A01=Holly Lang
A01=John Borgmeyer
Author_Holly Lang
Author_John Borgmeyer
Category=AVLP
Category=DNBF
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eq_bestseller
eq_biography-true-stories
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eq_isMigrated=2
eq_music
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
Popular Culture: Music and Performing Arts
Students interested in the history of hip hop music and culture will find this biography essential reading.
Product details
- ISBN 9780313338267
- Weight: 369g
- Dimensions: 156 x 235mm
- Publication Date: 30 Dec 2006
- Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Hardback
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It is almost impossible to listen to a current hip-hop song that does not bear Dr. Dre's influence. With innovations in style that started with the hip-hop group N.W.A., and, later, as a solo rapper and producer, Dre's influence and lasting impact on hip-hop music and culture is undeniable. He pioneered a new style of music that in the early 1990s would come to be known as gangsta rap, and his proteges - Snoop and Eminem - are both considered some of the top rappers to emerge since rap was born on the streets of New York three decades ago. This biography traces Dre's rise to fame, a story that parallels the rise of hip-hop as one of the most dominant cultural forces in America.
Dre came of age at the time when hip-hop culture (rapping, breakdancing, Deejaying, and Graffiti art) began an underground trend in urban America. Chapters take the reader from Dre's childhood in Los Angeles through his friendships, early influences, and the birth of his music career. Also discussed is the tragic tale of Death Row Records, which culminates in the high-profile murders of rap artists Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G. and serves as a lesson on what can go wrong when people in the rap business believe their own gangsta hype. Dre's ability to survive in the rough-and-tumble rap industry is a testament to the power of artistic vision and the payoff of sheer persistence.
John Borgmeyer is a news editor at the C-VILLE Weekly, an alternative newsweekly in Charlottesville, Virginia. He was a contributing writer to The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Rock History (2005).
Holly Lang is a freelance writer and editor. She has worked as a reporter for the Birmingham Post-Herald and the Associated Press.
