Bomb the Suburbs: Graffiti, Race, Freight-Hopping and the Search for Hip Hop's Moral Center

by William Upski Wimsatt

Should graffiti writers organize to tear up the cities, or should they really be bombing the ?burbs? That’s the question posed by William Upski Wimsatt in his seminal foray into the world of hip-hop, rap, and street art, and the culture and politics that surround it. But to say that the book deals only with taggers and hip-hop is selling it short. Taking on a broad range of topics, including suburban sprawl, racial identity, and youth activism, Wimsatt (a graffiti artist himself) uses a kaleidoscopic approach that combines stories, cartoons, interviews, disses, parodies, and original research to challenge the suburban mindset wherever it’s suburbs and corporate headquarters, inner cities and housing projects, even in hip-hop itself. Funny, provocative, and painfully honest, Bomb the Suburbs encourages readers to expand their social boundaries and explore the vibrant, chaotic world that exists beyond their comfort zones.

Genres: Nonfiction, Music, Art, Race, Essays, Hip Hop, Politics

112 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1995

About the author

William Wimsatt, also known as Billy or Upski, is a social entrepreneur, author, political activist, and former graffiti artist. Wimsatt is founder of the League of Young Voters, co-founder of Generational Alliance and the author or editor of six books.

Wimsatt was born in Chicago, attended the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, received his High School diploma from Whitney M. Young Magnet High School, and dropped out of Oberlin College. His father is a philosophy of science professor at the University of Chicago (William C. Wimsatt). Wimsatt uses "Upski" as his middle name, but it is really the tag he used to write graffiti while growing up in Chicago.

Wimsatt's first book was Bomb The Suburbs (1994), a collection of essays celebrating urban life and critiquing the suburban mindset. The essay "We Use Words Like Mackadocious", previously printed in The Source (May 1993), celebrated and critiqued the wigger subculture. Wimsatt released No More Prisons (1999), referencing urbanism and the prison-industrial complex, in conjunction with an underground hip-hop album on Raptivism Records. Along with editing the books Another World is Possible (2001) and Future 500: Youth Organizing and Activism in the United States (2003), Wimsatt co-edited How To Get Stupid White Men Out Of Office (2004), a collection of stories from youth organizers around the world who won or swung elections. His latest book is Please Don't Bomb The Suburbs.

Wimsatt founded the League of Young Voters (2003) and co-founded the Generational Alliance (2005). As a philanthropic consultant, he coined the term "Cool Rich Kids" (1999) to refer to young progressive philanthropists associated with the organization Resource Generation. He has consulted for dozens of organizations including Rock The Vote, MoveOn.org, and Green For All. He is currently a Fellow at the Movement Strategy Center directing The Field 3.0 Project, a dialogue and documentation effort to drive innovation in field organizing. He also runs Vote Again 2010, to mobilize young voters in swing states.

Reviews

[ػᶈᶏϾӗ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the book on race that I always hoped existed. Wimsatt's essay "We Use Words Like Mackadocious" was definitely the best thing he's presented in this collection. The interviews and stories are all pretty great, illustrating, though somewhat haphazardly, the development of hip-hop and graffiti in Chicago through the late 80s and early 90s. Some of it seems scatterbrained, however, and if you're looking for some kind of definitive timeline of rap, you won't find it here! Still, yes, the values and the morals gradually come together - much like staring at a piece until you can make out the artist's name. I was only moderately disappointed by Wimsatt's "call to action" as such in the last couple chapters. He's right about needing to create a more proactive culture and take hip-hop back from the corporations that have co-opted it. Although this book could benefit from a little more structure and clarity, and I don't agree with all of Wimsatt's ideas or conclusions, it was nonetheless an important read that I would recommend to anyone even tangentially interested in any of the many topics it covers.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is definitely a book i can cite as one of my most formative.

so much so that i did some crazy things ... like 411-ed the author William Upski Wimsatt (I think he mentioned he lived in Chicago (?) and i actually called 411) and wrote his number inside the cover and looked at it for a long time and finally actually called his home and a middle-aged woman answered (his mother) and i asked for 'william' and she said 'junior or senior?' and i had no idea so i just said 'junior' and he wasn't home and she wanted to leave a message and i said no that's ok and hung up.

looking back at myself at that time i can laugh ... but at the time it opened up a world to me. i read it many times over, walked down the streets of new york (summer 2001?) brandishing its yellow cover. i felt cool when other "in-the-know" kids saw me reading it and stopped me to say they loved it too.

and the copy i had meant a lot to me. all my little highlights, his silly number inside the cover. someone borrowed it, i can't remember who, and i haven't seen it for years. where are you bomb the suburbs??!

