W.When he writes about hip-hop, he quickly ends up with the question of the relationship between art and morality. One can take it easy for oneself and say that aesthetic expression and life cannot be separated from one another, that virtue must prevail here as there. So when a rapper fails morally in his private life, it often has a negative effect on the reception of his work. Conversely, if sensitive texts are found on a hip-hop album – which is the rule, not the exception – it does not take long for the author to draw conclusions.
Afrika Bambaataa may serve as an example of such mechanisms, with the album “Planet Rock” from 1986, who occupies a firm place in the genre’s gallery of ancestors. In 2016, he was accused by several men of sexually abusing her as a teenager. Bambaataa rejected the allegations – and Dustin Breitenwischer waived in his “History of Hip-Hop” to be on the safe side of an “appreciative review” of the record.
And it did “Zoom”
Couldn’t, we have to ask, at least highlight the title track as the founding document for electronic background tracks in rap? And what about Tupac Shakur, who was charged with sexual assault and assault and whose “All Eyez on Me” (1996) Breitenwischer praises in the highest tones? Why is Dr. Dre – according to his lyrics and behavior, someone who considers violence against women to be a legitimate means of interaction – not excluded from the circle of the negotiated musicians? With what right is the animal tormentor and long-term delinquent DMX, who died in April, to be mentioned? They are all part of hip hop history, they have all made relevant records. An appreciation of her work naturally belongs in Breitenwischer’s book. But that also applies to Afrika Bambaataa.
The author tells the development of his subject using the example of one hundred and eleven albums that were released between 1980 and 2021. He is very knowledgeable and takes into account not only English-language, but also French and German productions. Outstanding records from the past ten years – such as “RTJ4” by Run the Jewels (2020) or “Read Majesty” by Shabazz Palaces (2014) – he has just as much in view as marginal highlights and eternal classics.
Atmospherically gloomy, musically uncompromising
Lauryn Hill and Missy Elliott, NWA, Wu-Tang Clan and A Tribe Called Quest – they get the applause they deserve. Irritatingly, Tic Tac Toe also have an appearance – because it is a “pop phenomenon” and so on. With gusto, Breitenwischer quotes how KIZ want to storm a “Kuhkaff” and organize a “raid”, how Peter Fox lets his old things “rot in a sack”, as “Zoom did” with the beginners.
The book consists of mostly positive reviews with background information. In this respect, Breitenwischer gives good tips for people who are looking for a manageable canon. A story that is coherent for the inexperienced reader, however, does not unfold in this way. For example, the music producer Suge Knight remains completely underexposed. He played a key role in the feud between rappers on the American east and west coasts. The developments in hip-hop in the nineties can only be understood by those who are familiar with the stages of this rivalry, in the wake of which Tupac Shakur and Notorious BIG were shot.
If you present more than a hundred albums in a row, you can run out of argumentative breath in the meantime. What exactly does it mean, for example, that the French band IAM succeeded in creating an “atmospherically gloomy, musically uncompromising and at the same time extremely poetic album” with “L’École du micro d’argent” (1997). Such judgments require evidence, which the author repeatedly fails to deliver. He makes up for that in parts with his infectious enthusiasm. Because nobody writes here who first had to familiarize themselves with his topic, but a real fan.
Dustin Breitenwischer: “The History of Hip-Hop”. 111 albums. Reclam Verlag, Ditzingen 2021. 280 pp., Br., € 8.80.
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