Buppies, B-Boys, Baps & Bohos: Notes on Post-Soul Black Culture

by Nelson George

An insightful, dead-on accurate look at Black American life--the street culture, city life, music, movies, sports, politics, and fashions--from the author of The Death of Rhythm & Blues and Elevating the Game. "An essential document and decoding tool".--People. Photos.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, African American, Hip Hop

352 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 1992

About the author

Nelson George is an author, filmmaker, television producer, and critic with a long career in analyzing and presenting the diverse elements of African-American culture.

Queen Latifah won the Golden Globe for playing the lead in his directorial debut, the HBO movie 'Life Support'. The critically acclaimed drama looked at the effects of HIV on a troubled black family in his native Brooklyn, New York. He recently co-edited, with Alan Leeds, 'The James Brown Reader (Plume)', a collection of previously published articles about the Godfather of Soul that date as far back the late '50s. Plume published the book in May '08.

He is an executive producer on two returning cable shows: the third season of BET's American Gangster and the fifth airing of VH1's Hip Hop Honors. George is the executive producer of the Chris Rock hosted feature documentary, Good Hair, a look at hair weaves, relaxers and the international black hair economy that's premiering at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.


Nelson George serves as host of Soul Cities, a travel show that debuted in November 2008. on VH1 Soul. Nelson visited Los Angeles, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Memphis, New Orleans and the Bay Area. He eats food, visits historic sites, and hears lots of music. LaBelle, Robin Thicke, Babyface, Rafael Saadiq, Angie Stone and Jazmine Sullivan are among the many artists who talked with Nelson and perform. The second season starts shooting in Spring 2009.

Throughout the '80s and '90s George was an columnist for Billboard magazine and the Village Voice newspaper, work that led him to write a series of award winning black music histories: 'Where Did Our Love Go: The Rise and Fall of the Motown Sound'; 'The Death of Rythm & Blues'; and 'Hip Hop America'. He won a Grammy for his contribution to the linear notes package on the James Brown 'Star Time' boxed set. George co-wrote 'Life and Def', the autobiography of his old friend Russell Simmons. He's also had a career writing fiction, including the bestselling 'One Woman Short', and the story, 'It's Never Too Late in New York', which has been in several anthologies of erotica.

As a screenwriter George co-wrote 'Strictly Business', which starred Halle Berry, and 'CB4', a vehicle for Chris Rock. His work with Rock led to his involvement with 'The Chris Rock Show', an Emmy award winning HBO late night series. He was an executive producer of Jim McKay's film, 'Everyday People', which premiered at the Sundance festival, and Todd Williams' Peabody award winning documentary 'The N Word'. In 2009 Viking will publish his memoir, 'City Kid', a look at the connections between childhood in Brooklyn and his adult career in Manhattan, Los Angeles and Detroit.

Reviews

[Ronald Wilcox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although dated since it was first published in 1993, this is a very good collection of articles or essays by the author, most published the Village Voice in the late 80'a and early 90's. George discusses in great detail the stories behind many of the main black singers and rappers from the time period, some being fascinating reading. I found his most interesting essays though to be about his life in New York rather than the essays about others' lives. For those who want to learn a lot more about the initial development of rap this is also a great resource.

[Nick Spacek · Rating 4 out of 5]

solid collection of george's columns over the course of the 1980s. the selections on music bring back a time of excellent new jack swingers, early hip-hop stars, and soul icons. the political or social commentary is, sadly, still frighteningly relevant today. the author's voice and verve is absolutely wonderful and tinged with humor, and it was a damned shame to have to close the book.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always enjoy Nelson George, and this volume--which collects pieces he wrote mostly for The Village Voice in the late 80s and early 90s--definitely evokes African American music and American race politics tangibly. The period is an intriguing but forgotten one--that is, that murky historical epoch between Martin Luther King, Jr. and Barack Obama--and George does a good job of singling out in the moment what were questions of concern regarding the dilution of African American musical culture amid a broader integrationist wave, and, more pressingly, the ways that systemic racism and white supremacy continued to be malignancies in American life despite the visible gains of the Civil Rights Movement. If I have any complaint, it's with the length. There's a lot that might have been pruned here, so as not to take away from the power of the best parts.

[Tambay]

Ho hum articles from Nelson George.

[Reggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Former R&B Editor is the author of several novels and nonfiction works on African American experiences.

[Shila Iris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Got this book for $1 at a book sale at East Cleveland Public Library. It was well worth the dollar! I definitely got a deal. It is old, but relevant in the life of a poet, writer, researcher, etc.