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't want this to sound dismissive, but this book was really great when i was 20. I haven't picked it up since, but it was really inspiring at the time and made me feel like i could save the world or that i should at least be trying. It'd be interesting to see how it went over now; it almost feels like a photo from high school or something.

[m · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a fellow philanthropist, Upski really hits home with his progressive politics and focus on the urban hip hop generation. And as a youth worker & organizer in Boston, I find his words are captivating and engaging for young people. This is not your typical book. But that's why it's so good.

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

upski shows how books should be done: personal, messy, fearless.

[Andre Pope · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a great segue into my young adult life. A gift from an older friend, I found this book to be a view into a world that I wasn't yet familiar with, but wanted to know more.

[Ben Trentelman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Published originally in 1994, Bomb The Suburbs is a collection of hip-hop articles written to defend and define a culture that was transitioning out of what was then a means of political statement into what has become the watered down commercial version of hip-hop culture we see today. Wimsatt writes articulately and intelligently about a subject that he apparently knows a great deal. Wimsatt tackles racial issues, graph safety and method, and discusses hip-hop music as a genre. Motivated by suburban development, the blatant separation of classes, and an overall disregard for inner-city dwellers, Wimsatt calls for a strike on the suburban lifestyle. Not asking for the literal “bombing” of the suburban neighborhoods that surround the outskirts of any large city, “Bomb the suburbs means let’s celebrate the city…. Let’s stop fucking up the ghetto. Let’s start defending it and making it work for us.” Ben Trentelman

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really excited to read this book after seeing it referenced frequently in "Why the white kids love hip-hop." Sadly, it didn't live up to the hype. While Wimsatt occasionally veers into Tim Wise territory when he talks about race and his white privilege, he spends far too much time trying to earn street cred by recalling his time as a graffiti artist. We get it - you're white but you're down - and that's why you named your book bomb the suburbs. Your problem is that your writing rambles and you don't have an overarching point. Skip this well-intentioned mess and pick up "White like me" instead.

[Kony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Putting this back on the shelf for now because, despite being about interesting things, it's written in a critical voice that oozes contempt for all things mainstream and borders on whiney.

Right now, I'd rather read something constructively uplifting. Maybe I'll come back to this when/if I find myself in the mood to read smart-alecky disaffected social criticism. Or maybe I'll trade it in for cash at Half Price Books. We'll see.

[Harper · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was really influential when I read it, my freshman year of college. There's a whole chapter on how to deal with being a class priveleged radical. It prompted me to begin thinking about how to use the privelege I've grown up with, instead of living in denial about it.

[James Tracy]

I'm interested in re-reading this to see if it holds up a few years later.

[Skyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Read not for the facts but for the angles of thinking.”

[Vampire Who Baked · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun-serious read-- intensely personal and mostly honest (and transparent) about where the author is speaking from. Books about any subculture work best from the perspective of either fans/afficionados or actual practitioners, and Upski is sort of both. Having dabbled in graffiti, rap, journalism writing, activism and pretty much everything else, he has a first hand view (even if a rather specific perspective) of everything he writes about. And he has a fun voice-- the book is very entertaining, from start to finish.

As for the rest, this review sums up my thoughts perfectly: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...?

[Abbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is 3.5 stars. I feel like this study/deep dive could branch off into many many different concepts utilizing the subject of graffiti/culture of hip-hop as the vehicle to discuss these larger concepts. I'm not sure I love the author's writing or style, but the book was compelling and could spark discussions that could go on for days.

[Tom Elliott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting window into nascent hip-hop culture, especially Chicago hip-hop.

[Dave Cazeau · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was ok, nothing really hit in reading this for me...

