What's Good
Notes on Rap and Language
«
Praise for What's Good:
". . . this ode to rap is sure to surprise and delight. . . . Open to any bite-sized chapter and you're sure to find some tantalizing tidbit worth your time."—Grace Utomo, Rain Taxi Review of Books
"Written in short, savorably dense chapters, What's Good manages to be many kinds of books at the same time. It’s exhaustive — in its command of rap lyrics, in its ear for modulations in meaning and tone, in its ability to straddle the complexities of race and identity as they converge in rap . . . "—Aaron Peck, Los Angeles Review of Books
"A book filled with such love and thoughtfulness and fun has to come from a fan; who but a genuine devotee would use his introductory chapter to provide a deep reading of 50 Cent’s 'In Da Club?'"—Adam Ellsworth, The Arts Fuse
"Music aficionados and hip-hop lovers will savor every bit."—Publishers Weekly
"His book performs a unique and exciting rhetorical move, presenting itself as a sort of freestyle in its own right: short, punchy chapters that each focus on a single lyric."—ALTA
"There is so much I admire about Daniel Levin Becker's What's Good: how knowledgeable it is, how synoptic, how precise, persuasive, and risky; I love its savvy politics, its passion, its aching, tragic heart."—David Shields, author of Black Planet: Facing Race during an NBA Season
"All in all, What's Good is an enlightening, self-aware, and deeply satisfying look at the wondrous ways rap music uses language. It is absolutely essential reading on hip-hop—and one of the smartest books about music I've read."—Ian Port, author of The Birth of Loud: Leo Fender, Les Paul, and the Guitar-Pioneering Rivalry That Shaped Rock 'n' Roll
"What's Good: Notes on Rap and Language is a celebration of the artistry and craft of rap lyrics written in a way that only Daniel Levin Becker could, with his sharp eye for linguistic experimentation and his appreciation for the ways rappers have been able to turn English inside out. His fascination is contagious as he revels in the incredible vitality of this ever-morphing lexicon, from its rhymes to its slang to its creation of new modes of meaning. It's the book us lovers of music and language had no idea we needed."—Emma Ramadan, Riffraff Books, Providence, RI
"Characterized with a clear love for hip-hop, Daniel Levin Becker's What's Good is a joyful and deep dive into the many wonders of hip-hop as an art form."—Bennard Fajardo, Politics and Prose Bookstore, Washington DC
"Exceptionally well written, impressively informed and informative, and an absorbing read from cover to cover, What's Good: Notes on Rap and Language will have particular interest for poets, literary critics, authors and lyricists. Thoughtful and thought-provoking, What's Good: Notes on Rap and Language is an extraordinary and highly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, college, and university library Contemporary Literary Criticism collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists."—Micah Andrew, Midwest Library Review
"What’s Good: Notes on Rap and Language is a studied, well-researched, critical, and loving exploration of the wit, humor, nuance, intelligence, meaning-making, truth telling, occasional hyperbolic absurdity, and craft of the MC and, in turn, Hip Hop culture. Becker approaches the topic with the care, competence, and appreciation of a lifelong Hip Hop aficionado and, as a result, What’s Good is a remarkable achievement that deserves a place in any Hip Hop studies collection."—Craig Arthur, Virginia Tech, College & Research Libraries
»
Galleys are available upon request.
We'll pursue the ABA's IndieNext campaign for February 2022
The national media campaign will focus on music and literature journals, blogs, podcasts, radio shows, and more.
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247,-
Paperback
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Galleys are available upon request.
We'll pursue the ABA's IndieNext campaign for February 2022
The national media campaign will focus on music and literature journals, blogs, podcasts, radio shows, and more. We'll pursue reviews, interviews, profiles, and excerpts.
We will plan an international media campaign given the worldwide popularity of hip hop and rap, as well as author's home base of Paris.
Author is from Chicago and a graduate of Yale University. We'll pursue regional media in Illinois, and alumni publications associated with the school.
We'll promote the book via its Soundcloud playlist, currently posted on the site.
The social media campaign includes promotion of the book on the author's own accounts, as well as City Lights.
Will pursue the production of short "music videos" for Instagram featuring commentary by the author.
Academic marketing: The book is of interest to academics, as well as lay readers, and we will pursue a variety of disciplines including English, Rhetoric, African American Studies, Music, and more.
BLURBS: We'll secure endorsements from key authors and critics writing about rap and hip hop. Will pursue Adam Bradley, Jericho Brown, Jeff Chang, Hua Hsu, Jesse McCarthy, Casey Jarman, Ismail Muhammad, Niela Orr, Christopher Weingarten, Anna Wiener, Matthew Zapruder, Hanif Abdurraqib, Tom Breihan, Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah, Jean Grae, Nelson George, Chinaka Hodge, Nick Hornby, Killer Mike, Ben Lerner, Imani Perry, Questlove, Tricia Rose, Shea Serrano, John Jeremiah Sullivan, Jason Tanz, Greg Tate, Jia Tolentino, Damon Young, and Damon Krukowski
We'll pursue the ABA's IndieNext campaign for February 2022
The national media campaign will focus on music and literature journals, blogs, podcasts, radio shows, and more. We'll pursue reviews, interviews, profiles, and excerpts.
