Hiplife is a popular music genre in Ghana that mixes hip-hop beatmaking and rap with highlife music; proverbial speech; and Akan storytelling. In the 1990s; young Ghanaian musicians were drawn to hip-hops dual ethos of black masculine empowerment and capitalist success. They made their underground sound mainstream by infusing carefree bravado with traditional respectful oratory and familiar Ghanaian rhythms. Living the Hiplife is an ethnographic account of hiplife in Ghana and its diaspora; based on extensive research among artists and audiences in Accra; Ghanas capital city; New York; and London. Jesse Weaver Shipley examines the production; consumption; and circulation of hiplife music; culture; and fashion in relation to broader cultural and political shifts in neoliberalizing Ghana.Shipley shows how young hiplife musicians produce and transform different kinds of valuemdash;aesthetic; moral; linguistic; economicmdash;using music to gain social status and wealth; and to become respectable public figures. In this entrepreneurial age; youth use celebrity as a form of currency; aligning music-making with self-making and aesthetic pleasure with business success. Registering both the globalization of electronic; digital media and the changing nature of African diasporic relations to Africa; hiplife links collective Pan-Africanist visions with individualist aspiration; highlighting the potential and limits of social mobility for African youth.The author has also directed a film entitled Living the Hiplife and with two DJs produced mixtapes that feature the music in the book available for free download.
#1897801 in eBooks 2000-12-11 2000-12-11File Name: B00CZ9YB2M
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. A Sensitive PhotographerBy Lola B.Wonderful photographs; of course; and the analysis ahead of the photographs and the biographical details are well worth reading.5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. Haunting photos of Brazililans during early 1940sBy A CustomerThe photographer; Genevieve Naylor; went to Brazil after working for the Associated Press and the Roosevelt administrations photographic corps. She brought to her assignment a wonderful eye for composition and an affection for the simple aspects of Brazilian life. This is a compelling book that is beautifully printed and handsomely presented. The author does an excellent job of setting the scene; too.4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Beautifully-reprocused photographs of 1940s BrazilBy A CustomerGenevieve Naylor was a PSA photographer hired by Nelson Rockefeller to travel through Brazil and document how Americans wartime allies lives and worked. Her large format; beautifully printed photos reveal the texture of life in a proud and vibrant country. The author of this book provides clear and highly insightful analysis of the historical context in which to understand and appreciate Naylors genius.