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Art & Books Books

Raps roots

HIP HOP WORLD by Dalton Higgins (Groundwood), 140 pages, $11.74 paper. Rating: NNNN

As the golden-era generation continues to decry modern hip-hop (it’s too materialistic, too synthetic, too ringtone-oriented), rap’s influence is spreading internationally like a cultural pandemic.

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In Hip Hop World, Dalton Higgins deftly follows the art form’s diaspora from Jamaica to the South Bronx and to the furthest pockets of the globe.

This highly readable, well-researched series of essays examines how hip-hop has been interpreted by various cultures. Sometimes it can empower politically, as the author demonstrates in the parallel he draws between the revolutionary nature of Cuban rap and New York hip-hop in the 80s.

It also serves to transmit oral history, particularly in South Asia and parts of Africa. And it can create fascinating, troubling byproducts such as Japanese blackface.

Hip Hop World doesn’t stop at the globalization of rap, though. The book also checks hip-hop’s pulse in its country of origin, where the culture’s aesthetics have been exploited by clothing brands like Tommy Hilfiger, co-opted by “hipsters” and adopted by suburbia.

Unpacking the problematic baggage of homophobia and racism that hip-hop brings with it into the mainstream, the writer boldly calls for a moratorium on the N-word, as the NAACP did in 2007.

Satisfyingly for those who feel the music has lost much of its original spirit and grown too carnivalesque, Higgins also discusses commercial rap’s focus on shiny thangs.

Hip Hop World certainly covers a lot of ground, but it’s Higgins’s panoramic scope and panoply of references that makes the book so engaging. With its solid chapter on hip-hop history, it’s also suitable for impressionable young heads just getting into the music.

As Higgins says, “It’s a hip hop world, and you’re just living in it.” True that.

Write Books at susanc@nowtoronto.com

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