"The masterful art of chess, Kung-fu sword play, and the sweet science of boxing are all hip-hop expressions that connect us universally. Beatboxing tells the story. It's razor sharp."—Masta Killa, Wu-Tang Clan
“I love how Todd Snyder's brain works. Like him, I love hip hop, and I love boxing. But I've never seen someone tie them together so well, detailing their shared history, the way each impacted the other and the personalities involved. Beatboxing” —Greg Bishop, Sports Illustrated
Step into a world of rap moguls turned fight promoters, boxers turned rappers, and rappers turned boxers. From Mike Tyson to Tupac, from Roy Jones Jr. to J Prince, explore how a cultural collision forever altered the relationship between music, race, sports, and politics.
Daryl McDonald of Run-DMC once said that the rhyme Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee! The hands can’t hit what the eyes can’t see!was hip-hop’s most famous lyric. Muhammad Ali’s poetic brilliance and swagger—ignited by hype man Bundini Brown—gave hip-hop artists the template from which they forged their identities and performed their art. Hip-hop’s impact on boxing, on the other hand, has not been explored. Until now.
In Beatboxing, Todd Snyder uncovers the unique connection between hip-hop and the sweet science, tracing a grassroots cultural movement from its origins in the South Bronx to its explosion across the globe and ultimately into the charged environment of the prize ring. Featuring interviews with champion fighters and music legends, this is the definitive book about an enduring phenomenon and is a must-read for boxing and hip-hop fans alike.
"The masterful art of chess, Kung-fu sword play, and the sweet science of boxing are all hip-hop expressions that connect us universally. Beatboxing tells the story. It's razor sharp."—Masta Killa, Wu-Tang Clan
“I love how Todd Snyder's brain works. Like him, I love hip hop, and I love boxing. But I've never seen someone tie them together so well, detailing their shared history, the way each impacted the other and the personalities involved. Beatboxing” —Greg Bishop, Sports Illustrated
Step into a world of rap moguls turned fight promoters, boxers turned rappers, and rappers turned boxers. From Mike Tyson to Tupac, from Roy Jones Jr. to J Prince, explore how a cultural collision forever altered the relationship between music, race, sports, and politics.
Daryl McDonald of Run-DMC once said that the rhyme Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee! The hands can’t hit what the eyes can’t see!was hip-hop’s most famous lyric. Muhammad Ali’s poetic brilliance and swagger—ignited by hype man Bundini Brown—gave hip-hop artists the template from which they forged their identities and performed their art. Hip-hop’s impact on boxing, on the other hand, has not been explored. Until now.
In Beatboxing, Todd Snyder uncovers the unique connection between hip-hop and the sweet science, tracing a grassroots cultural movement from its origins in the South Bronx to its explosion across the globe and ultimately into the charged environment of the prize ring. Featuring interviews with champion fighters and music legends, this is the definitive book about an enduring phenomenon and is a must-read for boxing and hip-hop fans alike.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PRELUDE
Tale of the (Cassette) Tape
INTRODUCTION
Check the Rhime
CHAPTER 1
Streets Is Watching
CHAPTER 2
Brooklyn Go Hard
CHAPTER 3
Let the Rhythm Hit ’Em
CHAPTER 4
Walk This Way
CHAPTER 5
Welcome to the Terrordome
CHAPTER 6
Me Against the World
CHAPTER 7
Ambitionz Az a Ridah
CHAPTER 8
Dirty South
CHAPTER 9
Y’all Must’ve Forgot
CHAPTER 10
Lean Back
CHAPTER 11
Get Money
CHAPTER 12
Get Rich or Die Tryin’
CHAPTER 13
What’s Beef?
CHAPTER 14
Hate It or Love It
CHAPTER 15
Watch the Throne
CHAPTER 16
Mo’ Money, Mo’ Problems
AFTERWORD
Don’t Call It a Comeback
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
APPENDIXES : A COMPILATION OF HIP-HOP & BOXING SONGS
APPENDIX A
Songs that Reference Boxing Personalities
APPENDIX B
Noteworthy Hip-Hop Collaborations with Boxers
APPENDIX C
Noteworthy Hip-Hop Songs Specifically Crafted for Boxing
APPENDIX D
Noteworthy Hip-Hop Songs by Boxers
NOTES
WORKS REFERENCED
Dr. Todd D. Snyder is an Associate Professor of Rhetoric and Writing at Siena College in Albany, New York. He received a B.A. and an M.A. in English from Marshall University (2004, 2006) and a Ph.D. in Rhetoric and Composition from Ohio University (2011). Snyder is the author of Beatboxing: How Hip-hop Changed the Fight Game, Bundini: Don't Believe The Hype, The Rhetoric of Appalachian Identity and 12 Rounds in Lo's Gym: Boxing and Manhood in Appalachia. His scholarly research draws from a variety of fields: rhetoric and composition, community literacy studies, communications studies, cultural studies, and critical theory. Snyder also teaches a course at Siena College in hip-hop studies and contributed a chapter to The Oxford Handbook of Hip-Hop Studies. The son of a West Virginia boxing trainer, Snyder’s work is also intimately connected to his life experience, the theme of working class masculinity serving as primary focus of his writing projects.
“I love how Todd Snyder's brain works. Like him, I love hip hop, and I love boxing. But I've never seen someone tie them together so well, detailing their shared history, the way each impacted the other and the personalities involved. Beatboxing is written with such tethering, with that kind of impact and insight. It might be my favorite sports book—since the last one Snyder wrote.” —Greg Bishop, Sports Illustrated
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