Signifying Rappers

David Foster Wallace was a brilliant writer -- but his and Costello's Signifying Rappers is filled with inaccuracies and embarrassing omissions -- take for instance the long discussion of a "mysterious" song they heard on the radio that they call "The Honey Child" and talk about as though it were rare and impossible to ever track down -- but which anyone who knew the music would instantly recognize as Ice-T's "The Hunted Child." As a scholar of Hip-hop for more than 20 years, I steer people away from this unreliable book and to more solid ground, such as David Toop or Tricia Rose. Still fun as a period piece, though!

Although Rap Music originated in myriad ways, the authors of this little sampler maintain that 1980s-era Reagan-sized greed and conspicuous consumption have more claim on Rap's focus and raison than anything else.

Which, if you think about it, makes sense. Think of "Dallas" and "Falcon Crest" and "Knot's Landing" and "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous", et cetera ad nauseam, and then think of rap's conspicuous "bling" and large golden pendant necklaces with signifiers, and even larger timepieces worn with large gold chains about the neck -- think of all of these odious displays of wealth as a kind of post-modern response by Black America to the aforementioned White America's corporate and televisual equivalent same.

The authors, however, show more explain this in far better (and betimes funnier) prose. The little sampler's only about 137 pages; what have you got to lose. Buy and consume. Learn. Never hear rap with the same ears ever again. show less

This is a very wordy book written by a couple of late 20-year-olds who possess great knowledge of the English language and of hip-hop. This is written in the late 1980s, and as such, it's a great testament of both culture and music of the day, in the USA.

The authors collaborated on the whole, but each chapter is written individually.

All in all: surgical precision when it comes to the authors' use of grammar and words, but at times the intellectual level of the book is its biggest downfall. "Stoopid fresh" isn't exactly it, when I got the feeling that this book was partly written as an intellectual exercise to impress peers, rather than to explain hip-hop and rap (which I don't hold as synonymous, despite the authors wishing to do show more so).

However, it does contain a lot of great insight into hip-hop, displaying it as "CNN for black people", to paraphrase Chuck D., also as the Shakespearian poetry of the now - and, indeed, during the 1980s. show less

One of the most interesting things about this nonfiction book is that it was written during the early years of rap music as the industry was just beginning to expand into a formidable genre. It's almost like reading the biography of an an established and successful individual to learn about the person's early years. Granted, this is the insight of one individual, but that person is David Foster Wallace who has written some excellent commentary on other aspects of American culture. The essays in this book are similar to others he's written and certainly worth reading, especially if you're a fan of DFW's work, which I am.

Whether or not you listen to rap music, a number of DFW's point hold true across the arts — and these points make the show more book worth reading. For example, my favorite quote from the book: "Ironies abound,of course, as ironies must when cash and art do lunch."

Recommended for fans of DFW or individuals who enjoy art commentaries, in general. show less

Kind of meh. It was neat to see the early sort of journalistic writing, but I'm not sure it's really a successful book beyond that. Mostly suitable for DFW completists or the Costello-curious, I think.

1990 erstmals veröffentlicht und somit schon 25 Jahre alt. Aufgrund der geänderten Verhältnisse heutzutage schlecht gealtert, zu dem muss man schon fit im amerikanischen Old School Rap sein, um sich zuhause zu fühlen. Fühlt sich ein bißchen nach Sell-Out des ohne Zweifel grandiosen David Foster Wallace an.

1990 erstmals veröffentlicht und somit schon 25 Jahre alt. Aufgrund der geänderten Verhältnisse heutzutage schlecht gealtert, zu dem muss man schon fit im amerikanischen Old School Rap sein, um sich zuhause zu fühlen. Fühlt sich ein bißchen nach Sell-Out des ohne Zweifel grandiosen David Foster Wallace an.