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Reasons we’re anxious to read ‘Dirty South’

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Weekly critic Ben Westhoff’s new book, ‘Dirty South: OutKast, Lil Wayne and the Southern Rappers Who Reinvented Hip-Hop.’

Weekly hip-hop critic Ben Westhoff has a new book out, Dirty South: OutKast, Lil Wayne and the Southern Rappers Who Reinvented Hip-Hop (Chicago Review Press, $15). A few excerpts that have us excited to read it:

The Details

Dirty South: OutKast, Lil Wayne and the Southern Rappers Who Reinvented Hip-Hop
By Ben Westhoff, $15.

“Luke Campbell’s mood improves when the promoter, who is driving the truck, hands him two stacks of cash. He counts it, stashes it and leans back in his seat. Before I know it his tongue is loose. He begins reeling off some killer anecdotes, like the one about how he pissed off the Jacksonville police by showing them his ass, and the one about how he kicked butt at the Supreme Court. Then there’s the one about how he alone is responsible for southern hip-hop.” (Page 21)

“Big Boi and Andre’s willingness to embrace their influences and passions, no matter how un-hip-hop, has given them gravitas. They’re the group your college professor, your drug dealer and your grandmother can agree on.” (Page 97)

“A few years ago, I wrote an essay about how southern hip-hop is like Fox News, and it annoyed some people. It asserted that the rap subgenre and the cable news station are similarly maligned. “If there’s one thing the self-satisfied, liberal, tofu-munching, cappucino-sipping, in-vitro-fertilization coastal elite hate, it’s Fox News,” I began, adding that “B-boyin’, Shaolin-representin’, G-funkin’, Golden Era nostalgiaintelligensia” felt the same about southern rap.” (Page 213)

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