Some of the things I found most interesting were who Nelson attributed the origins of hip-hop to; his observations on the ‘survival and growth of hip hop’ at its earliest stages and how and who funded it and made it ‘big business’; his account of ‘big business’ itself in hip-hop and the music industry; the key players (from all sides) involved through hip hop’s history (Hip Hop America was first published in 199
; his regards of the use of technology in hip-hop (“is sampling an extension of the African-American tradition? Yes and no…”); his account of Russell Simons and Def Jam and his comparisons of Simons to Sammy Davis Jr.; his account of Gangsta-rap; the examination of the east-coast – west-coast ‘phenomenon’; hip-hop style and fashion; his observations on women in hip hop; his account of Sista Souljah; his account of C. Dolores; the history behind Source and Vibe; the ‘real’ Tommy Hillfiger story; and lots more…Nelson George has a lot of insight with regards to the historical events he talks about as he was ‘involved’ during the time when a lot of these things were happening. He’s definitely opinionated, and knowledgeable on a lot of topics he discusses.
I think about music and how it affects everyone in a different way. In “One Taste” – Ken Wilber talks about how different types (genre’s) of music tend to touch on different chakra’s (“rock music…hits the lower charkas (2-3, sex and power) – rap music is often street survival music (charka 1) the best of jazz (say, Charlie Parker, Miles, Wynton) is 3 to 4…the great romantic composers are quintessential 4th charka, all heart emotion…Bach, Mozart and later Beethoven push into 5th and 6th ”). This makes me think about people’s ability to appreciate different types of music. Then I think about hip hop (as discussed by Nelson George in his book) and how it’s continually morphing and evolving – and how now, more than ever – whether it be through sampling or use of actual instruments – the music of hip-hop has diversified so much. Then there’s the lyrical aspect: being able to speak in verse – depending on the individual or group’s understanding and ablility – this can make hip-hop a very powerful tool and it is. I think about songs like O.C’s “Born to Live”, so many Mos Def songs, Jeru, Tribe and countless others. And now of course, there’s K-OS – a most righteous, talented brother with wisdom and creative ability on tap – with the mic as his light saber, he sings the words that I love and I savour, and I take it all to heart !
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