Prophets of the Hood: Politics and Poetics in Hip Hop

by Imani Perry

At once the most lucrative, popular, and culturally oppositional musical force in the United States, hip hop demands the kind of interpretation Imani Perry provides criticism engaged with this vibrant musical form on its own terms. A scholar and a fan, Perry considers the art, politics, and culture of hip hop through an analysis of song lyrics, the words of the prophets of the hood. Recognizing prevailing characterizations of hip hop as a transnational musical form, Perry advances a powerful argument that hip hop is first and foremost black American music. At the same time, she contends that many studies have shortchanged the aesthetic value of rap by attributing its form and content primarily to socioeconomic factors. Her innovative analysis revels in the artistry of hip hop, revealing it as an art of innovation, not deprivation.Perry offers detailed readings of the lyrics of many hip hop artists, including Ice Cube, Public Enemy, De La Soul, krs-One, OutKast, Sean “Puffy” Combs, Tupac Shakur, Lil’ Kim, Biggie Smalls, Nas, Method Man, and Lauryn Hill. She focuses on the cultural foundations of the music and on the form and narrative features of the songs—the call and response, the reliance on the break, the use of metaphor, and the recurring figures of the trickster and the outlaw. Perry also provides complex considerations of hip hop’s association with crime, violence, and misogyny. She shows that while its message may be disconcerting, rap often expresses brilliant insights about existence in a society mired in difficult racial and gender politics. Hip hop, she suggests, airs a much wider, more troubling range of black experience than was projected during the civil rights era. It provides a unique public space where the sacred and the profane impulses within African American culture unite.

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

240 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 2004

About the author

Imani Perry, a professor of African American studies at Princeton, first appeared in print at age 3 in the Birmingham (Alabama) News in a photo of her and her parents at a protest against police brutality. She has published widely on topics ranging from racial inequality to hip-hop and is active across various media. She earned a Ph.D. from Harvard University, a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a bachelor's degree from Yale University.

(from http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/ar...)

Reviews

[Natalie S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Prophets of the Hood, Imani Perry discusses critiques of hip hop--the music, the artists, the culture. The project of the book is similar to Tricia Rose's The Hip Hop Wars, but I felt Imani Perry took a more nuanced approach by closely examining hip hop's history and composition. Both eventually reach the same conclusions: hip hop is not inherently problematic, but the current conditions of media consumption drive its violence/misogyny/racism.

A few things make this book particularly excellent. First, Perry approaches hip hop as an art form that has been used as a social statement, not a social statement that happens to be an art form. This is important for hip hop studies, because both conceptions of hip hop place different obligations on the artists vs. the production companies and audiences. This approach could easily fall into the trap of failing to hold artists responsible for their message; instead (and the second reason this book is worth reading), Perry emphasizes the multiplicity of factors that work to shape an artist's message. An engaging discussion of signifyin'--saying something by saying something else--that is prevalent in hip hop sets this book apart from other works.

Lastly, Perry writes well. Books about hip hop are often written by fans-turned-harsh-critics or race/gender scholars who never really loved hip hop (which is understandable: the genre has frequently been a mess). But Perry is a fan, a critic, and most importantly, an optimist. She refuses to shortchange rap, but she also refuses to ignore its problems.

Probably the best text on hip hop I've read so far, and I would recommend it to just about anyone.

[Crystal Belle · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second half of the book was much better than the first, with interesting analysis of mainstream and underground hip-hop songs. I did enjoy the writing that focused on the ideological framework of hip-hop music and culture and its connection to race, class and gender. My issue with this book is that some of the lyrics were misquoted! If you are a hip-hop head, you will see what I'm talking about. Lastly, it really annoyed me that Perry spends 35 pages explaining why hip-hop is a "black American" musical form, and literally disconnects it from Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America. Seriously?! I thought that was a very "divide and conquer" mentality and antithetical to the true origins of hip-hop which is certainly tied to West Africa. Elements of Caribbean music and culture can also be found interspersed throughout hip-hop music. Yes, hip-hop was born in the US, but that does not take away from the contributions of those who are not "black Americans."

[Elliot · Rating 5 out of 5]

my hs english teacher who Saw Something In Me gave this to me as a graduation present, and I only just now got around to reading it. thank you, ms halsey, for everything and, now, this book.

this is an incredibly generous work, one that draws from the right sources and methods at the right time — some critical theory here, lived experience there, lyrics here, light historical materialism there. it all coalesces into a work at once nuanced and clear. this book is something that lots of academic work hopes to be: the best, most critical, most generous love letter to the subject the author could ever hope to write.

[Jessica Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an excellent primer for anyone who wants to learn about hip hop and is looking for a place to start. A colleague invited me to teach a (100 level, one credit) class with her on hip hop. She supplied the playlist and a life-long love of hip hop. I am contributing my knowledge of feminist, critical race, and queer politics to the conversation of the course. This book was exactly what I needed to be able to consider hip hop seriously as a genre. Reading the book set me up to learn alongside my colleague while teaching this course!

