The Big Payback: The History of the Business of Hip Hop - Dan Charnas

The book got a feature on NPR.

I haven't read the book, but I am glad the thought is out there. Hip Hop is no different from any other cultural product in the sights of money making. What I find unique is the overt and covert relationship people in Hip Hop have with capitalism ranging along "Its not about a Salary its all about reality" and "Stacking Paper" and "Mo Money Mo Problems" No matter how you slice it yo...ur "revolutionary conscious" and "getting paper" rappers live on a continuum of ducket grabbing. I hope this phenomenon is explored thoroughly in this book. I think it's quite important to hold a mirror up to a genre that also contains aesthetics of social responsibility and "reality" to its audience.