[Sheehan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book at the time I read it, have purchased and given multiple copies of this book out to young ones coming up behind me. It is accessible, honest and definitely down for hip-hop culture.

[Jonny Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anyone with even a little interest in hip-hop culture needs to check this book out.

[Northpapers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sabbath Book number 9 for 2018

Wimsatt was only 22 when this ferocious underground book was published, which means he was writing the essays it contains when he was either in his teens or very early twenties. It is remarkable for its audacity, energy, and the author's fearless embodiment of the values he espouses. That energy also made it unmistakably the work of a kid.

It functions like a zine, careening from topic to topic, interspersing interviews, essays, opinions, poetry, and photography. The whole thing revolves around the hip-hop culture, which involves writing, rapping, spinning, and breaking. The titular topic is the question of where graffiti writers should focus their energy, if organization is even possible.

Among things to be admired in this book are the author's willingness to bluntly examine his own whiteness, question his right to participate in spaces created by and for people of color, offer suggestions for constructive transgression, and participate in the culture he examines.

His narratives about hitchhiking and exploring the graffiti scene in a new city reminded me of what I thought was cool when I was in my early twenties, and his explorations of racially charged spaces are relevant to my life right now.

There was little in this book to inform my own engagement with the political and cultural world of 2018, but it was refreshing and enjoyable to watch a restless, energetic mind encounter an interesting space and converse with it.

[Riegs · Rating 3 out of 5]

True story: I'm an ex-suburbanite happily living in Chicago - or as I like to think of it, a "rehabbed" suburbanite. I mean that quite literally: moving out of the suburbs was like attending rehab, in that I had to detoxify myself of ugly suburban ignorance tied to classism and white privilege. So when I saw a book entitled "Bomb the Suburbs", I was all about that shit: "YES, PLEASE.[fistpump]" Alas, fellow Chicagoan William "Upski" Wimsatt was really referring to bombing as in graffiti-bombing.

Okay, cool, I thought, but who is Upski? Turns out he's a DIY journalist and political activist from my hometown, which means I immediately have love for him. But, he also happens to be white. I approached this book with some hesitation because of this: how can a white person write about hip-hop? (That, and I really do know absolutely nothing about hip-hop itself.) Upski never hides his whiteness though - he remains an unapologetic and respectful observer of urban culture. He also uses his unique position to make some very solid observations about how graffiti and hip-hop become diluted and propagated by suburbanites. He certainly describes well how white privilege has infiltrated and corporatized something owned and created DIY by urban communities.

But why only three stars? Merely describing just wasn't enough for me. I felt he could've done more. But I could see a lot of inklings of good observations and ideas that weren't followed through upon. Perhaps at the time of publication, Upski wasn't yet mature enough to tackle the topics he brings up. Or maybe I didn't get it. Maybe I'm the wrong audience for this book - even though I'm a librarian in a Chicago public school, 100% African American and low-income. I could see how there's a lapse in experience and knowledge for me to fully appreciate this book. But still, I want to peruse more of his work, to see how these ideas are delved into.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't think I got the whole political activism and the empowerment of youth that has been getting so much hipe these days until I read this book.

...And this was the book "Upski" wrote when he was only 20. He even describes how he has changed since then (in an interview at the end of the book) by saying: "So my whole naive ass got a little education about how things actually work and what it takes to actually change things." This is what is so great about this author. Even in his own interview, he was inspecting himself and describing some of the thoughts I was having while reading his book. He says: "The thing that frustrated me about Bomb the Suburbs was that I talked all this shit, I met all these people, I got all these letter from people saying how inspired they were. And then what? And then nothing happened." My thought exactly! How can we resolve the disparity between inspiration and practical change! This guy thinks like me!

It is soooo refreshing to read words by someone so thoughtful. Especially from someone who is simultaneously confident and self assured enough to think they can write a book and actually make a difference. None of the snoodiness of a stiff intellectual, and none of the hypocrisy or ignorance of a self-absorbed street kid (well maybe a little hypocrisy, but he admits to that).

Besides, this guy is a really cool wigger! And the book has some interesting stories and interviews.

I'm definitely going to read his other books! I give this book only 4 stars because I assume his other books will be even better!

