Third Coast: Outkast, Timbaland and Hip-Hop Became A Southern Thing / by Roni Sarig

For the longest time it seemed like the world of hip-hop derived from two exclusive geographical sources: New York City and Southern California. Having originated in the South Bronx in the early 1970's when independent funk acts like Grandmaster Flash, The Sugarhill Gang, DJ Hollywood, Kurtis Blow along with many others began combining looped percussion beats with rhyming samples of spoken word poetry, the form of musical expression called hip-hop, known as rap or beatboxing in the early days, became semi-permanently relegated to the country's top two media markets. For the entire decade of the eighties and much of the early nineties, this remained the case. No one really complained. It was an accepted fact that these two centers had always held the infrastructure necessary to support the entertainment mediums of music, movies and TV. But with the advancement of the digital age and the merging of mainstream music with the underground in the mid to late 1990's, everything changed.
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Author and music writer Sarig chronicles the complete history of Southern hip-hop beginning with the movement's roots in which recording artists like Jermaine Dupri, Pharrell Williams and Master P broke industry protocol and created their own production labels which promoted performers from the regions they were most familiar with--Atlanta, New Orleans, Miami, et. al. Cataloging Southern hip hop through the last decade or so is no easy task and even the most casual music fans can appreciate the complexity of such an undertaking. But Sarig knows his stuff. He displays a remarkably encyclopedic knowlege about his subject, extrapolating on everything from the Luther Campbell's innovative lyrical style with 2 Live Crew and the Miami club scene to Outkast in Atlanta and of course the violent eruption of the Houston's own 'chopped and screwed' motif. It's not a purely informational resource though. Sarig, with his witty and enthusiastic candor, clearly enjoys detailing how hip hop from the Dirty South came to the forefront of the industry and engagingly describes the nitty gritty details of personal partnerships, stylistic tendencies and business agreements. Stories of record shops which were the legendary acts once frequented, nightclubs and street corners from Charlotte to Dallas and everywhere in between where up-and-coming rappers once exposéd their skills, are thoroughly revealed in this interesting chronicle of pop music history, sure to be a hit with fans. (782.4216 SARIG)

High Fidelity / by Nick Hornby

Rob Fleming sees things in fives. For anything and (nearly) everything, he's got his top-five lists: his top five girlfriends, top five most memorable breakups, top five bands, top five bands for each genre, top five songs of each top five band, top five dream jobs (including several choice gigs set in bygone eras), top five songs to play at a wedding, " " at a funeral, etc. and so on. A London record store owner/manager, Rob's definitely a connoisseur of all things popular music, and he's never ashamed to set someone straight about, say, The Kinks top five greatest concerts or which song on the Beatles White album is the most euphonic. Though, being a proprietor, he tries to maintain a somewhat professional demeanor. He's not quite as fanatical or finicky an aficionado (read: snob) as Dick and Barry, his two nerd-extraordinaire store clerks who each possess an unhealthy excess of opinionated verbage.

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After breaking up with his longtime girlfriend Laura (who he's always considered his soulmate despite the fact that her record collection is, incidentally, intolerably incompatible with his own), Rob employs various diversions to comfort his broken heart and dissatisfied worldview. In addition to rearranging his music into the order in which he bought each album, Rob tries to reconnect with many of his previous girlfriends (some of them top fivers and some not), each encounter odd in its own way. He also forms an interesting relationship with a troubador-esque American named Maria de Salle, whose free-flowing, less pretentious outlook on life offers Rob a different outlet for his constant, perpetually neurotic ruminations.

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Hornby, author of bestsellers Fever Pitch and About a Boy as well as recent YA favorite Slam!, has been one fiction's most readable novelists for the past two decades and most people, especially Gen X'ers, are easily able to tap into his upbeat style and plethora of cultural references. In High Fidelity, his second major novel, published in 1995, Hornby excels at characterizing the cult of "musical elitism", a trendy, satirical term for describing the ambiguous, often over-the-top world of pop music criticism. Hornby is a fun writer and this is a fun book, entertaining and comedic but with a nominal serious streak and reflective aura. (FIC HORNBY)

Ghettonation: A Journey into the Land of Bling and the Home of the Shameless / by Cora Daniels

The original "ghetto" was a section of late Renaissance Venice where Jews were partitioned in to separate living quarters by Catholic authorities. Over the years, the term has evolved from a physically sequestered area of a city reserved for a certain demographic to something altogether different. Nowadays "ghetto" is a social and cultural phenomenon. It connotates a demeanor, appearance and a manner of affectation which identifies an individual with a certain class of people and various objects of a like association. It is a mindset not limited to a certain ethnic group and no longer reserved to specific geographic locations. It is found in urban areas as well as the most desirable suburbs; in corporate settings and living rooms, from Hollywood to the Heartland and abroad as a packaged item in a variety of mediums where its themes are reiterated and emulated.

From award-winning journalist and professor at NYU Cora Daniels comes a provocative, entertaining expose on "ghetto" culture. Few Americans remain uncensored from "ghetto" attitudes, appearances and lifestyles; and from its effect on individuals, communities and the American ideal. Daniels' shows how corporate America has essentially embraced the idea of a ghetto persona as a lucrative hip marketing tool, realizing its significant mainstream appeal and promoting it through the media, sidelining the implications that it's essentially a manner of social conduct which degrades women, undermines education and celebrates the worst negative stereotypes. It's a fun 'way' to be though. Throughout the book Daniels infuses humor and entertaining, colorful anecdotes as well as taking deliberate shots at a more than a select few public figures. For any readers completely out of the loop, one section is written entirely in ghetto slang and contains a snide, often derogatory glossary for many of the most commonly parroted terms. Ghettonation is a timely and engrossing report on a widely visible but controversial paradox of society. (307.3 DANIELS)

Freakonomics / by Steven Leavitt and Stephen J. Dubner

If the drug trade is so lucrative, why do dealers still live with their moms? What makes certain people watch certain TV shows? How have some companies with smaller budgets and less pedigree been able to top the competition? What accounts for the decrease in the crime rate during the early 1990’s? This book details all this truly relevant information in what’s not-your-everyday economics textbook. ‘Rogue’ economist Steven Leavitt and associate Dubner detail certain societal trends and pop culture phenomenon in things like education, relationships, and elections (the richest candidate doesn't always win).

Freakonomics remained on the bestseller lists for several months and has sold over 3 million copies. This book is an informative leisure read as well as serious book for educational purposes and contains some interesting factoids on life in general. Both authors write for The Economist magazine and have made appearances on several TV talk shows.