Born to use mics : reading Nas's Illmatic / edited by Michael Eric Dyson and Sohail Daulatzai.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Dyson, Michael Eric.

Daulatzai, Sohail.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Nas (Musician). Illmatic.

Nas.

Nas (Musician)--Criticism and interpretation.

Nas (Musician).

Rap (Music)--History and criticism.

Rap (Music).

Criticism and interpretation.

Physical Description:

xi, 308 pages ; 21 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Basic Civitas Books, [2010]

Summary:

At the age of nineteen, Nasir "Nas" Jones began recording tracks for his debut album and changed the world forever. Released in 1994, Illmatic was hailed as a masterpiece and has proven itself one of the most influential albums in hip-hop history. With its close attention to beats and lyricism, and its riveting first-person exploration of the isolation and desolation of urban poverty, Illmatic was pivotal in the evolution of the genre.

In Born to Use Mics, Michael Eric Dyson and Sohail Daulatzai have brought together the best and brightest writers of the hip hop generation to confront Illmatic song by song, with each scholar assessing an individual track from the album. The result is a brilliant engagement with and commentary upon one of the most incisive sets of songs ever laid down on wax.

Contents:

It was signified : "The Genesis" / by Adilfu Nama

A rebel to America : "N.Y. state of mind" after the towers fell / by Sohail Daulatzai

Time is illmatic : a song for my father, a letter to my son / by Guthrie P. Ramsey Jr.

"It's yours" : hip-hop worldviews in the lyrics of Nas / by James Braxton Peterson

Critical pedagogy comes at halftime : Nas as black public intellectual / by Marc Lamont Hill

"Memory lane" : on jazz, hip-hop, and fathers / by Mark Anthony Neal

"One love," two brothers, three verses / by Michael Eric Dyson

"One time 4 your mind" : embedding Nas and hip-hop into a gendered state of mind / by Kyra D. Gaunt

"Represent," Queensbridge, and the art of living / by Eddie S. Glaude Jr.

"It ain't hard to tell" : a story of lyrical transcendence / by Imani Perry.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780465002115

0465002110

OCLC:

192134593