{"product_id":"whats-good-notes-on-rap-and-language","title":"What's Good","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA \u003ci\u003eNEW YORKER\u003c\/i\u003e \u0026amp; \u003ci\u003eGLOBE AND MAIL\u003c\/i\u003e BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA love letter to the verbal artistry of hip-hop, \u003cem\u003eWhat's Good\u003c\/em\u003e is a work of passionate lyrical analysis\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eW\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cem\u003ehat's Good\u003c\/em\u003e is, among a great many other things, a byproduct of joyful obsession and immersion into both language and sound, an intersection that offers a rich and expansive land upon which to play.\" —\u003cstrong\u003eHanif Abdurraqib\u003c\/strong\u003e, author of \u003cem\u003eA Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\" . . . an often hilarious, surprisingly moving and always joyful paean to rap’s relationship to words.\"\u003cb\u003e—Jayson Greene, The New York Times\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Rap, he is not afraid to say, is as close to a universal tongue as we have.\"—\u003cstrong\u003eAdam Gopnik, \u003cem\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eWhat's Good \u003c\/em\u003eis a work of passionate lyrical analysis, a set of freewheeling liner notes, and a love letter to the most vital American art form of the last half century. Over a series of short chapters, each centered on a different lyric, Daniel Levin Becker considers how rap's use of language operates and evolves at levels ranging from the local (slang, rhyme) to the analytical (quotation, transcription) to the philosophical (morality, criticism, irony), celebrating the pleasures and perils of any attempt to decipher its meaning-making technologies.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRanging from Sugarhill Gang to UGK to Young M.A, Rakim to Rick Ross to Rae Sremmurd, Jay-Z to Drake to Snoop Dogg, \u003cem\u003eWhat's Good\u003c\/em\u003e reads with the momentum of a deftly curated mixtape, drawing you into the conversation and teaching you to read it as it goes. A book for committed hip-hop heads, curious neophytes, armchair linguists, and everyone in between.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"For those of us who love rap, \u003cem\u003eWhat's Good \u003c\/em\u003eis a gift. The book offers a new set of eyes and ears through which to see and to hear the language of rap. Its brief and brilliant chapters are like the best kinds of freestyles: spontaneous and structured, startling and profound. A remarkable achievement.\" \u003cb\u003e—Adam Bradley, \u003c\/b\u003eauthor of \u003cem\u003eBook of Rhymes: The Poetics of Hip Hop\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Could this be the rap equivalent of Lewis Hyde's \u003cem\u003eThe Gift \u003c\/em\u003eor Marina Warner's \u003ci\u003eO\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cem\u003ence Upon A Time\u003c\/em\u003e? Anyhow, it's an electrifying book, full of wild epiphanies and provocations, an exhibition of a critical mind in full and open contact with their subject at the highest level, with a winning streak of confessional intimacy as well.\" —\u003cstrong\u003eJonathan Lethem\u003c\/strong\u003e, author of \u003cem\u003eThe Arrest: A Novel \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"\u003cem\u003eWhat's Good \u003c\/em\u003eis a feat of critical precision and personal obsession: Daniel Levin Becker's deep appreciation for rap is rangy and illuminating, and his delight in language is infectious. What a thrill to swing so gracefully from Lil Wayne to Mary Ruefle to the lyrical evolution of 'tilapia'; pure pleasure. A generous, joyful exegesis.\"—\u003cstrong\u003eAnna Wiener\u003c\/strong\u003e, author of \u003cem\u003eUncanny Valley: A Memoir\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"City Lights Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":39670304833619,"sku":"9780872868762","price":21.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0278\/1295\/4195\/files\/9780872868762_95aeeb69-f34d-4007-96d1-db7093603457.jpg?v=1765365343","url":"https:\/\/agendabookshop.com\/products\/whats-good-notes-on-rap-and-language","provider":"Agenda Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}