New York Ricans from the Hip Hop Zone (Paperback)

~ (Author) "New York Puerto Ricans have been an integral part of hip hop culture since the creative movement's first stirrings in New York City during the..." (more)
Key Phrases: butta pecan, hegemonic tropicalizations, hip hop participants, Puerto Rican, New York, African American (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this brief, scholarly book, freelance journalist Rivera acknowledges Puerto Ricans for their contributions to hip-hop music over the past 30 years. It's debatable just how much credit is deserved, considering Rivera comes up with only a handful of recognizable players who predate the culture-wide "Latino boom" of the past few years-Fat Joe, Angie Martinez and the late Big Punisher, the biggest-selling Latino rapper of all time. But she still crafts a persuasive revisionist history through painstaking research and original reporting. She points out that while Puerto Ricans and African-Americans collaborated to create hip-hop in the early 1970s South Bronx and shared a ghetto-based entitlement, Puerto Ricans had to "step lightly through the identity minefield." For much of the 1980s and '90s, Puerto Ricans' "participation and entitlement" were questioned as hip-hop became more exclusively African American. Many Puerto Rican performers further alienated themselves from the hip-hop center by embracing Latino culture and rapping in Spanish, while others identified more strongly with African Americans and downplayed their Caribbean roots. Since the mid-'90s, of course, hip-hop has begun to embrace Latino culture (such as J. Lo) for better or worse; Rivera is troubled by rap's Latino stereotypes of sexy "Butta Pecan Ricans" and "tough-guy papi chulos." The only serious difficulty with this useful book is in navigating Rivera's oft-impenetrable academese ("Behind inclusion lies the specter of subsumption and dismissal"). Then again, Rivera, who has a doctorate in sociology, may have intended this work for a liberal arts classroom: it's clearly not for the b-boys and b-girls.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Author Raquel Rivera explains the significance of Nuyorican and Latin influencess throughout the history of hip-hop music and culture. -- Review

Rivera's style, craft, and depth make this pioneering yet thoroughly accessible work a commendable addition... -- Bill Piekarski,Library Journal,03/01/2003

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan; 1st edition (January 18, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1403960445
• ISBN-13: 978-1403960443
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #563,029 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read this book..., December 4, 2003

By A Customer

finally theres a book out there that latinos of all cultures can relate to, and luckily for myself, Raquel Z. Rivera, was my professor for my Puerto Rican Culture class, and to be able to read her book and hear her story was learning experience i am very grateful for. read this book and you will learn much more than just about hip hop, you learn about struggle and identity, and how being puerto rican goes so much more further than what people assume.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Must-Read for Latino Studies or Hip Hop fans, April 15, 2005

By	Vato-Curandero - See all my reviews

I really enjoyed this book. As a Latino who from the Northeast who is now in his mid-20s, I remember the breakdancing craze and many of the hip hop artists Rivera writes about, who were big during my childhood.
One of the book's strengths is Rivera's attention to social and historical conditions that led to cultural production and social solidarity between Blacks and Puerto Ricans in New York City. As a non-Puerto Rican Latino, I've long been fascinated by the high degree of solidarity and unity between Blacks and Ricans, and Rivera's research shed much light on this topic.
Fortunately, I had the chance to meet Rivera shortly after reading this boook when she attended a seminar on Latino influence in hip hop in Philadelphia. She's a good author and a great person. Read this book, if you have an interest in either Latino Studies or hip hop's old school days.