Groove Music: The Art And Culture Of The Hip-Hop DJ (Oxford University Press, 2012)

Groove Music is a new volume from Oxford University Press, a treatise on the four decade evolution of hip-hop culture and the record manipulators who have guided that journey.  From the sound system parties in The Bronx in the 70s to the international turntablist scene of the 90s to today’s cutting edge DJ battles, author Mark Katz manages to weave myriad elements into a single enthralling tale of technological revolution, musical passion, and the development of an art form.

Katz deftly handles the twisted and convoluted history of hip-hop, and makes the wise choice to avoid an absolute historical record.  He realizes that the common telling of events is largely based on opinion, and not only is it practically impossible to establish absolute facts, doing so is less important than documenting the culture and telling the stories.  (As DJing is a largely solitary act and the documentation of hip-hop’s rise mostly consists of oral accounts and personal perspectives, verifiable facts are a scarce commodity; it matters less who did a thing first, and more who brought that thing to a larger audience and influenced people in doing it.)

Despite being an academic treatise by an associate professor of music, it’s anything but staid; Katz writes in a quick and breezy style, telling tales with wit and panache.  He’s particularly adept when it comes his evocations of music: capturing sounds in short sentences, and explaining not just the cultural implications of records, but the feelings evoked when hearing them.  Though it’s impossible to characterize exactly how a song sounds, a good writer can convey the emotions and sensations that music creates, and that’s a trick that this book manages to pull off on a regular basis.  The descriptions are vivid and compelling, and clearly demonstrate the author’s passion for his subject.  Not only did I learn a lot while reading, I was constantly stopping to take notes on songs that I needed to track down or revisit.

The amount of research put into this book is staggering – nearly every significant hip-hop DJ is mentioned, and interview material appears from a virtual who’s who of record spinners.  DJ Premier, Qbert, Grandmaster Flash, Mixmaster Mike, DJ Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa, Johnny “Juice” Rosado, Grandmixer D.ST, and a host of others are quoted, and add invaluable context for the stories being told.

Katz also isn’t afraid to delve into the more controversial and self-contradicting aspects of hip-hop and DJ culture.  Issues of gender stereotyping and equality, race, and violence are all dealt with in depth, and no easy answers or brushed-off dismissals are offered in order to avoid conflict.  There’s a refreshing honesty in the acceptance and open discussion of these topics.  No rose-colored glasses are applied – difficult topics are handled with honesty and an understanding that no easy answers are forthcoming.  And though these issues are given proper weight, it never gets too dry or heavy-handed.  Katz has a confident and engaging voice, and he uses his skils to keep the narrative upbeat and compelling.

If there’s a flaw to this volume, it’s that its focus on performative DJing neglects to give full credit to the integral role that radio personalities had in the development of hip-hop music and DJ technique. It’s an conscious decision, one that’s explained upfront as a necessity of maintaining a tight focus, but I still found the omission to be a little jarring.  Nods are given to the evolution of DJs into producers, the role of DJ as backing musician and accompanist, and even the phenomenon of mixtape DJs, but the role of radio DJs in popularizing new sounds, songs, and techniques isn’t touched upon.  Kool DJ Red Alert, Chuck Chillout, Mr. Magic, Clark Kent, Funkmaster Flex, and others had massive influences on DJ and hip-hop culture in New York City through the 80s and 90s; tapes of their shows were (and still are) distributed far and wide, and their mixing and manipulative skills developed alongside club and mobile DJs.  It’s a little puzzling that in a volume that’s otherwise so comprehensive, this aspect of the form is passed over.

That being said, there’s far too much amazing information and too many great stories in this book for me to complain about the small details.  Even as a long-time scholar of hip-hop, there’s stories in here that blew me away; factoids and anecdotes that I’d never seen hinted at.  The text flies past, and manages to be both wildly entertaining and an essential historical perspective.  It’s an invaluable addition to any musical library, and a must-read for anyone with an interest in hip-hop, DJing, or the evolution of pop music in the late 20th century.

Groove Music is available from all good bookstores, or from Amazon.  More information can be found on the official website.

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