Brian Hieggelke

In "The Hip Hop Generation," Bakari Kitwana lays out a powerful and controversial case for an activist political force emerging from the culturally and economically dominant foundation of rap music. (He cites the Christian Coalition as a model!) But before he prescribes, the former executive editor of The Source and editorial director at Chicago's Third World Press diagnoses. And what he sees is a culture in crisis: His is the first generation to grow up after the end of legal segregation. But the promise of the Civil Rights Movement and the disillusion left in its wake has turned his peers into a materialistic and nihilistic bunch. Among many illuminating discourses, he tracks the downshift of working-class jobs from the middle-class union gigs of the last generation into the sub-poverty-level opportunities in today's service economy, resulting in the corresponding appeal of the underground (illicit) economy. Kitwana ties the astonishing incarceration rate for young black men to a racially biased judicial and policing system and the War on Drugs, and points to a visibly higher "success rate" among young black women as a source for a growing enmity between the sexes. And he points out the implications of a generation gap between the civil rights/Black Power generation and his own. Kitwana delivers his message in a straightforward manner, often through the cultural prism of hip hop and the movies. It's thorough--if sometimes debatable--and packed with provocative ideas, including a take on reparations that might just fly.

about Newcitychicago | about Newcity magazine | advertising | privacy policy | FAQ | employment