{"product_id":"whats-good-9780872868762","title":"Whats Good","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePraise for \u003cem\u003eWhat's Good\u003c\/em\u003e:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\". . . this ode to rap is sure to surprise and delight. . . . Open to any bite-sized chapter and you're sure to find some tantalizing tidbit worth your time.\"\u003cstrong\u003e—Grace Utomo, \u003cem\u003eRain Taxi Review of Books \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Written in short, savorably dense chapters, \u003cem\u003eWhat's Good\u003c\/em\u003e manages to be many kinds of books at the same time. It’s exhaustive — in its command of rap lyrics, in its ear for modulations in meaning and tone, in its ability to straddle the complexities of race and identity as they converge in rap . . . \"—\u003cstrong\u003eAaron Peck, \u003cem\u003eLos Angeles Review of Books\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"A book filled with such love and thoughtfulness and fun has to come from a fan; who but a genuine devotee would use his introductory chapter to provide a deep reading of 50 Cent’s 'In Da Club?'\"—\u003cstrong\u003eAdam Ellsworth, \u003cem\u003eThe Arts Fuse\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"Music aficionados and hip-hop lovers will savor every bit.\"—\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"His book performs a unique and exciting rhetorical move, presenting itself as a sort of freestyle in its own right: short, punchy chapters that each focus on a single lyric.\"—\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eALTA\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"There is so much I admire about Daniel Levin Becker's \u003cem\u003eWhat's Good\u003c\/em\u003e: how knowledgeable it is, how synoptic, how precise, persuasive, and risky; I love its savvy politics, its passion, its aching, tragic heart.\"—\u003cstrong\u003eDavid Shields,\u003c\/strong\u003e author of \u003cem\u003eBlack Planet: Facing Race during an NBA Season\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"All in all, \u003cem\u003eWhat's Good \u003c\/em\u003eis an enlightening, self-aware, and deeply satisfying look at the wondrous ways rap music uses language. It is absolutely essential reading on hip-hop—and one of the smartest books about music I've read.\"—\u003cstrong\u003eIan Port\u003c\/strong\u003e, author of \u003cem\u003eThe Birth of Loud: Leo Fender, Les Paul, and the Guitar-Pioneering Rivalry That Shaped Rock 'n' Roll\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"\u003cem\u003eWhat's Good: Notes on Rap and Language\u003c\/em\u003e is a celebration of the artistry and craft of rap lyrics written in a way that only Daniel Levin Becker could, with his sharp eye for linguistic experimentation and his appreciation for the ways rappers have been able to turn English inside out. His fascination is contagious as he revels in the incredible vitality of this ever-morphing lexicon, from its rhymes to its slang to its creation of new modes of meaning. It's the book us lovers of music and language had no idea we needed.\"—\u003cstrong\u003eEmma Ramadan, Riffraff Books, Providence, RI\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"Characterized with a clear love for hip-hop, Daniel Levin Becker's \u003cem\u003eWhat's Good\u003c\/em\u003e is a joyful and deep dive into the many wonders of hip-hop as an art form.\"—\u003cstrong\u003eBennard Fajardo, Politics and Prose Bookstore, Washington DC\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"Exceptionally well written, impressively informed and informative, and an absorbing read from cover to cover, \u003cem\u003eWhat's Good: Notes on Rap and Language\u003c\/em\u003e will have particular interest for poets, literary critics, authors and lyricists. Thoughtful and thought-provoking, \u003cem\u003eWhat's Good: Notes on Rap and Language\u003c\/em\u003e is an extraordinary and highly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, college, and university library Contemporary Literary Criticism collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.\"—\u003cstrong\u003eMicah Andrew, \u003cem\u003eMidwest Library Review\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eWhat’s Good: Notes on Rap and Language\u003c\/i\u003e is a studied, well-researched, critical, and loving exploration of the wit, humor, nuance, intelligence, meaning-making, truth telling, occasional hyperbolic absurdity, and craft of the MC and, in turn, Hip Hop culture. Becker approaches the topic with the care, competence, and appreciation of a lifelong Hip Hop aficionado and, as a result, \u003ci\u003eWhat’s Good\u003c\/i\u003e is a remarkable achievement that deserves a place in any Hip Hop studies collection.\"—\u003cb\u003eCraig Arthur, Virginia Tech, \u003ci\u003eCollege \u0026amp; Research Libraries\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"City Lights Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48884897186135,"sku":"9780872868762","price":16.14,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780872868762.jpg?v=1722533961","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/whats-good-9780872868762","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}