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Where You're At
'Where You're At: Notes From the Frontline of a Hip Hop Planet' was first published in the UK by Bloomsbury in 2003. It was published by Riverhead a year later in the States, where it won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism.
What the blurb says:
Pinballing around major cities of the world, this is a breakneck journey from the New York projects where it all began to the consumerist arcane of modern Tokyo, from the schizophrenic menace of Johannesburg to the favela drug factions of Rio, as Whitbread Award-winning writer Patrick Neate investigates the way hip hop - the most potent expression of black America - has been appropriated and subsumed by both international capital and local cultures to create a unique and fascinating form of globalism.
A stunning musical jouney, personal pilgrimage and cultural odyssey, 'Where You're At' is ultimately hip hop's story of how it conquered the globe and nobody noticed.
What the critics say:
'A dizzyingly clever, loving case for hip hop as a catalyst for personal and social change.' The Observer
'Neate tells it like it is ... This is a heartening appreciation of a wondrous thing: poetry for the masses. Neate loves it and so should you.' The Times
'A spirited challenge to the lazy assumption that its superstars' bank statements are hip hop's death certificate.' The Guardian
'Neate takes us on a very personal tour of hiphop ... this is the story of a genuine culture told by a genuine enthusiast. A brilliant read, even if you don't know jack about hip hop.' X-Ray
'A shrewd, stimulating book.' Nick Hornby: TLS
'Neate's boundless enthusiasm and positivity proves oddly infectious ... this is thoughtful stuff: think Eminem rather than Vanilla Ice.' Q Magazine
What I say:
Buy it here.
Where You're At: Notes From the Frontline of a Hip Hop Planet
