I recently had the chance to interview Jeff Chang, a well known activist and historian of Hip Hop culture. His new book, Can’t Stop, Wont Stop, chronicles the history and development of Hip Hop. I found information in Can’t Stop that you can’t find most places. No internet search will bring you the crucial information in this book that until now, most
young people won’t recognize as part of the growth of the Hip Hop movement.
Dynamic: How did Hip Hop introduce itself to you?
JC: I caught the bug just like a lot of other kids in the early ‘80s. We first heard ‘Rapper's Delight’ at the end of 1979, and loved it. Movies like Beat Street and Breakin' clued us all in to the fact that Hip Hop was
bigger than just rap records. Then I saw Wild Style and Style Wars, two movies I can say changed my life. After that, I wanted to know everything about Hip Hop. It became a passion that continues now, two decades later. I chose to write about Hip Hop because it became the vehicle for a global generation to express itself. It is part of our identity. It represents the best and worst of our generation.
Dynamic: What were your goals in writing Can’t Stop?
JC: The goal of the book was not to provide a definitive chronology; lots of books have done that, and much better. I set out to trace the emergence of the Hip Hop Generation, and specifically to place that in the context of the social and political changes that occurred after the civil rights era. There have been two important trends over the last thirty years: the politics of abandonment, and the politics of containment. Both have been driven by a potent combination of racial and generational hysteria. I believe that attempts to build a progressive movement have been hampered by these same problems. The generation gap has solidified into particularly nasty public policy. I wanted the book to start an intergenerational dialogue on how to turn
around these reversals.
Dynamic: Who was Can’t Stop written for?
JC: Everyone, but particularly for two groups: One, those of us who care about racial and social justice and art. And two, my children and the children of my friends and family, so we can have a book to point to, to say, “This is how we did”.
Dynamic: Can you talk a little about the chapters in the book?
JC: Again, the book is meant to be about the rise of the Hip Hop generation, as if it were a child born in the late ‘60s, and moving up through life. So I chose to begin the book in 1968 in the Bronx, some years before the street movements that come to be known as Hip Hop begin to cohere. 1968 is an important year because it's one of revolution around the world. To understand the point we're at now, in a state of global reversal, we need to know about the Bronx at the same
time, where a combination of factors basically combined to destroy the revolution.
Dynamic: How do you want folks to use the information in Can’t Stop?
JC: I'd like folks to understand that culture doesn't come from nowhere, it emerges from a context, and politics is often affected directly by culture.
Dynamic: Where do you see Hip Hop in 10 years? Does it match your hopes?
JC: I don't know! I'm not as good at prognosticating as I am looking at the past. I think one day my sons will come to me and say, "Daddy we don't do Hip Hop anymore. We do this.” Until then, Hip Hop will remain a powerful influence on all of us.
Dynamic: What are your favorite Hip Hop slang terms that you still use today?
JC: I still use the term ‘dope,’ although I realize it dates me now. It's very funny to hear my sons use it. At least I don't say ‘stupid def dope’ anymore!
Dynamic: Where is Can’t Stop available for purchase?
JC: Hopefully everywhere! But the best place is my website: www.cantstopwontstop.com
Jeff Chang has been a hip-hop journalist for over a decade. He has written extensively on race, culture, politics, arts and music.
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