[Ted · Rating 3 out of 5]

2008/09/06: About halfway through it, but sat it aside recently to read "In Search of Captain Zero" first.
Some pretty insightful/important conclusions/observances mixed in with some silly/inaccurate/useless/misdirected b.s.
Ranges from funny/interesting/entertaining to dry/boring.

2008/10/29 Picked it back up yesterday and finished it. It was sometimes fun, usually interesting, though sometimes neither.
Is it important to read? I don't know.
I suppose that if nothing else, it is important in the respect that it gets you thinking about some issues that Upski discusses, even if what he's saying about the issues is kinda nonsensical and/or pointless.
Note: though there is plenty that Upski says that does make sense and/or have a point, some of his stuff seemingly has neither.

[Mafalda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been a fan of rap music for a long time, identifying mostly with the underground artists. It was cool to have this book that introduced me to a lot of facts that were unknown to me before, not only about rap music, but about the whole hip hop movement itself which is made of the emcee, dj, graffiti and break dance.

I don't try to hide the fact that I have a special connection to rap music, but reading this book really opened my horizons to certain aspects such as the whole hip hop movement, which I had read about before not too often and listened to from mostly the lovely oldies. This cleared some misconceptions, and made me debate the integrity of some rappers that I would take as unquestionable and "wholly". A great read.

[Erhardt Graeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating walk through the history of Chicago's hip-hop scene by the simultaneous outsider and insider, Billy Wimsatt. Billy is the White kid who was "down" with all the Black hip-hop pioneers in Chicago and developed into an accomplished Graffiti writer and later organizer. His book is a collection of his published essays on hip-hop, alongside sociological and historical snapshots in the form of personal tours and intimate interviews. It's a unique book in its construction and fascinating in its subtly growing political agenda. The provocative title is meant to draw you in but also call you to action; Billy wants to start a revolution built on the principles that he sees hip-hop stand for, principles that are about social change and social justice. Fun and inspiring.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember really liking this when I read it. I didn't entirely trust the author though. It seems to me quite likely that WUW is really, really annoying in real life. Still, it thrilled me at the time because it was energetic and hopeful and decidedly NOT theory. It demonstrates resistance as action -- and action is not the once a year participation in a protest, but the choices you make on a daily level. It's about community and creativity and integrity... that is, if I'm remembering correctly.

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was published in 2001? I could swear I read it before that, but maybe I'm wrong. This isn't the kind of book you would be likely to use for reference. It's very opinionated and doesn't really rely on anything other than the views of the author. That said, it's very entertaining and I suspect in the long run might be considered a valuable sample of millennial American urban culture. As the title implies the book relies somewhat on stereotypes, suggesting that the enlightened urban mixing pot needs to 'bomb' the bland, whitebread suburbs with knowledge.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

i liked this book. i read it because i thought it would focus on graffiti, which i'm really into right now. but graffiti was just a small part of the discussion. the book was really about the hip hop culture and movement in the early 90s. i like that wimsatt wrote the book for a hip hop audience (which doesn't include me). even still, i think i'm a little too old to be inspired by wimsatt's idealism. i should have read this book 10 years ago.

[Dave Analog · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book, and having lived in Chicago my whole life and been a graf writer in my younger days i cant totally relate to this book. Especially when he names certain spots that dont even exist anymore. This book totally made me want to go out bombing again. It really gives you a great understanding of the whole graf culture, for those that dont know it and just think its about being a delinquent.

[Shenanitims · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book opened my mind to a lot of ideas. Such as the idea of how to be successful while still remaining true to yourself. So that when my college guidance counselor told me I could either take a bunch of easy classes to finish out my credit requirement, or complete a Minor, I chose a Minor. One that I had no desire to learn: Business. But I figured the world could use a(nother) social liberal who understands how (big) money works.

[Patrick Quinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually met upski in 93- 94 at my friends store in Pittsburgh, he was hitchhiking and wanted to see the worst ghetto. We told him to go to Homewood thinking we were smartasses. I didn't read the book then but twenty years later I really wish I did. A lot of the race stuff was interesting and the future of hop- hop sucking has come true. At least the current state of rap. His graffiti stories are what I wish id've read then.