The '90s ended with a crown. The 2000s turned it into an empire. Volume 4 covers the decade hip hop became the biggest sound on Earth — Eminem out of Detroit, OutKast out of Atlanta, Nelly out of St. Louis. Kanye rewired the producer's chair. Lil Wayne called himself the best rapper alive and made the whole world argue about it. Meanwhile Napster blew up the music business, iTunes rebuilt it, and YouTube put every kid with a camera on stage.
INSIDE THIS VOLUME:
• The megastars: Eminem, Jay-Z, Kanye West, and Lil Wayne run the decade — and the charts
• The regions rise: OutKast's Atlanta funk, Nelly's St. Louis bounce, crunk, and the first stirrings of trap
• The digital earthquake: Napster, iTunes, and YouTube blow up the old music business and build a new one
• The big screen: 8 Mile and the TV era make hip hop the face of pop culture itself
Every number one. Every ringtone. Every headline. The 2000s belonged to hip hop.
Featured in The Source's National Reading Month roundup of top hip-hop history books.
THE COMPLETE SERIES:
Vol. 1 — Origins
Vol. 2 — The 80s Golden Era
Vol. 3 — Rhythms of Resistance: 90s Hip-Hop
Vol. 4 — Beats of the New Millennium: you're here
Vol. 5 — 2011–2020
Vol. 6 — Trap
Vol. 7 — Worldwide
Vol. 8 — The Quiz Book: prove you know all 50 years
The millennium belonged to the beat.
Topics: hip hop, rap, music history, African American culture, urban culture, music biography, music education, cultural studies, hip hop culture, rap artists, music industry, Black history, music evolution, urban music, musical genres, hip hop origins, rap legends, music analysis, cultural movements, music reference, music appreciation, contemporary music history, musical influence, social commentary, music and society, entertainment history, performing arts
Readers of: Jeff Chang, Dan Charnas, Nelson George, Tricia Rose, Jay-Z, Questlove, Shea Serrano, Bakari Kitwana, S. Craig Watkins, Mark Anthony Neal, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Hanif Abdurraqib, Touré, Danyel Smith, Erica K. Blount, Michael Eric Dyson, Nikki D. Giovanni, Joan Morgan, Adam Bradley, Rakim, Chuck D, KRS-One, Kendrick Lamar, Ice-T, Russell Simmons, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, Danyel Smith, Kathy Iandoli, Marcus Reeves, Brian Coleman, Vikki Tobak