For many African Americans of a certain demographic the sixties and seventies were the golden age of political movements. The Civil Rights movement segued into the Black Power movement which begat the Black Arts movement. Fast forward to 1979 and the release of Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight." With the onset of the Reagan years, we begin to see the unraveling of many of the advances fought for in the previous decades. Much of this occurred in the absence of credible, long-term leadership in the black community. Young blacks disillusioned with politics and feeling society no longer cared or looked out for their concerns started rapping with each other about their plight, becoming their own leaders on the battlefield of culture and birthing Hip-Hop in the process. In “Somebody Scream”, Marcus Reeves explores hip-hop music and its politics. Looking at ten artists that have impacted rap, from Run-DMC (Black Pop in a B-Boy Stance) to Eminem (Vanilla Nice) and puts their music and celebrity in a larger socio-political context. In doing so, he tells the story of hip hop's rise from New York-based musical form to commercial music revolution to unifying expression for a post-black power generation.
"Pay attention: one of the most compelling writers of our generation has arrived. Somebody Scream! is a deeply imagined, finely balanced, and richly detailed narrative of our nation's complicated, contradictory, often explosive post-Black Power journey. "
Jeff Chang, author of Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation
"Marcus Reeves gives voice to the world that hip-hop created and still hopes to create."
Mark Anthony Neal, author of New Black Man
"It's inspiring when a writer can bring insight, conviction and perspective to a subject too often lost in myth and controversy. Marcus Reeves does that and more. He knows the music and the history, and brings both vividly to life here."
Anthony DeCurtis, Contributing Editor, Rolling Stone
