On Wed., November 19, 11AM, your's truly will be speaking in the Woody Tanger Auditorium at Brooklyn College Library. I was invited to speak by Professor Philip Napoli (who adopted my book for his course on American Popular Culture) and the History Department to talk about Somebody Scream, pop culture as barometer for change in society, and hip-hop and the election of President-elect Barack Obama. As always, it should be live.
4 comments:
Really enjoyed the talk at the school, even though I didn't get to ask my last question--so I'll ask it now. Being a former writer for The Source, how did it feel when Eminem--a white boy from Detroit--attacked (after Benzino swung first) and successfully got many rappers to back him up against the magazine?
Hey, I really enjoyed the talk (and the questions), too. About Eminem and the Source, the reason Em got support from black rappers was two fold. On the one hand, Em, at that time, was the biggest selling artist, and no rapper wanted to risk an alliance with some one who could appear on their record and increase the possibility of a pop sale. On the other hand, rappers, like many Source readers, felt Em was being wronged by Benzino, and that Benzino was using the Source to push a selfish agenda (attack the whiteboy on a weak argument about race and possibly increase his rap profile—the BDP tactic). And as a result, Zino's move backfired.
Once again Marcus, I thought the whole thing absolutely great. It was a pleasure to meet you and listen to you speak.I look forward to reading more of your work very soon!
PFN
Phil,
Again, thank you for inviting me. I really, really enjoyed the talk.
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