Synopses & Reviews
New York Puerto Ricans have been an integral part of hip hop culture since the very beginning: from 1970s pioneers like Rock Steady Crew's Jo-Jo, to recent rap mega-stars Big Punisher and Angie Martinez. Yet, Puerto Rican participation and contributions to hip hop is frequently downplayed, if not completely ignored. When their presence has been acknowledged, it is usually misinterpreted as a defection from Puerto Rican culture and identity into the African American camp. But, Rivera argues, nothing could be further from the truth. Through hip hop, Puerto Ricans have simply stretched the boundaries of Puerto Ricanness and
latinidad.
Review
"...makes a noteworthy statement in the chapters of the Nuyorican Diaspora."--Aurora Flores, VIVA Magazine / New York Daily News
"Rivera's style, craft, and depth make this pioneering yet thoroughly accessible work a commendable addition..."--Bill Piekarski, Library Journal 3/1/03
"Author Raquel Rivera explains the significance of Nuyorican and Latin influences throughout the history of hip-hop music and culture."--The Source 4/1/03
"painstaking research and original reporting" -- Publishers Weekly
Review
Rivera's style, craft, and depth make this pioneering yet thoroughly accessible work a commendable addition... Bill Piekarski
Review
Author Raquel Rivera explains the significance of Nuyorican and Latin influences throughout the history of hip-hop music and culture. Library Journal
Synopsis
New York Ricans from the Hip Hop Zone is the first book to explore the Puerto Rican dimension of hip hop.
Synopsis
Includes bibliographical references (p. [247]-270) and index.
About the Author
Raquel Z. Rivera is a freelance journalist whose articles have appeared in
El Diario/La Prensaand
Hoyin New York,
El Nuevo Díaand
The San Juan Starin Puerto Rico, and in magazines like
Critícas, New York Latino,
In the House and
Stress. A member of the Puerto Rican music group, "Yerba Buena," Rivera lives in El Barrio, New York City.
Table of Contents
Introduction • Enter the New York Ricans • Part I: A Historical Narrative • 1970s and Early 1980s: “Its Just Begun” • The Late 1980s and Early 1990s: Whose Hip Hop? • The Mid to Late 1990s: Ghettocentricity, Blackness and Pan Latinidad • Part II: Topics at the Turn of the Century • Latin@s Get Hot and Ghetto-Tropical • Butta Pecan Mamis • Navigating Blackness and Latinidad Through Language • Remembering Big Pun • Between Blackness and Latinidad: A Historical Overview