Young, Black, Rich and Famous: The Rise of the NBA, The Hip Hop Invasion and the Transformation of American Culture

by Todd Boyd

In this controversial look at the impact of cutting-edge black urban culture on contemporary America, Dr. Todd Boyd, the man CNN deemed “the hip-hop professor,” uses the intertwining worlds of basketball and hip hop as a powerful metaphor for exploring the larger themes of race, class, and identity.

In the 1970s, as a direct result of both the civil rights and the black power movements, black popular culture became a visible, influential presence in mainstream film, television, music, and sports. Basketball, in particular, reflected the changing landscape. The NBA came to be dominated by young black men whose potent combination of fame and wealth, often coupled with a defiance of white mores, profoundly disrupted the status quo. At the same time, hip hop music was emerging from the streets of New York City. An expression of and a response to urban conditions, it served as a way of being heard when many other forces attempted to suffocate the black voice. It, too, aroused strong reactions.

In Young, Black, Rich and Famous , Todd Boyd chronicles how basketball and hip hop have gone from being reviled by the American mainstream to being embraced and imitated globally. For young black men, he argues, they represent a new version of the American dream, one that embodies the hopes and desires of those excluded from the original version. Shedding light on both perceptions and reality, Boyd shows that the NBA has been at the forefront of recognizing and incorporating cultural shifts—from the initial image of 1970s basketball players as overpaid black drug addicts, to Michael Jordan’s spectacular rise as a universally admired icon, to the 1990s, when the hip hop aesthetic (for example, Allen Iverson’s cornrows, multiple tattoos, and defiant, in-your-face attitude) appeared on the basketball court. Hip hop lyrics, with their emphasis on “keepin’ it real” and marked by a colossal indifference to mainstream taste, became an equally powerful influence on young black men. These two influences have created a brand-new, brand-name generation that refuses to assimilate but is nonetheless an important part of mainstream American culture.

A thought-provoking examination of basketball and music—“the two rarefied spaces where the most fundamental elements of blackness are articulated and played out, both internally and for the masses”— Young, Black, Rich and Famous brilliantly captures a culture and a sensibility that are at once unique, influential, and sometimes intimidating to so many.

Genres: Sports, Nonfiction, Basketball, History, Race, Hip Hop

184 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Jordan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Slapdash, seemingly un-researched, rambling, unfocused, repetitive. Contains basic factual errors - the year NC State won the NCAA championship for instance. He tells a completely unremarkable anecdote about Michael Jordan that serves no purpose other than to demonstrate that he met Michael Jordan - and, to boot, it undercuts his supposed disdain for sycophancy. It has no coherent structure to speak of. It’s about hip-hop only insofar as Dr. Boyd quotes rap lyrics at the end of paragraphs. Lingers far too much on college basketball - a great subject, but not the one advertised. A tremendous waste of a great concept.

[Yossi Khebzou · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m an avid fan of basketball and I pretty much like hip-hop, so no surprise in why I was very excited about reading this book and enjoyed most of it. When talking sports, I’ve always said, you also talk about social problems. The Notorious P.H.D. Todd Boyd makes that the focus if Young, Black, Rich and Famous. I found fascinating the role of basketball in Black and American culture, as well as his dissertation about Detroit as the ultimate Black City and how the Pistons embraced that culture, his narration of the Michael Jordan era, the shift in culture that Allen Iverson and Kobe Bryant represented and mainly, the exploration and analysis about what being Black means to the NBA. While I do agree with some of his conclusions (there are a lot of double standards in the way Black athletes are treated: people seem to care that they accumulate money at a young age and they don’t care about the billionaire owners, they see them as a bunch of gangsters, the “role model” is just a figure to appeal a predominantly White population, etc.) , I have a couple of concerns with this book: Firstly, the author implies that the Celtics were a racist franchise because they drafted Larry Bird and Kevin McHale in the 80s without citing anything or anybody to back it up. Secondly, towards the end of the book (p. 182), Boyd makes a bold comparison between John Stockton wearing short shorts in the early 2000s and carrying a Confederate flag. He literally says “Stockton’s shorts are like basketball’s version of the Confederate flag; an attempt to hold on to an antiquated sense of the NBA in spite of the obvious changes that abound.” As far as I know, short shorts are not considered a hate symbol and no Black in America has been killed due to the presence of short shorts.

