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A Shadow History of Hip-Hop in White America
by Jason Tanz
—Henry Chalfant, co-director of Style Wars
"Other People's Property is a very good book that is at its best when its author acts like a DJ. But don't get it twisted: Tanz sees hip-hop as text more than as sonic phenomenon or, for that matter, stone groove. Other People's Property is made up of nine journalistic pieces, each a mix of reportage and personal reflection about race and the industry of hip-hop. It's freaky, equally in love with Western philosophers such as Jean Baudrillard and the classic albums from hip-hop's golden era. In a very hip-hop effort to get his shine on, the author mashes up his prose, cutting in and out of reportage and confessional styles. The flourishes of philosophical debate are as boldly gratuitous as rapper Jim Jones' 'Ballin'.' Tanz aims high and has achieved, if not a heavyweight piece of pop culture like, say, Jay-Z's 'Reasonable Doubt,' then at least something like a nerd-rap classic."
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"...[A]s long-form journalism, it's solid. Tanz's take on hip-hop marketing is a nuanced study of corporate America's co-opting of hip-hop that smartly touches on Jay-Z, Malcolm X and ad execs without simply damning rap's commercialization. Elsewhere, Tanz explores how Caucasians hope to transcend racial identity via hip-hop, plumbing complexity that's often overlooked.... Tanz gives the mainstreaming of rap a coherent narrative."
—Rolling Stone
"[A] thoughtful and often insightful work of long-form journalism."
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"Unfailingly empathetic... Hip-hop's transformative capacity is the book's most powerful theme."
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"Tacoma's gift to hip-hop lit."
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"Other People's Property has value from both historical and sociological points of view. Tanz delves into his topic with authority and gusto, whether he's examining how hip-hop made inroads into white culture through tagging or break dancing or how ti has been successfully co-opted by Madison Avenue. OPP is also a damned entertaining read from a talented and thoughtful chronicler of pop culture."
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"Describing the flash points at which America's wistful identity politics bump up against America's gritty racial politics, Jason Tanz's idiosyncratic reporting, sharp analysis, and deadpan wit flow like Rakim's rhymes."
—Bill Adler, founding director of publicity, Def Jam Recordings, and producer/writer of And You Don't Stop: 30 Years of Hip-Hop
"At once a personal narrative about growing up in racially divided America and a cultural analysis of hip-hop culture, Other People's Property is a penetrating analysis of the many ways that the United States and the world have been transformed in the last three decades by rap artists and their audiences. The extraordinary changes they have generated in every dimension of our society are startling. Tanz's book will be a revelation for those who do not already know that they are living in hip-hop America!"
—Emory Elliott, president, American Studies Association
"Personal without being self-indulgent nad well-researched but never stiff, Other People's Property is a thoughtful, clear-eyed look at a hot-button topic—it's a real contribution to the study of hip-hop."
—Alan Light, author of The Skills to Pay the Bills: The Story of the Beastie Boys, and former editor in chief of Vibe and Spin
"Like some Bizarro Superman, Jason Tanz offers up an alternative world of hip-hop as experienced by young whites. But rather than offer unpleasant defenses of why a white boy could love hip-hop, Tanz instead details the rather remarkable story of hip-hop's ability to move across the color line in ways that matter."
—Mark Anthony Neal, author of New Black Man: Rethinking Black Masculinity
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