Description
Book SynopsisThe author chronicles how basketball and hip hop have gone from being reviled by the American mainstream in the 1970s to being embraced and imitated globally today. For young black men, he argues, they represent a new version of the American dream, one embodying the hopes and desires of those excluded from the original version.
Trade Review“A powerful and provocative history of modern basketball and how issues of race, class and popular culture have played out both on and off the basketball court.”—
Publishers Weekly“An insightful look at how African American basketball players and rappers have gone from being reviled by mainstream audiences to being imitated around the world.”—
Essence“Boyd effortlessly threads the past thirty years of basketball culture, the cost of being outspoken, and the pressures of a power structure and media glare that both cheers and reviles.”—
UpscaleTable of ContentsIntroduction to the Bison Books EditionIntroduction: The Playa's Life1. Young, Black, Rich and Famous: 'Ball, Hip Hop, and the Redefinition of the American Dream2. Don't Get High on Your Own Supply: The NBA's Image Problem Back in the Day3. That Ol' Black Magic and the Great White Hope: Basketball and Race in the Reagan Era4. Chocolate City: Georgetown and the Intelligent Hoodlums5. I Am: Hip Hop, the Individual, and the Culture of Michael Jordan6. My Detroit Playaz: Ballin' in the Motor City7. The Takeover: The Fab Five, Hip Hop, and College 'Ball8. Leaders of the New School: The Answer, "Karaoke Jordan," and the Modern-Day Balla9. Can It All Be So Simple? Internationally Known, Nationally Recognized, and Locally Accepted