To sum up, in my opinion this book is good an enlightening on the relationship between Hip Hop culture, race and basketball but I’d like to see the author backing up some of its claims.

[Leo Bownas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enlightening read on how young black people are perceived and only accepted in America if they are the "right kind of black". Nails the concept of America wanting and loving their culture but not wanting or loving them.

[Destanye B. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Initial Thoughts: I was really excited to read this book after seeing the author in documentaries, “The Last Dance” and “Can We Talk About Cosby.” I especially was excited when I saw that he was a professor at USC, but the book DID NOT MEET my expectations. See my pros and cons below.

++++++++++++++++SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Pros
- it’s interesting to think about parallels between basketball and hip hop. As a lover of both and a person who works in marketing this books subject matter grabbed my attention.



Cons
- I don’t thin that Dr. Boyd proved thesis of this book. That hip hop influenced basketball. Thinking he would talk about the direct correlation between hip hop and basketball players he deemed a style of play “street ball” as hip hop. To me that was a stretch. He was bringing up stories that had nothing to do with hip hop all. When he did make a connection it —- was done very sparsely which made me think he didn’t have enough to make a real argument of this correlation.

- To me using a players playing style, on court demeanor, and street pedigree does not make them hip hop. Young black and famous yes hip hop no. Urban yes hip hop no. It was a different book than what I expected. I guess I was expecting “The Tanning of America” but only speaking on the sports aspects. Like when Jordan signed with Nike and Spike Lee made his commercials (to be fair he did use this example).

This book was completely opinion based. I thought I was going to have quotes and real hard facts but this felt like some guy taking his basketball knowledge and making his own assumptions.

-Though this book was short it read long I was so ready to be done with it. As a person who loves basketball and football this book just did not get me enthralled.

- I also think this book had to be read during a specific time frame. Reading this after documentaries and actual players weighing in on the past makes this book even more assumptions and opinions than facts.


All in all I really wasn’t a fan and kinda disappointed that I bought it. Might give this one to the reading library! Shame on it all.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I came to this book after watching the author on The Last Dance and We Need to Talk About Cosby documentaries—he has really interesting insights! I liked that this book was a pretty comprehensive history on how basketball shifted from being a white sport to being culturally a black sport and the layers of complications there—pay, dress, stereotypes, and more. I do wish there had been footnotes and sources. It stops around 2003 and I wonder if the thesis holds as well with subsequent developments? Food for thought. 3.5 stars.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was excited about this book, but it reads like a long form Tumblr entry, rather than anything based on fact. I always flip to the bibliography when I start a new book, and this book didn't have one, which was a bad way to start.

Would love to see a scholar put out a similarly motivated book with an academic press that has higher standards for their manuscripts. Also: a peer review process.

[Philippe · Rating 4 out of 5]

While it is a compelling read - especially for fans of basketball - and moves along at a decent pace, there is a certain lack of coherence to this book. It lacks an arc, an overriding structure with which the points contained within (and there are many and they are important) would have held more weight. Instead, it rambles a little too much and comes off as repetitive. Good read though.

[Florian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don’t know, didn’t particularly like it. I’m thankful to the author for giving me insight into some new ways of thinking about and seeing things. The book lacks structure, though, and the arguments made don’t always make total sense or just don’t seem to go anywhere.

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Learned about a time period in the NBA that I didn’t know much about. Interesting to see the connections between the growth of hip hop and the shifts in the league.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect to read after watching The Last Dance about Michael Jordan and with the current social justice movement taking center court. Well written but somewhat dated.

[ANDREWKHAN · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was inspired to read this after watching ESPN'S The Last Dance. Boyd gave me deep insight into the NBA'S long and complicated history and its relationship with the players.

[Anne]

This one put a lot of puzzle pieces together for me. I kind of forgot I had grown up in basketball country in the 70s and 80s, under the Bobby Knight shadow, watching basketball probably once a week for a decade of my life. I hadn't put the pieces together of the blackification of basketball and the critiques about "run and gun style"--meaning fast and hyper-individual, and "non-team-playing"--I heard from people back home. These connections put a whole different spin on everything, so to speak.

[Mattmiller · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was written towards the beginning of the 2000s and it seeks to give context to the cultural situation the NBA found itself in at that time. The author gives an interesting, if sometimes too general, backstory on how a specific expression of African-American culture came to be predominant in the league. The author is African-American and very self-consciously tries to write with the voice of someone with a "street" sensibility and a PhD. This can be awkward.