Bomb the Suburbs: Graffiti, Race, Freight-Hopping and the Search for Hip-Hop's Moral Center

by William Upski Wimsatt

Book Overview

Should graffiti writers organize to tear up the cities, or should they really be bombing the 'burbs? That's the question posed by William Upski Wimsatt in his seminal foray into the world of hip-hop, rap, and street art, and the culture and politics that surround it.

Taking on a broad range of topics, including suburban sprawl, racial identity, and youth activism, Wimsatt (a graffiti artist himself) uses a kaleidoscopic approach that...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1933368551
• ISBN13: 9781933368559
• Release Date: January 2008
• Publisher: Soft Skull
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.8" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Please read this book

This book gives the reader an inside view of the Chicago graffiti culture. As a child from rural America, I had no exposure to this art form or the motivating forces behind the hip hop culture. Now I'm finding I can't get enough of it, and even I can relate. Upski is an excellent writer who breaks it down for you in the simplest of terms. Reading this book, you feel like you're having a dialogue with an experienced teacher who is humble, yet blunt. In his second book "No More Prisons", Upski shares some refreshing views on social change, I recommend this book as well.

Catching up with this late.

Listen, I'm not particularly interested in writing a soliloquy here so I'm simply going to tell you what I think. Many of my close friends read this book when it came out in 1994. I blew it off wholesale, because I didn't think I needed someone else to tell me about hip hop culture. As it turns out, I was wrong again. What this book does best is shine a light on the contradictory forces regarding race relations in the US. Upski's greatest asset, in this context, is his honesty. He expresses dismay at the current state of hip hop culture (music, graf, dance, etc.) yet he knows that his legitimacy (as a white participant) is in question. It's really quite fascinating. Upski very clearly cares about the subject matter; his feelings virtually bleed onto the paper. But what kind of power does someone his position have in this case? The answer, of course, is: both more and less than you'd think. This book questions legitimacy, the suburban view of the "ghetto", the "real" ghetto, graffiti's place within the hip hop canon, and, of course, the white presence in hip hop culture. Anyone intersted in this topic should read this book. No one is asking you to agree with the views expressed inside. We are, however, asking for you to participate.

Bomb your mind frame

This book is more than Hip Hop story's to brag to your friends about. Bomb the suburbs by William Upski Wimsatt is a book breaking boundries in the way white kids like me think about hip hop. I feel that if you have any interest in Hip Hop at all, this book is a perfect way to investigate your curiosity. Wimsatt discusses the past, present, and future of hip hop and its relation to whites, and our country as a whole. I don't know any of my friends who were dissapointed in reading this book. Wimsatt is too honest to have the book taken as a joke. I reccomend this book for all "kids" with hip hop in there headphones, and all "adults" who turn off there childrens music out of a frustration that needs to be investigated. This book looks at politics in a much less pompus way than others in it's genre.

Bomb your mind frame

This book is more than Hip Hop story's to brag to your friends about. Bomb the suburbs by William Upski Wimsatt is a book breaking boundries in the way white kids like me think about hip hop. I feel that if you have any interest in Hip Hop at all, this book is a perfect way to investigate your curiosity. Wimsatt discusses the past, present, and future of hip hop and its relation to whites, and our country as a whole. I don't know any of my friends who were dissapointed in reading this book. Wimsatt is too honest to have the book taken as a joke. I reccomend this book for all "kids" with hip hop in there headphones, and all "adults" who turn off there childrens music out of a frustration that needs to be investigated. This book looks at politics in a much less pompus way than others in it's genre. Please set down your fears, and pick up this book at your local independent bookstore if possible.

try it, you'll like it

If you know nothing about hip hop, if you're white, if you don't live in the big city (like me), this is a good book to read to find out more about the other side from a point of view that is neither condescending and fearful nor filled with undue awe. It deals with the past, present, and hopeful future of hip hop culture, and also gives some really surprising insights into how blacks in the big city perceive whites. The author is courageous, honest in his own views, and extremely objective during his interviews with others. It's an amazing amount of wisdom packed into a small space, definitely something to pass on.