'The Big Payback': How hip-hop went from penniless outlaw to penthouse mogul
About 40 years ago, hip-hop started as a penniless outcast in some of America’s poorest neighborhoods.
"Hip-hop is innovation out of necessity, the necessity of being broke," the rapper/producer El-P once said.
Today it is a multibillion-dollar industry that transcends cultures and generations and permeates not just the pop music charts, but television, movies, comedy, fashion and product lines ranging from toys to liquor.
It’s a classic American story of cultural innovation intertwined with capitalist opportunity, a tale of music creating a community which in turn attracted maverick investors who then were swallowed by corporations. The transformation bred multi-media stars, moguls and celebrities such as Jay-Z and Eminem.
Author Dan Charnas tenaciously follows the money trail in “The Big Payback: The History of the Business of Hip-hop” (New American Librarian), which celebrates hip-hop even as it details the backroom deals and marketing strategies that contributed to its explosive growth.
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