Cambria Press is pleased to announce that Gangster Rap and Its Social Cost: Exploiting Hip Hop and Using Racial Stereotypes to Entertain America by Professor Benjamin P. Bowser is now available.
Rap music and its gangster rap variant are now far too important and influential in American life to be ignored by the general public and research communities alike. Artists and promoters alike have made a number of questionable claims about the authenticity and impact of their music that have been taken for granted and not been critically assessed. Those who have written about from communications, music and cultural studies have provided an important but relatively fixed narrative that leaves the central claims and impacts of this entrepreneur unaddressed.
It is in this context that the author Benjamin Bowser began studying hip hop and gangster rap precisely because the influence of this movement and music on African American adolescents HIV infection risk takers. At the same time, the frequent use of the N-word by gangster rappers has become a major unaddressed issue in civil rights that has also not been studied. Furthermore, an important reason to study these unaddressed issues is to not only better understand them, but to offer solutions to the problems they pose and to improve the quality of life of all involved.
Within the rapidly growing literature on hip hop and gangster rap, Gangster Rap and Its Social Cost stands out from the rest because it provides a number of unique contributions.
The book has already garnered rave review from top scholars:
Professor Mindy Thompson Fullilove of Columbia University highly recommends the book because it “startle, inform, and expand the discourse on the motives, meanings, and impact of the music.”
Professor Gina M. Wingood of Emory University praises the book because “finally, there is a rigorous examination of some of the most powerful social influences of the decade” and “Bowser offers the much-needed clarity about this social phenomenon.”
Professor Michael E. Woods of Hamilton College states that “It is not easy to find a book that covers all angles of both rap music and the music industry’s influence behind its controversial content. I am delighted that there is now a book that brings clarity to hip hop and its music, both of which have been misunderstood, misrepresented, and exploited for commercial gain” and further recommends that “this is a must read for students of music, Africana studies, sociology, anthropology, and any subject that deals with music in modern culture.”
Recommend this book to your librarian today! They can order it directly from Cambria Press or they can order through their preferred academic book wholesaler (Cambria Press is on the approval list of premier wholesalers like YBP).
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