Black Noise

Black Noise is a book that was written by a woman who had grown up in the era where hip hop was just emerging. The author, Tricia Rose, has written several articles on black culture, rap music, and contemporary pop culture. Her credibilty comes from her extensive research that she has conducted about the culture and the music. The fact that she has observed the culture firsthand from when it first began to develop to modern day hip hop, also adds to her credibility. Her fascination for hip hop is what drove her to follow it so in depth and for so long. She became an expert on the culture, despite the people that doubted that hip hop would be around for so long and wouldn't just be a passing phase.

In her book, she analyzes hip hop music and the artists that create the music. The different ideas that the artists use to create their music, are pointed out in the book. She talks about the contradictions that rappers make against their beliefs and also the things that the strongly stand for. I think this book may be interesting because she points out the beauty and creativity that rap music displays. I am a part of the hip hop culture myself, and it is nice to have someone speak positively about the culture. Most of the time, literature written about hip hop culture is negative and suggests that it is not real music. Rose, however, digs deeper into the culture and takes into consideration the many elements that hip hop is comprised of. Another reason I may be interested in reading more of the book, is that she summarizes the things that the rappers talk about in their songs. She listens to the words behind the beat, which is something I don't do often, and finds the meaning of those words. Her analyses seem effective in describing the hip hop culture.