We will plan an international media campaign given the worldwide popularity of hip hop and rap, as well as author's home base of Paris.
Author is from Chicago and a graduate of Yale University. We'll pursue regional media in Illinois, and alumni publications associated with the school.
We'll promote the book via its Soundcloud playlist, currently posted on the site.
The social media campaign includes promotion of the book on the author's own accounts, as well as City Lights.
Will pursue the production of short "music videos" for Instagram featuring commentary by the author.
Academic marketing: The book is of interest to academics, as well as lay readers, and we will pursue a variety of disciplines including English, Rhetoric, African American Studies, Music, and more.
BLURBS: We'll secure endorsements from key authors and critics writing about rap and hip hop. Will pursue Adam Bradley, Jericho Brown, Jeff Chang, Hua Hsu, Jesse McCarthy, Casey Jarman, Ismail Muhammad, Niela Orr, Christopher Weingarten, Anna Wiener, Matthew Zapruder, Hanif Abdurraqib, Tom Breihan, Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah, Jean Grae, Nelson George, Chinaka Hodge, Nick Hornby, Killer Mike, Ben Lerner, Imani Perry, Questlove, Tricia Rose, Shea Serrano, John Jeremiah Sullivan, Jason Tanz, Greg Tate, Jia Tolentino, Damon Young, and Damon Krukowski
Detaljer
- Forlag
- City Lights Books
- Innbinding
- Paperback
- Språk
- Engelsk
- ISBN
- 9780872868762
- Utgivelsesår
- 2022
- Format
- 20 x 18 cm
Anmeldelser
«
Praise for What's Good:
". . . this ode to rap is sure to surprise and delight. . . . Open to any bite-sized chapter and you're sure to find some tantalizing tidbit worth your time."—Grace Utomo, Rain Taxi Review of Books
"Written in short, savorably dense chapters, What's Good manages to be many kinds of books at the same time. It’s exhaustive — in its command of rap lyrics, in its ear for modulations in meaning and tone, in its ability to straddle the complexities of race and identity as they converge in rap . . . "—Aaron Peck, Los Angeles Review of Books
"A book filled with such love and thoughtfulness and fun has to come from a fan; who but a genuine devotee would use his introductory chapter to provide a deep reading of 50 Cent’s 'In Da Club?'"—Adam Ellsworth, The Arts Fuse
"Music aficionados and hip-hop lovers will savor every bit."—Publishers Weekly
"His book performs a unique and exciting rhetorical move, presenting itself as a sort of freestyle in its own right: short, punchy chapters that each focus on a single lyric."—ALTA
"There is so much I admire about Daniel Levin Becker's What's Good: how knowledgeable it is, how synoptic, how precise, persuasive, and risky; I love its savvy politics, its passion, its aching, tragic heart."—David Shields, author of Black Planet: Facing Race during an NBA Season
"All in all, What's Good is an enlightening, self-aware, and deeply satisfying look at the wondrous ways rap music uses language. It is absolutely essential reading on hip-hop—and one of the smartest books about music I've read."—Ian Port, author of The Birth of Loud: Leo Fender, Les Paul, and the Guitar-Pioneering Rivalry That Shaped Rock 'n' Roll
"What's Good: Notes on Rap and Language is a celebration of the artistry and craft of rap lyrics written in a way that only Daniel Levin Becker could, with his sharp eye for linguistic experimentation and his appreciation for the ways rappers have been able to turn English inside out. His fascination is contagious as he revels in the incredible vitality of this ever-morphing lexicon, from its rhymes to its slang to its creation of new modes of meaning. It's the book us lovers of music and language had no idea we needed."—Emma Ramadan, Riffraff Books, Providence, RI
"Characterized with a clear love for hip-hop, Daniel Levin Becker's What's Good is a joyful and deep dive into the many wonders of hip-hop as an art form."—Bennard Fajardo, Politics and Prose Bookstore, Washington DC
"Exceptionally well written, impressively informed and informative, and an absorbing read from cover to cover, What's Good: Notes on Rap and Language will have particular interest for poets, literary critics, authors and lyricists. Thoughtful and thought-provoking, What's Good: Notes on Rap and Language is an extraordinary and highly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, college, and university library Contemporary Literary Criticism collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists."—Micah Andrew, Midwest Library Review
"What’s Good: Notes on Rap and Language is a studied, well-researched, critical, and loving exploration of the wit, humor, nuance, intelligence, meaning-making, truth telling, occasional hyperbolic absurdity, and craft of the MC and, in turn, Hip Hop culture. Becker approaches the topic with the care, competence, and appreciation of a lifelong Hip Hop aficionado and, as a result, What’s Good is a remarkable achievement that deserves a place in any Hip Hop studies collection."—Craig Arthur, Virginia Tech, College & Research Libraries
»