Between God and Gangsta Rap Bearing Witness to Black Culture

by Dyson, Michael Eric

• ISBN13: 9780195115697
• ISBN10: 0195115694
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1997-01-30
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Michael Eric Dyson is a critic, scholar, and ordained Baptist minister who has forged a unique role: he is a compelling spokesman for the concerns of the black community, particularly with urban youth. In his essays, lectures, sermons, and books, he has emerged as one of the leading African-American voices of our day.Dyson's passion for contemporary black culture informs Between God and Gangsta Rap, his latest foray into the ongoing debate about African-American identity which embraces the hopes of the church and the cool reality of hip-hop. Arguing that the richness of black culture today can be found in the interstices -- between god and gangsta rap -- Dyson brings together writings on music, religion, politics, and identity to offer a muti-faceted view of black life."Michael Eric Dyson is...one of our most compelling spokesmen for the concerns of the Black community today". -- Black History"In Dyson's prose one hears the fervor of a Sunday sermon; in his ideas one sees the analytic scrupulousness of a man who knows a thing or two about tenure committees". -- Christopher John Farley, Time"Eclectically jumping from profiles of Michael Jordan...to the Rev. Gardner Taylor...Dyson provides an expertly composed snapshot of contemporary African-American life". -- Newsday"This brother's sermon is a must-read". -- Shani Saxon, Vibe"Dyson's writing posesses an enviable energy and an ability to mesh influences that include everything from Shakespeare to Public Enemy". -- U.S.A Today

Author Biography

Michael Eric Dyson is an ordained Baptist minister, Director of the Institute of African-American Research, and Professor of Communication Studies at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He is the author of the widely acclaimed Reflecting Black: African-American Cultural Criticism, and Making Malcolm: The Myth and Meaning of Malcolm X. His most recent publication is race Rules: Navigating the Color Line.

Table of Contents

Invocation: Letter to My Brother, Everett, in Prison	3	(25)
I Testimonials: The Joys and Concerns of Black Men's Lives
Obsessed with O. J.: Meditations on an American Tragedy	25	(15)
Gardner Taylor: The Poet Laureate of the American Pulpit	40	(16)
Crossing Over Jordan	56	(4)
The Soul of Sam Cooke	60	(8)
The Lives of Black Men	68	(4)
Marion Barry and the Politics of Redemption	72	(7)
II Lessons: Politics of/and Identity
Moral Panic or Civic Virtue?	79	(6)
A Daughter's Pain, a Father's Legacy	85	(4)
The NAACP and Black America	89	(4)
Carol Moseley-Braun and the Politics of Hope	93	(4)
King's Light, Malcolm's Shadow	97	(4)
Race and the Myth of Black Purity	101	(4)
Blacks and Jews on Stage	105	(4)
Portrait of the Black Family	109	(4)
Screening the Black Panthers	113	(7)
III Songs of Celebration
Shakespeare and Smokey Robinson: Revisiting the Culture Wars	120	(15)
Minstrelsy of Ministry?	135	(4)
Everyday Is Sunday	139	(4)
Mariah Carey and ``Authentic'' Black Music	143	(4)
Old School Love: Chante Moore and Tony Terry	147	(4)
Crossing Over Without Going Under: Luther, Anita, and Vanessa	151	(6)
A Day in the Life of Black Culture: A List	157	(4)
Hip-Hop and the Bad Rap: Hammer and Vanilla Ice	161	(4)
Public Enemy: Rap's Prophets of Rage	165	(7)
Ice Cube: Gangsta Rap's Visionary	172	(4)
Gangsta Rap and American Culture	176	(11)
Benediction: Letter to My Wife Marcia	187	(24)
Index	211	(8)
Copyright Credits	219