What inspired you to write "The Tanning of America?"
I felt like hip-hop culture was not getting its just due for what it has contributed to the growth of race relations in America, and how much it's changed the world. I felt like, I didn't want this era not to be memorialized for its contributions to society. And when I started speaking to my peers about what I wanted to do, they all were very supportive. They were like, "Our story needs to be told," and that's what took me on the journey to write the book.
View the trailer for the VH1 Tanning of America Rock Doc.
During the 80s, Rap was a revolution that allowed Americans to tell their story. What specific songs from this era were, and continue to be, sources of personal inspiration for you?
Definitely Rakim - "Check Out My Melody." If you just listen to the rap albums that came out in the summer of '88 - forget it. The summer of '88 is one of the greatest musical eras ever, and it just happened to be that era of rap. If you just look at the releases of that year, you would see the amount of talent, and everything that came out in the songs that was super important and relevant - whether it be Rakim, Public Enemy, KRS-One. Eric B., Slick Rick, EPMD, Strictly Business, Big Daddy Kane, N.W.A., all came out the summer of '88. Crazy. Absolutely crazy.
What do you think are today's most important Tanning figures, driving contagious consumer behavior?
Obviously, I think that Jay Z and Sean Combs have been super important in driving contagious consumer behavior. From clothing lines to vodka to lifestyle to music and now owning a cable network, I think Puffy has always been pushing the envelope forward. And Jay Z, same thing, as an artist to building a multimedia empire with Roc Nation.
You've got guys - the younger guys coming up. I think Drake is a very important figure in Tanning - openly being Jewish and mixed-raced, yet bringing a new flavor and insight to rap music, and he's super credible. I think that stuff is also important.
Do you think Nas and Jay Z have transformed rap? Who are main Tanning figures specifically in hip-hop today?
Well I think Jay Z and Nas have transformed rap along with others. I think Slick Rick was a big transformer of rap. Rakim obviously was a big transformer of rap. Public Enemy was as well. And I think Jay Z and Nas and Biggie and Tupac - I think those are guys who've just kept changing the voice of the art form, and grounding it with much more substance than flash.
Drake, discuss:
I think that Drake is just a guy that's really opening the conversation. First of all he sings and raps, and he's credible. That's a very hard thing to get done. The last person that had that kind of thing was probably Lauryn Hill - that can sing and rap equally well. I mean, I don't think he can sing like Lauryn Hill, but he can sing, hold a note, rap, and he's credible - that's the first thing. The second thing is that he's bringing a whole different voice to music that hasn't been there because of his religious beliefs - open religious beliefs, and his interracial parents, and he's from Toronto. I mean it does so much in opening up the conversation because of what his life story is – its different trials and tribulations.
I felt like hip-hop culture was not getting its just due for what it has contributed to the growth of race relations in America, and how much it's changed the world. I felt like, I didn't want this era not to be memorialized for its contributions to society. And when I started speaking to my peers about what I wanted to do, they all were very supportive. They were like, "Our story needs to be told," and that's what took me on the journey to write the book.
View the trailer for the VH1 Tanning of America Rock Doc.
During the 80s, Rap was a revolution that allowed Americans to tell their story. What specific songs from this era were, and continue to be, sources of personal inspiration for you?
Definitely Rakim - "Check Out My Melody." If you just listen to the rap albums that came out in the summer of '88 - forget it. The summer of '88 is one of the greatest musical eras ever, and it just happened to be that era of rap. If you just look at the releases of that year, you would see the amount of talent, and everything that came out in the songs that was super important and relevant - whether it be Rakim, Public Enemy, KRS-One. Eric B., Slick Rick, EPMD, Strictly Business, Big Daddy Kane, N.W.A., all came out the summer of '88. Crazy. Absolutely crazy.
What do you think are today's most important Tanning figures, driving contagious consumer behavior?
Obviously, I think that Jay Z and Sean Combs have been super important in driving contagious consumer behavior. From clothing lines to vodka to lifestyle to music and now owning a cable network, I think Puffy has always been pushing the envelope forward. And Jay Z, same thing, as an artist to building a multimedia empire with Roc Nation.
You've got guys - the younger guys coming up. I think Drake is a very important figure in Tanning - openly being Jewish and mixed-raced, yet bringing a new flavor and insight to rap music, and he's super credible. I think that stuff is also important.
Do you think Nas and Jay Z have transformed rap? Who are main Tanning figures specifically in hip-hop today?
Well I think Jay Z and Nas have transformed rap along with others. I think Slick Rick was a big transformer of rap. Rakim obviously was a big transformer of rap. Public Enemy was as well. And I think Jay Z and Nas and Biggie and Tupac - I think those are guys who've just kept changing the voice of the art form, and grounding it with much more substance than flash.
Drake, discuss:
I think that Drake is just a guy that's really opening the conversation. First of all he sings and raps, and he's credible. That's a very hard thing to get done. The last person that had that kind of thing was probably Lauryn Hill - that can sing and rap equally well. I mean, I don't think he can sing like Lauryn Hill, but he can sing, hold a note, rap, and he's credible - that's the first thing. The second thing is that he's bringing a whole different voice to music that hasn't been there because of his religious beliefs - open religious beliefs, and his interracial parents, and he's from Toronto. I mean it does so much in opening up the conversation because of what his life story is – its different trials and tribulations.
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