Jeff Chang takes on Nik Cohn, old white guys, and da capo

And let's face it (re: last paragraph of Chang's rant): if Lester Bangs were alive today, Chang would be calling him an old white man.

And while Bangs might indeed have be "mentoring a young woman of color," it would only be after he got her drunk on cough syrup and . . . well, you can imagine the rest.

how much did you pay for your all-seeing crystal ball that tells us exactly how impossible situations would have turned out had certain people lived or not lived, anyway?

relax, man, it's just a joke, it's not meant to be taken literally...it's just extending a line of thought introduced by the essay.

I really hope Jeff Chang reviews this book:

Triksta
Life and Death and New Orleans Rap
Written by Nik Cohn
Music - Rap Hardcover
November 2005 $22.95 1-4000-4245-3

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In Triksta, a masterful observer of movements that emerge from dark corners to become worldwide phenomena–early rock ’n’ roll and “Saturday Night Fever,” to name but two –gives us a mesmerizing account of a city, its music, and a way of life that often embraces death.

Nik Cohn’s love of hip-hop goes back to its beginnings, and his love of New Orleans even further, to when he passed through on tour with The Who and discovered a place whose magic has never failed to seize him. As a white, foreign-born writer without money or bling, he would seem the least likely rap impresario imaginable, yet he plunges into this violent and poverty-ravaged world as a would-be producer. His passionate involvement with the music and the people who make it leads him through a New Orleans–wards, clubs, and projects–hidden from anyone not born to it: a journey into the heart of the hip-hop dream. En route, he immerses us in lives we scarcely think about, and then only with ignorance and fear, lives at once desperate, heroic, and endlessly enterprising as these men and women driven by talent and passion struggle to survive. Cohn captures a music that’s hugely popular but rarely understood, and with transcendent humanity he reveals this beloved city in all its tragic beauty.

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Nik Cohn is the author of six previous books, as well as two collaborations with the artist Guy Peellaert. He was born in London, raised in Northern Ireland, and now lives on Shelter Island, New York.

what right does cohn have to say nigga or even write it unless its come from a black persons mouth? the way he uses it just sounds wrong anyway

funnily enough, i just read a long piece about nik cohn and this book and his life in new orleans.

anyway, he comes across as extremely conscious of and humble about his position (old english white guy) vs his subjects (young black rappers). (ps, for the shelter island hataz, he has spent time living in new orleans and has an apartment there. next to a crack house, for extra authenticity).

also, he was even more ahead of his time than i had previously realized--not only invented saturday night fever, but also has a claim on ziggy stardust and pinball wizard too.

plus, he really should be rehabilitated as the OG Popist.

so, step off bitches.