Rap Attack 3 (Paperback)

by David Toop (Author) "1999: a 20th anniversary for hip hop..." (more)
Key Phrases: twin turntables, rap records, rap attack, New York, Grandmaster Flash, James Brown (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
In 1998, the Spice Girls were barred from the No. 1 spot by Run DMC. Rap is back. Rap is a form of music and spoken rhyme which first came to prominence in 1979 through The Sugarhill Gang's chart hit "Rapper's Delight". Rap, along with all the other features of hip hop culture, originated in New York's Harlem and the South Bronx. This book takes hip hop culture as its central focus for an investigation of African-American rapping in all its forms. It begins with the music's African roots and ends with the global acceptance of rap as both commercial pop genre and voice of rage, a journey which encompasses West African griots, doo wop groups, jazz singers like Slim Gaillard, soul rappers from Millie Jackson to James Brown, old-school rappers Grandmaster Flash and Afrika Bambaataa, new-school rebels like Roxanne Shante and Run DMC, all the way to Public Enemy, De La Soul, NWA, the pop rap of MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice and the gangstas Tupac Shakur, Notorious BIG, Puff Daddy and Snoop Doggy Dog.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Serpent's Tail; 3 Revised edition (June 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1852426276
• ISBN-13: 978-1852426279
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 7.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #195,643 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A classic '84 text with an excellent new introduction, March 31, 2000

By	Tom Moody (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

"All music has a history, shameful or illustrious, but for a 14-year old chilling out in Playland, white nylon anorak with the hood pulled tight and maybe a pair of Nike kicks with the tongues pulled out, what matters in the mini-phones plugged into the Walkman (or one of its cheaper variants) is the post-NASA - Silicon Valley - Atari - TV Break Out - Taito - Sony - Roland - Linn - Oberheim - Lucas - Speilberg groove." That's David Toop on the "electro" music of the early '80s--just one of many subjects handled with real sensitivity and street smarts in _Rap Attack_, a classic text now in its third edition. A musician as well as a writer, Toop conveys the magnitude of hip hop's revolution in sound--combining the musique concrete of Edgar Varese with the urban frenzy of a Bronx social club at 2:00 a. m.--but also its verbal genius, a lineage extending from the griots of Northern Nigeria to "doin' the dozens" to Kool Keith. With a dry wit and the erudition of a walking pop-music encyclopedia, Toop tells the tale of the amazing homegrown phenomenon that by 1998 "had overtaken country music to become America's biggest-selling format."

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book without equals, July 7, 2000

By A Customer

This is a serious, thorough, warmly written book about a musical genre that until very recently was given short shrift by most music critics. Toop dived head-first into the subject and immersed himself in the history, culture and mythology of hip-hop. His enthusiasm is infectious. One of the best books about music I've read.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All time great book, December 2, 2003

By	British Commentator (London, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

First published 1984, then with a few extra chapters. This was on publication essential reading and remains so. It combines a good account of hip Hop's formation and antecedents with a look at the contemporary scene..labels, artists and crews. It is particularly good for tracing themes within the culture and cross referencing them to earlier music. Well written, suitable for all ages with classic photos, every Hip Hop fan should own this.