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Rose argues that the music that most embodies the hallmarks of gangsta rap- drug dealing, sexual excess, rogue capitalism and distorted, violent portraits of black masculinity-now dominates the airwaves and the media. While "conscious rappers" such as Talib Kweli and The Roots may receive enormous critical acclaim, it's the rappers who employ what Rose calls the "gansta-pimp-ho trinity"-rappers like T.I. and 50 Cent-who sell the most records and, therefore, dominate the recording industry, TV, film, and radio.

THE HIP HOP WARS

What we talk about when we talk about hip hop - and why it matters.
Tricia Rose's take on hip hop is smart, provocative, analytical, gutsy and shines with a righteous indignation balanced by love, compassion and economic, political and social context." -Jill Nelson, author of Volunteer Slavery: My Authentic Negro Experience
In this impassioned and brilliant book, Tricia Rose shows how hip hop has been harmed by both its friends and its foes, how the myths spread by both its attackers and defenders hurt the people who created hip hop in the first place." -George Lipsitz, author of Footsteps in the Dark
A loving, smart and searing critique from the pioneer of Hip Hop studies. The Hip Hop Wars breaks the impasse between those who always regarded the music as the source of our contemporary moral panic, and those hardcore defenders willing to justify anything in the name of 'keeping it real." -Robin D. G. Kelley, author of Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination
As a result, the most visible and most widely consumed hip hop sets forth a troubled vision of ghetto street life that not only defines young, already at-risk, black men and women to each other, but defines them to a large white audience as well, one which comprises 70% of hip hop consumers. In THE HIP HOP WARS, Rose shows that hip hop has become the primary means by which we talk about race and culture in the United States-and the conversations surrounding it deserve attention.)
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In a culture driven by sexual and racial imagery, very few honest conversations about race, gender, and sexuality actually take place. In their absence, commonly held perceptions of black women as teenage mothers, welfare recipients, mammies, or exotic sexual playthings remain unchanged. for fear that telling their stories will fulfill society's implicit expectations about their sexuality, most black women have retreated into silences. Tricia Rose seeks to break this silence and jump-start a dialogue by presenting, for the first time, the

LONGING TO TELL

Black Women Talk About Sexuality and Intimacy | The Sexual Lives of Black Women, In Their Own Words
Heartbreaking, inspiring, and brutally honest...as compelling as it is sorely needed." - Publisher's Weekly
A powerful and pioneering work. For the first time we hear the painful and poignant voices of black women in all their humanity and complexity. Do not miss this path-blazing book!" - Cornel West, University Professor, Princeton University
Like a great conversation, [this] book is provocative and inspiring...The integration of scholarship and accessible conversation rests largely in Rose's curiosity, her delight in discovery." - Adrian Nicole LeBlanc, Newsweek
sexual testimonies of black women. Spanning a broad range of ages, levels of education, and socioeconomic backgrounds, twenty women, in their own words, talk with starling honesty about sex, love, family, relationships, and intimacy. Their stories dispel prevailing myths and provide revealing insights into how black women navigate the complex terrain of sexuality. Nuanced, rich, and powerful, Longing to Tell will be required reading for anyone interested in issues of race and gender.
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BLACK NOISE

Rap Music and Black Culture in Contemporary America
Black Noise is by far the finest thing ever written on hip hop and rap music...Rose locates the origins of the music and message(s) in the livid experience of African-American youth." - Robin D. G. Kelley
Rap recordings are discussed almost everywhere today, from schoolyards and subways to the U.S. Senate and Supreme Court. Rose thoroughly analyzes several facets of the musical genre and provides an effective antidote to the severely flawed hip-hop coverage in mainstream media. She accurately traces rap's sonic history (proving thereby that music does not require conventional melody or harmony) and gives substantial information about the innovative rhythmic manipulations made possible by the techniques of sampling. She also makes clear the connections between rap's beginnings and the political turmoils that afflicted black and Latino urban neighborhoods throughout the 1970s and 1980s. In discussing what is probably rap's most controversial aspect--lyrics supposedly advocating "cop killing"--Rose vividly delineates the social conditions that bring about such fierce responses to real-life police brutality. Finally, she examines the often neglected role of women in rap in rewarding depth. Fans, scholars, and detractors alike stand to learn a great deal by studying Rose's commendable treatise. (Aaron Cohen, Booklist)