The power is in the mic, and the power has been unleashed in clubs, arenas, stadiums, stages, and parks all over the planet. MC's are able to connect with its audience in a way that the music alone cannot. Hip Hop, via the MC, has undoubtedly become the voice of a new generation. Much attention has been paid to the staggering impact hip hop music and culture has had on the greater American and world cultures; its influence on fashion, television, advertising, and the attitudes of the world’s youth. However, not nearly as much attention has been paid to the social and political impact that the art form and its artists have had. Lyrics of a Rap Revolutionary is designed to transcend rap and venture into the realm of offering commentary and analysis into some of the deeper aspects of life itself. As one of rap’s preeminent political and social groups of all time, front man Chuck D offers direct explanations and interpretations of what his lyrics are about as a tool to help set minds free in this "hustle and flow and get rich or die tryin times." Chuck D — consistently ranked as one of the greatest rappers of all time — will provide insight in the creation of Hip-Hop iconic albums 1988’s “It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back” and 1990’s “Fear of a Black Planet”, both recognized among the greatest politically charged albums of all time featuring rap classics such as "Fight the Power," "Don’t Believe The Hype," "Can’t Truss It," and "Welcome to the Terrordome." As Chuck D explains, "We must remain mindful that there’s a road to freedom, and resist the embarrassingly popular trend that ignorance and a ghetto mentality, which is cast upon us, is our only food for thought or food for non-thought. As MC's we must become more responsible and revolutionary in our approach, because we have young people around the globe listening to our every word and watching our every step." Lyrics of a Rap Revolutionary: Times, Rhymes & Mind of Chuck D will clarify, in a way similar to when a person rereads a book ten years after originally reading it, and allow for a deeper understanding and further insight into the thoughts behind classic and controversial Public Enemy lyrics. Admirers proclaimed him the Bob Dylan or Bob Marley of rap. -- Los Angeles Times One of the most politically and socially conscious artists of any generation? -- Spike Lee Chuck D is the greatest voice in Hip Hop history as far as social commentary and rhymes for the upliftment of Black people. Chuck D is in a league of his own. -- Kool Moe Dee

Lyrics of Chuck D, interspersed with the rapper's reflections.

From the school yards of the South Bronx to the tops of the "Billboard" charts, rap has emerged as one of the most influential cultural forces of our time. This pioneering anthology brings together more than 300 lyrics written over 30 years, from the "old school" to the present day.

A thrilling account of how the Bomb Squad produced such a singular-sounding record—the engineering, sampling, scratching, constructing, deconstructing and reconstructing.

(Book). Talkin' 'Bout a Revolution is a comprehensive guide to the relationship between American music and politics. Music expert Dick Weissman opens with the dawn of American history, then moves to the book's key focus: 20th-century music songs by and about Native Americans, African-Americans, women, Spanish-speaking groups, and more. Unprecedented in its approach, the book offers a multidisciplinary discussion that is broad and diverse, and illuminates how social events impact music as well as how music impacts social events. Weissman delves deep, covering everything from current Native American music to "music of hate" racist and neo-Nazi music to the music of the Gulf wars, union songs, patriotic and antiwar songs, and beyond. A powerful tool for professors teaching classes about politics and music and a stimulating, accessible read for all kinds of appreciators, from casual music fans to social science lovers and devout music history buffs.

Radical ideas for changing the justice system, rooted in the real-life experiences of those in overpoliced communities, from the acclaimed former federal prosecutor and author of Chokehold Paul Butler was an ambitious federal prosecutor, a Harvard Law grad who gave up his corporate law salary to fight the good fight—until one day he was arrested on the street and charged with a crime he didn't commit. In a book Harvard Law professor Charles Ogletree calls “a must-read,” Butler looks at places where ordinary citizens meet the justice system—as jurors, witnesses, and in encounters with the police—and explores what “doing the right thing” means in a corrupt system. No matter how powerless those caught up in the web of the law may feel, there is a chance to regain agency, argues Butler. Through groundbreaking and sometimes controversial methods—jury nullification (voting “not guilty” in drug cases as a form of protest), just saying “no” when the police request your permission to search, and refusing to work inside the system as a snitch or a prosecutor—ordinary people can tip the system towards actual justice. Let’s Get Free is an evocative, compelling look at the steps we can collectively take to reform our broken system.

This book fills the gap in existing literature by exploring other forms of political discourses in non-Western rap music. Theoretically, it challenges and explores resistance, arguing towards the need for different epistemological frameworks in which to look at narratives of cultural resistance in the Arabic-speaking world. Empirically, it provides an in-depth look at the politics of rap culture in Morocco. Rap Beyond Resistance bridges the humanities and social sciences in order to de-Westernize cultural studies, presenting the political narratives of the Moroccan rap scene beyond secular liberal meanings of resistance. By exploring what is political, this book brings light to a vibrant and varied rap scene diverse in its political discourses–with an emphasis on patriotism and postcolonial national identity–and uncovers different ways in which young artists are being political beyond ‘radical lyrics’.

While the Arab revolutions have obviously triggered extensive social and political changes, the far-reaching consequences of the cultural and discursive changes have yet to be adequately considered. For activists, researchers and journalists, the revolution was primarily a revolution in language; a break with the linguistic oppression and the rigidity of the old regimes. This break was accompanied by the emergence of new languages, which made it possible to inform, tell and translate the ongoing events and transformations. This language of the revolution was carried out into the world by competing voices from Syria (by local and foreign researchers, activists, and journalists). The core of this project is to find the various translations of the language of the Syrian revolution (2011 -2012) from Arabic to English to study and analyze. In addition, the discursive and non-discursive dimensions of the revolution are to be seen as another act of translation, including the language of the banners, slogans, graffiti, songs and their representation in English. This research aims, in addition to contextualizing the language of the revolution, to demonstrate how this language was translated into English through three levels of translation. The first explores the context of translations from Arabic into English and examines three English books written about Syria. The second level sees translation as an act of importation into the dominant discourse and is exemplified with three books representing the revolutionary language. The third, and last, level looks at translation from the margin to the center, represented by activist translations from Arabic into English. The research tries to study how translations of the language of the Syrian revolution are reshaped after leaving their originating discourse and entering the English one

The French Revolution brings to mind violent mobs, the guillotine, and Madame Defarge, but it was also a publishing revolution. Douthwaite explores how the works within this corpus announced the new shapes of literature to come and reveals that vestiges of these stories can be found in novels by the likes of Mary Shelley.