Roy Christopher - Dead Precedents
Roy Christopher traces the story of how hip-hop invented the 21st century. Emerging alongside cyberpunk in the 1980s, the hallmarks of hip-hop — allusion, self-reference, the use of new technologies, sampling, the cutting and splicing of language and sound — would come to define the culture of the new millennium.
Taking in the ground-breaking work of DJs and MCs, alongside writers like Dick and Gibson, as well as graffiti and DIY culture, Dead Precedents is a counter-cultural history of the twenty-first century, showcasing hip-hop’s role in this history.
“Hip-hop has been around for well over forty years now, and in many ways, it has been absorbed into mainstream culture. Roy Christopher argues, however, that its radical practices still contain untapped possibilities. Dead Precedents shows how this cultural movement opens new hope for the future by changing our understanding of the past.” (Steven Shaviro)
Roy Christopher is a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He holds a Ph.D. in Communication Studies from the University of Texas at Austin and a master’s degree in Communication from San Diego State University.
Paperback, published in 2018, 234 pages.
€14.00