Can't Stop Won't Stop (book): Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Book by Jeff Chang}}

{{For|the album by pop-punk band The Maine|Can't Stop, Won't Stop (album)}}

{{Infobox Boosdadbook

| name = Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation

| title_orig =

| translator =

| image = Can't Stop Won't Stop.jpg

| caption =

| author = [[Jeff Chang (journalist)|Jeff Chang]]

| illustrator =

| cover_artist =

| country = United States

| language = English

| series =

| subject = [[Hip hop]]

| genre = [[Non-fiction]]

| publisher = [[Picador (imprint)|Picador]]

| pub_date = 2005

| english_pub_date =

| media_type =

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'''''Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation''''' is a 2005 book by [[Jeff Chang (journalist)|Jeff Chang]] chronicling the early [[hip hop]] scene.

The book features portraits of [[DJ Kool Herc]], [[Afrika Bambaataa]], [[Chuck D]], and [[Ice Cube]], among others, and is based on numerous interviews with [[graffiti]] artists, [[gang]] members, [[DJ]]s, [[rapper]]s, and [[hip hop activism|hip hop activists]]. [[DJ Kool Herc]] wrote the introduction.

==Reception==

The book was well received, winning an [[American Book Award]] in 2005.<ref>[http://www.ambook.org/btw/awards/The-American-Book-Awards---Before-Columbus-Foundation The American Book Awards / Before Columbus Foundation] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111003235753/http://www.ambook.org/btw/awards/The-American-Book-Awards---Before-Columbus-Foundation |date=2011-10-03 }}. American Booksellers Association. Accessed July 11, 2008.</ref> OnScott T. Sterling of ''[[MetacriticLA Weekly]],'' praised the book receivedas anbeing aggregate"extensively scoreresearched ofand 81meticulously written"<ref>{{Cite web|url=http:/100/www.laweekly.com/ink/05/16/books-sterling.php from|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050312062526/http://www.laweekly.com/ink/05/16/books-sterling.php twelve|title=Before reviews—indicatingBling: Hip-hop's storied past |first=Scott T. |last=Sterling |website=[[LA Weekly]] |date=March 11, 2005 |archive-date=March 12, 2005 |url-status=dead}}</ref> and ''[[The New Yorker]]'' described it as "universalone acclaimof the most urgent and passionate histories of popular music ever written".<ref>{{Cite nameweb|url=review>[http://www.newyorker.com:80/critics/content/articles/050228crbn_brieflynoted |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/2008031514142720060411192529/http://www.metacriticnewyorker.com:80/bookscritics/authorscontent/changjeffarticles/cantstopwontstop050228crbn_brieflynoted Can't|title=The StopNew Won'tYorker: StopThe byCritics Jeff– Chang:Briefly Noted |website=[[The New ReviewsYorker]]. Metacritic.|date=February Accessed21, July2005 |archive-date=April 11, 2008.2006 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

''[[LA Weekly]]'' praised the book as being "extensively researched and meticulously written"<ref name=review/> and ''[[The New Yorker]]'' described it as "one of the most urgent and passionate histories of popular music ever written".<ref name=review/>

Conversely, some reviewers were more critical of ''Can't Stop Won't Stop''. Alex Abramovich of ''[[The New York Times]]'' argued that the book focused too heavily on politics over music, leading it to "lose its form and focus" at points.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/04/books/review/04ABRAM.html?pagewanted=2&ei=5070&en=2320b5c7c907dfaf&ex=1127275200 | work=[[The New York Times]] | title='Can't Stop Won't Stop': A Nation of Millions | first=Alex | last=Abramovich | date=September 4, 2005}}</ref> Ben Thompson of ''[[The Independent]]'' opined that the book focused excessively on topics like "the internal politics of US hip-hop magazine ''[[The Source (magazine)|The Source]]''" while giving insufficient attention to rappers like [[the Notorious B.I.G.]], [[Missy Elliott]], or [[Eminem]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/cant-stop-wont-stop-a-history-of-the-hiphop-generation-by-jeff-chang-504605.html|title=''Can't Stop Won't Stop'': a history of the hip-hop generation by Jeff Chang|last=Thompson|first=Ben|date=28 August 2005|work=[[The Independent]]|accessdate=May 4, 2010 | ___location=London}}{{dead link|date=August 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

The book was criticized for its focus on the political aspects. According to ''[[The New York Times]]'', "Chang is interested in hip-hop as a revolutionary medium... [so] he more or less leaves music behind... adsdd

In 2007, [[KRS-One]] criticized ''Can’t Stop Won’t Stop'': "When I read ''Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop'' I didn’t see the scholarship. I saw [[Kool Herc]] thrown at the front of the book for his own credibility – and the foreword was wack."<ref name=autogenerated1>[http://www.unkut.com/2007/06/krs-one-the-unkut-interview/ KRS-One – The Unkut Interview | unkut.com - A Tribute To Ignorance (Remix)<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> His main point of contention was with the way he himself was covered: "[Jeff Chang] gets around to the Stop The Violence movement and totally down-plays the movement, destroys any kind of hope we have for leadership in our culture, and just breezes over with inaccurate information about the Stop The Violence movement."<ref name=autogenerated1 />

===KRS-One's response===

Jeff Chang responded: "''Can’t Stop Won’t Stop'' was and is never meant to be the last word on anything. It’s meant to be a small contribution to the larger wave of thinking about the hip-hop generation."<ref>[http://cantstopwontstop.com/blog/krs-one-on-cant-stop-wont-stop/ KRS-One on Can’t Stop Won’t Stop « Can’t Stop Won’t Stop<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

In 2007, [[KRS-One]] criticized ''Can’tCan't Stop Won’tWon't Stop'': "When I read ''Can’tCan't Stop, Won’tWon't Stop'' I didn’tdidn't see the scholarship. I saw [[Kool Herc]] thrown at the front of the book for his own credibility – andcredibility—and the foreword was wack."<ref name=autogenerated1>[http://www.unkut.com/2007/06/krs-one-the-unkut-interview/ KRS-One – The Unkut Interview | unkut.com - A Tribute To Ignorance (Remix)<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> His main point of contention was with the way he himself was covered: "[Jeff Chang] gets around to the Stop The Violence movement and totally down-playsdownplays the movement, destroys any kind of hope we have for leadership in our culture, and just breezes over with inaccurate information about the Stop The Violence movement."<ref name=autogenerated1 />

Jeff Chang responded: "''Can’tCan't Stop Won’tWon't Stop'' was and is never meant to be the last word on anything. It’sIt's meant to be a small contribution to the larger wave of thinking about the hip-hop generation."<ref>[http://cantstopwontstop.com/blog/krs-one-on-cant-stop-wont-stop/ KRS-One on Can’tCan't Stop Won’tWon't Stop « Can’t Stop Won’t Stop<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

==Notes==

*Chang, Jeff (2005). ''Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation''. Picador, {{ISBN |0-312-42579ddss42579-1}}.

==References==

{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==

*[http://www.cantstopwontstop.com Official website]

*[http://www.beatknowledge.org/2010/08/15/cant-stop-wont-stop/ Review of ''Can’t Stop Won’t Stop'' on Beat Knowledge]

[[Category:Hip-hop books]]

[[Category:2005 non-fiction books]]

[[Category:Picador (imprint) books]]

[[Category:American Book Award–winning works]]