TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2019//
TI  - Hip-hop, gangs, and the criminalization of African American culture: a critical appraisal of Yes Yes Y'all
JO  - Journal of Black studies
A1  - Aprahamian, Serouj
SP  - 298
EP  - 315
VL  - 50
IS  - 3
N2  - It is commonly assumed that hip-hop was born when street gangs in the Bronx, New York, channeled their energy from violence and crime to music and artistic expression. I critically interrogate this dominant narrative through an examination of the influential book Yes Yes Y'all: The Experience Music Project Oral History of Hip-Hop's First Decade (hereafter "YYY"). Drawing from the original interview transcripts used for YYY, I compare the gang-origin narrative espoused in the book with the primary accounts of early hip-hop practitioners featured within it. Special attention is given to the divergences between the two sources, demonstrating how the claim that hip-hop came from gangs is unsubstantiated by relevant interviewee accounts. I discuss how the prevalence of this false narrative in studies of hip-hop history overall is part of a broader historic pattern of associating working class African American culture with criminality.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0021-9347
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0021934719833396
ID  - ref1
ER  -