Stare in the darkness: the limits of hip-hop and Black politics

Rap's critique of police brutality in the 1980s. The Hip Hop Political Convention. The rise (and fall) of Kwame Kilpatrick, the "hip-hop mayor" of Detroit. Barack Obama echoing the body language of Jay-Z on the campaign trail. A growing number of black activists and artists claim that rap and hip-hop are the basis of an influential new urban social movement. Simultaneously, black citizens evince concern with the effect that rap and hip-hop culture exerts on African American communities. According to a recent Pew survey conducted on the opinions of Black Americans, 71 percent of black

Introduction: follow me into a solo -- In this journey, you're the journalist: rap lyrics, neoliberalism, and the Black parallel public -- A little knowledge is dangerous: consuming rap and political attitudes -- Follow the leader: hip-hop activism and the circulation of black politics -- Put here to be much more than that: the rise and fall of Kwame Kilpatrick -- Conclusion: Obama and the future of hip-hop politics