as Ryan Adams are hailed as the future of rock,here comes "Rip It Up" to showcase the true future of music. I could have done without the always useless
Jon Caramanica's article (I was at the Mos Def show and the reaction wasn't that severe) but hey the rest more than makes up for it.