{"product_id":"breaks-in-the-air-9781478018872","title":"Breaks in the Air","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eBreaks in the Air\u003c\/i\u003e John Klaess tells the story of rap’s emergence on New York City’s airwaves by examining how artists and broadcasters adapted hip hop’s performance culture to radio. Initially, artists and DJs brought their live practice to radio by buying time on low-bandwidth community stations and building new communities around their shows. Later, stations owned by New York’s African American elite, such as WBLS, reluctantly began airing rap even as they pursued a sound rooted in respectability, urban sophistication, and polish. At the same time, large commercial stations like WRKS programmed rap once it became clear that the music attracted a demographic that was valuable to advertisers. Moving between intimate portraits of single radio shows and broader examinations of the legal, financial, cultural, and political forces that indelibly shaped the sound of rap radio, Klaess shows how early rap radio provides a lens through which to better understa\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Not to be missed, musicologist Klaess has written a fascinating chronicle of hip-hop radio stations. . . . Klaess’s book is a must-read for all those interested in tracing hip-hop’s sociopolitical\/racial chord back to its airwaves origins.\" -- Alessandro Cimino * Library Journal *\u003cbr\u003e\"This is a book about radio as a medium, not the music that flows through it, and it deserves praise for shining a light on the people behind the tapes who have been underappreciated by more conventional histories.\" -- Peter Shapiro * The Wire *\u003cbr\u003e\"A book that tells the story of rap on New York City’s airwaves, \u003ci\u003eBreaks in the Air\u003c\/i\u003e is mandatory reading for anyone with an interest in hip hop history and elements of that history that aren’t readily considered, including figures responsible for its early dissemination. As well as providing a meticulous account of the first stations to air rap music, Klaess’ book offers a unique insight into the sociopolitical power of broadcast media and how alongside the growing popularity of hip hop, radio provided a valuable new avenue for Black expression.\" -- Arusa Qureshi * The Quietus *\u003cbr\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eBreaks in the Air\u003c\/i\u003e has a lot to offer anyone interested in hip-hop’s rise, as well as anyone fascinated with the larger stories of Black music and American radio.\" -- Michaelangelo Matos * Beat Connection *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePreface  ix\u003cbr\u003e Acknowledgments  xiii\u003cbr\u003e Introduction. Breaks in the Air  1\u003cbr\u003e 1. Deregulating Radio  19\u003cbr\u003e 2. Sounding Black Progress in the Post-Civil Rights Era  32\u003cbr\u003e 3. Commercializing Rap with Mr. Magic’s \u003ci\u003eRap Attack\u003c\/i\u003e  63\u003cbr\u003e 4. Programming the Street at WRKS  88\u003cbr\u003e 5. Broadcasting the Zulu Nation  116\u003cbr\u003e 6. Listening to the Labor of \u003ci\u003eThe Awesome 2 Show\u003c\/i\u003e  139\u003cbr\u003e Epilogue  162\u003cbr\u003e Notes  175\u003cbr\u003e Bibliography  193\u003cbr\u003e Index  215","brand":"Duke University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48867287990615,"sku":"9781478018872","price":18.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781478018872.jpg?v=1722282610","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/breaks-in-the-air-9781478018872","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}