[Beverlee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to love Prophets of the Hood: Politics and Poetics in Hip Hop. While I can't say that I dislike it, this book isn't quite a classic for me. It's weird to read a book on hip-hop that is presented in an academic framework, not because it's not worthy of discussion more so because it seems antithetical to what hip-hop represents. This work really digs deep into evaluating different aspects of hip-hop beginning with its origins and identity, and as an art form. The first four chapters were a challenge for me to get through because I honestly don’t think I was prepared to really think about what hip-hop is beyond being a fan. This is the music of my childhood that grew up and apart from me as I got older. Yet I still listen to the music of my youth, remembering not only songs but clothing, hair styles, and language. Perry is successful in tying hip-hop to American culture as it’s now popular for better or worse. 3 stars because I think it’s valuable and important, yet I’m not sure if the information presented is one that is easily accessible to all readers. There were quite a few misquotes with lyrics, something that can easily be verified by either the liner notes of the CD (published in 2004 when CDs were a thing) or online.

What made me think-

“To listen to hip hop is to enter a world of complexity and contradiction. In the midst of a consumer culture that glorifies violence and eschews intellectualism, hip hop has spewed American vices on the airwaves and aggressively introduced progressive politics, compelling artistic expression, emotion, and beauty into popular culture” (2).

“Hip hop nourishes by offering community membership that entails a body of cultural knowledge, yet it also nourishes by offering a counterhegemonic authority and subjectivity to the force of white supremacy in American culture in the form of the MC” (44).

“Hip hop embraces the outlaw. Outlaw status is conferred only metaphorically through lawbreaking, but on a deeper, more symbolic level, it is achieved through a position of resistance to the confines of status quo existence” (102).

“We support the status quo in order to succeed within it, despite our better judgment” (186).

Plan moving forward-continue reading books on hip hop to increase my understanding. It’s a good starting point.

[Theon Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imani Perry powerfully unpacks the particulars of hip-hop music in a well-researched, yet accessible manner. She discusses issues such as capitalism, culture, gender, colonialism, and race as they relate to the emergence and evolution of hip-hop. While her work celebrates the achievements of hip-hop as a protest genre, she offers critical assessments of hypocritical aspects of the genre, including the hypersexualized images of women that frequently dominate contemporary music videos. Perhaps the most important take-away from this read is her description of hip-hop as "local music." She recognizes the role of the genre in poor black and Latino communities. Hip-hop, in her opinion, must continue to give voice to the suffering of these communities that American society refuses to acknowledge.

[Matt Sautman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perry's work here is fascinating. Although this book was published in 2004, Perry's work feels incredibly fresh. Her interrogation of hip hop is largely oriented towards rhetoric and how that rhetoric relates to understandings of gender, metaphor, and the larger tradition of African American Vernacular, as well as how hip hop functions similarly to Bakhtin's concept of carnival (although Perry herself does not explicitly cite Bakhtin). This book is worthwhile for anyone interested in popular culture, African American studies, or American rhetorical traditions.

[Mickey · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books on hip-hop I've read: tells you everything you need to know in order to understand the cipher. (music/urban studies; 250 pages)

[Vanessa FM · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was an okay book. It didn't really grab my attention and to be honest, I just skimmed the last pages (never a good sign).

[Antonio Ortiz · Rating 1 out of 5]

I usually don’t write reviews but I felt like I need to write this. The beginning of this book was all over the place. I felt lost the first 4 chapters of the book. I just think the author wasted so much time trying to explain where hip hop came from and it really threw me off. This book is good for someone that knows nothing about hip hop and is curious. Although, I think they would be more confused than informed. I don’t like to bash any authors because all books are art in their own right but I think the author should have just focused on certain parts of hip hop. It took me a long time to finish this book just because of its direction.

[Gabriel Lynch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read and analysis, tough to read as it is very academic at times

[Adam Azeris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great piece of writing on the politics of Hip Hop. Dr. Perry has put together extraordinary insights on Hip Hop as it relates to originality, identity, narrative within the music. She covers song structure & composition, the nuances therein. She touches on feminism's place in Hip Hop, as well as the effects of co-optation and globalization of the muscial form.

In the final chapter she states that many of her friends urged her to finish & publish this piece quickly, since they thought "Hip Hop was dying". From this I would glean that the publication of her writing would have a far reaching, and necessary impact to help resuscitate the art form.

As a reader, throughout the course of this book, I consistenly wondered what her intended audience was. Dr Perrys insights were subtle, critical, and razor sharp. The language was academic which, at times made it difficult to penetrate. To be clear I dont want to discount any rewards after having done so but it raises questions as to the pieces aim of resuscitating a dying art form.

She states, "But the popular space appealed to must remain the space from which Hip Hop production emerged - poor urban black & latino communities. Places where the arts of dance and deejaying are appreciated, where the underlying aesthetics of black music to which Hip Hop owes its roots are understood and appreciated. Rather than becoming cafe music, for Hip Hop to sustain itself, it must continue to reinvent itself as local music."

Is academic language in this piece accessible to readers outside of academia?

That being said, pick this book up.

[Craig Amason · Rating 3 out of 5]

Imani Perry gives true academic treatment to a subject that many readers would not consider worthy, and she does so admirably with careful and thoughtful analysis. I do think there are moments when she gives a little too much credit to the deeper intentions of the creators of Rap and Hip Hop songs, and she tries just a bit too hard to convince us that there is some justifiable explanation for the prevailing misogyny and objectification of women in the lyrics of these genres. Her final chapter on the popularization of the genres is especially interesting as it relates to other genres that have wrestled with the same transitions, such as the Grunge movement. I have to wonder how her observations would change if this book were written today.

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I heard the author speak at a conference at U Penn. She has a real pulse on the history and current state of hip hop.