September 2021
Greenwood
| Pages |
275 |
| Volumes |
1 |
| Size |
6 1/8x9 1/4 |
| Topics |
Popular Culture/Music and Performing Arts |
| |
The Arts/General |
Listen to Hip Hop! Exploring a Musical Genre provides an overview of hip-hop music for scholars and fans of the genre, with a focus on 50 defining artists, songs, and albums.
Listen to Hip Hop! Exploring a Musical Genre explores non-rap hip hop music, and as such it serves as a compliment to Listen to Rap! Exploring a Musical Genre (Greenwood Press, Anthony J. Fonseca, 2019), which discussed at length 50 must-hear rap artists, albums, and songs. This book aims to provide a close listening/reading of a diverse set of songs and lyrics by a variety of artists who represent different styles outside of rap music.
Most entries focus on specific songs, carefully analyzing and deconstructing musical elements, discussing their sound, and paying close attention to instrumentation and production values—including sampling, a staple of rap and an element used in some hip hop dance songs. Though some of the artists included may be normally associated with other musical genres and use hip hop elements sparingly, those in this book have achieved iconic status. Finally, sections on the background and history of hip hop, hip hop's impact on popular culture, and the legacy of hip hop provide context through which readers can approach the entries.
Features
- Provides readers with a history of non-rap hip hop music
- Offers critical analysis of 50 must-hear songs, albums, and musicians that define the genre
- Explores both the musical and lyrical dimensions of hip hop music
- Discusses the impact on popular culture as well as the legacy of hip hop
- Series Description
Exploring Musical Genres
Each book in this genre-and performance group-based collection provides the reader with background information on a specific musical genre, critical analyses of significant examples from the genre, and a discography and analysis of must-hear examples. Although written by scholars, the series is for the lay reader and general music fan.
- Author Info
-
Anthony J. Fonseca is library director and adjunct associate professor of humanities at Elms College, where he teaches rock-and-roll history, rap music, and rap lyrics as text. As a composer, songwriter, music engineer, and multi-instrumentalist for Dapper Kitty Music in Northampton, Massachusetts, he co-produces indie, progressive, and hard rock and electronica, jazz, traditional covers, incidental music, spoken word, and poetry with music sound recordings. As a scholar, Fonseca specializes in popular music (vampire-related music and hip hop) and film music (horror film). His books include Hip Hop around the World: An Encyclopedia and The Encyclopedia of Musicians and Bands on Film.
Melissa Ursula Dawn Goldsmith is a visiting lecturer/associate professor in the music department and College of Graduate and Continuing Education at Westfield State University. She is author of Listen to Classic Rock!: Exploring a Musical Genre. In 2018, her online music appreciation course won a Massachusetts Courses of Distinction Award. A multi-instrumentalist, she also composes and produces music with Dapper Kitty Music.