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elpanek's review against another edition
5.0
Rolf Potts' book is an attempt of an adult to make sense of the relationship between black artists and the privileged, teenage white listener that he once was. To really make any sense of it, you have to understand where both the artist and listener are coming from, and it is in this way that Potts' book exceeds most other attempts to examine this fraught relationship.
It's easy for fans and cultural critics to be judgmental of others or defensive about their own stances on controversial art. The power of compelling art and, in the case of The Geto Boys, the profound connection the listener feels with the anger and the sense of aggrievement of the artist can cause the listener to align themselves with the social and political values of the artist, no matter how different the life experiences of the artist are from those of the listener. This sounds like a case of art invoking empathy (the white suburban listener feels the frustration of the black urban artist), but too often it comes at the expense of critical reasoning. As a teenage fan, I thought artists like Ice-T, 2LiveCrew, and The Geto Boys had excellent points about free speech and censorship. As an adult looking back, I realize my attitude on free speech came not from some careful consideration of the issue. I loved the beats, the samples, and I felt as pissed off and powerless as they did. If you were opposed to The Geto Boys, I was opposed to you. Art has the power to forge empathy, sure, but it also can warp your reasoning, and I think Potts gets this.
The book also provides valuable context for understanding the long cultural tradition in which The Geto Boys were operating, the day-to-day reality of late-80's black urban America, and the necessity of carving out a musical and lyrical identity that separated the group from the dominant New York and L.A. hip-hop scenes. It draws heavily on interviews with producers and the work of hip-hop scholars, eschewing the need to engage in original dissection and interpretation of the lyrics. Potts provides just enough information on where the samples came from and how the sound of the album changed when Rick Rubin was brought in to re-make the album's predecessor. But the real emphasis of the book is on understanding context.
You're not supposed to like The Geto Boys, especially if you're a white kid from the suburbs, and yet millions of us did. The reasons why you're not supposed to like The Geto Boys and artists like them have changed. In the 80's, cultural critics were more worried about descriptions of graphic violence than they are now, while today's critics focus on the power dynamics of race and racist stereotypes. Then as now, over-the-top sexism has the rare ability to unify critics from both ends of the political spectrum. For the most part, rap (and music in general) no longer has the place as "bad object" that it did in the early 90's. However, much of what there is to be learned from how an album like The Geto Boys was created and consumed can help us understand the dynamics of our culture - not only the dynamic between black artist and white listener, but the one between cultural critics (anyone passing judgment on the impact of individual expressions on culture and society, i.e., pretty much everyone who writes anything on the internet) and pissed-off young people.
It's easy for fans and cultural critics to be judgmental of others or defensive about their own stances on controversial art. The power of compelling art and, in the case of The Geto Boys, the profound connection the listener feels with the anger and the sense of aggrievement of the artist can cause the listener to align themselves with the social and political values of the artist, no matter how different the life experiences of the artist are from those of the listener. This sounds like a case of art invoking empathy (the white suburban listener feels the frustration of the black urban artist), but too often it comes at the expense of critical reasoning. As a teenage fan, I thought artists like Ice-T, 2LiveCrew, and The Geto Boys had excellent points about free speech and censorship. As an adult looking back, I realize my attitude on free speech came not from some careful consideration of the issue. I loved the beats, the samples, and I felt as pissed off and powerless as they did. If you were opposed to The Geto Boys, I was opposed to you. Art has the power to forge empathy, sure, but it also can warp your reasoning, and I think Potts gets this.
The book also provides valuable context for understanding the long cultural tradition in which The Geto Boys were operating, the day-to-day reality of late-80's black urban America, and the necessity of carving out a musical and lyrical identity that separated the group from the dominant New York and L.A. hip-hop scenes. It draws heavily on interviews with producers and the work of hip-hop scholars, eschewing the need to engage in original dissection and interpretation of the lyrics. Potts provides just enough information on where the samples came from and how the sound of the album changed when Rick Rubin was brought in to re-make the album's predecessor. But the real emphasis of the book is on understanding context.
You're not supposed to like The Geto Boys, especially if you're a white kid from the suburbs, and yet millions of us did. The reasons why you're not supposed to like The Geto Boys and artists like them have changed. In the 80's, cultural critics were more worried about descriptions of graphic violence than they are now, while today's critics focus on the power dynamics of race and racist stereotypes. Then as now, over-the-top sexism has the rare ability to unify critics from both ends of the political spectrum. For the most part, rap (and music in general) no longer has the place as "bad object" that it did in the early 90's. However, much of what there is to be learned from how an album like The Geto Boys was created and consumed can help us understand the dynamics of our culture - not only the dynamic between black artist and white listener, but the one between cultural critics (anyone passing judgment on the impact of individual expressions on culture and society, i.e., pretty much everyone who writes anything on the internet) and pissed-off young people.
rich__j's review against another edition
1.0
this author decided the best way to get a tour of the 5th ward was in a cop car which is an apt metaphor for his engagement with the content here
thebobsphere's review
4.0
Probably like a good number of people I heard about Geto Boys through their 'hit' Mind Playin' Tricks on me. Other than that I've never heard a Geto Boys album so, as always, I went to good ol' YouTube and listened to The Geto Boys, which is, a remix album of the group's second record.
I liked it!
Ok I know the lyrics are politically incorrect but the beats and samples are so infectious that you can't help dancing. Author, Rolf Potts does not really go into the album though rather he gives a lot of background behind the genesis of the album and Geto Boys themselves.
The is about the rise of the more controversial side of hip hop. beginning with 2 Live Crew puerile raps and then going to NWA's more political sided gangsta rap, with Geto Boys being the next development of the genre. The rest of the book is about the group's rise in the rap world and what is happening to them at the moment. In between we get Potts' own memories of Geto Boys.
33 1/3 barely set a wrong foot and this is no exception: A entertaining and somewhat educational read. Definitely a must have for those who are curious about gangsta rap and 90's hip hop culture.
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