THE ATTEMPT TO SUM UP ANY POPULAR CULTURE movement, particularly one as vital and volatile as hip hop, presents an inevitable set of problems. By the time this book is published-perhaps even by the time this introduction is written- the currently dominant artists and musical styles discussed here may already have been displaced by the unstoppable forces of hip—hop innovation. By definition, the great proportion of popular music is prone to disposability as trends both shape and follow the ever—changing tastes of the recordbuying public. Even by the blink—of—an—eye pace of pop music, however, the constant drive to develop new flavors that is the engine of hip—hop success is also responsible for the notoriously short shelf—life of rap artists and their signature styles. After all, the rap industry evolves so quickly that only seven years after Dr. Dre's now—classic 1992 album The Chronic laid down the blueprint for the West Coast.....
This is a free excerpt of 150 words. This section contains 3,303 words. This
article contains 49,897 words (approx. 166 pages at 300
words per page).
Read the rest of this Article with our Rap and Hip Hop Access Pass.
