Adam Bradley, Assistant Professor of Literature at Claremont McKenna, released a book earlier this month entitled “Book of Rhymes: The Poetics of Hip Hop.” Cornell West praised the work as “a marvelous exploration into the poetic genius of rap and the cultural gravity of Hip Hop. His analysis is subtle, sophisticated and soulful!” I reviewed “Book of Rhymes” in this week’s OC Weekly and rest assured that the radio interview will be coming next. In the meantime, I began my review by stating:
The conventional “wisdom” of hip-hop-haters is that the lyricism of its MCs is so devoid of artistic integrity that “anyone can rap.” Literary scholar/rap aficionado Adam Bradley rejects such notions in his work, Book of Rhymes: The Poetics of Hip Hop, in which he argues that rap has become the most revolutionary innovation in contemporary poetry.
Read the rest of the review:
http://www.ocweekly.com/2009-03-26/music/new-books-adam-bradley/
