WHAT'S GOOD

An intellectual examination of hip-hop lyrics.

Though the genre is more easily experienced than explained, Levin Becker, a lifelong fan and contributing editor at the Believer and senior editor at McSweeney’s Publishing, seems up for the challenge. His celebration of rappers’ wordplay and creativity shows the links between Cardi B and Ernest Hemingway, and he also compares the influence of Public Enemy’s “It Takes a Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back” to a Shakespeare play. Levin Becker delivers stunningly deep readings of 50 Cent’s “In Da Club” and takes odd swipes at Jay-Z’s occasional nods to rhymes from other rappers, and he discusses the use of the N-word and hip-hop’s preoccupation with drug dealing as a metaphor or plot point. Whether or not you agree with the author’s feelings on those issues, or even the success of the book itself, will likely depend on your point of view and interest in the minutiae of lyrics and song construction—not to mention asides on nearly every page. Levin Becker is candid about how his life differs from those of many rappers: “I’m white, middle-class, educated, risk-averse, law-abiding with the usual exceptions that are fine for middle-class white people. I’m the son of a doctor and a composer and the youngest of five brothers and sisters, all brilliant and accomplished in their respective white-collar fields.” That description explains a lot about his choices as well as his decision to overstuff his chapters with examples to back his points. He often offers five when one will do, slowing down the narrative and cluttering the argument. For example, here’s how the author explains the evolution of rapper personas: “Before the gangster, though, rap’s primary agent of flux and mutability was the clown. The slobbering caperer, the winking joke-butt, the wild card.” Simply citing Flavor Flav would’ve worked, too. Levin Becker’s knowledge and passion are unquestionable, but he tries too hard to argue why hip-hop should be taken seriously when it can easily speak for itself.

Unnecessarily dense analysis whose appeal will be limited to die-hard hip-hop fans.