The phenomenal success of Los Angelinos like N.W.A, Ice-T, Ice Cube, Coolio, Snoop, Dr.Dre and Warren G. means that every block in Southcentral contains at least one boy who wants to be a rapper. "Westsiders" is a book about seven young men, all of whom are trying to make it in the rap business. It follows the changes in their musical and personal lives as they try and get shows, auditions, record demos in an increasingly shark-filled market-place. A few have been, or are, gang members. Some have straight jobs, others are drug dealers. Some have stable backgrounds, others were raised by grandparents, aunts or single mothers. Some love gangsta rap with a passion, and want to keep faith with it: others want to move on to something more positive. What they all share is the experience of growing up in a place that is far more violent than the one their parents grew up in. They have to navigate the loyalties of neighbourhood and friendship. All have lost close friends or relatives in the violence.
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Amazon Review
After Travellers and Spying in Guru Land, William "West Side" Shaw, in his third book, continues his preoccupation with those on the fringes of so-called respectable society by turning his sights on South Central Los Angeles and the careers of seven aspiring young rappers. C-Double-E and Blue Diamond may have started life as Hermann Collins and Michael Bracks but to reach the top they, like the others, need to be reborn and clad in the emperor's new clothes to embark on the dizzying milk round of recording, talent shows, hustling and wearying inertia as they seek the holy grail of a recording contract and, most of all, Respect. Their talents vary and mostly follow a depressingly dead-end course but one ends up with a break, which in its way justifies all their hopes in this artistic lottery. The didactic literalism of their syncopated patter, jousting with couplets of "spectacular vernacular", betrays metaphorical lives on the economic underbelly of the American Dream. It's a world away from the people who might listen to their polemic; rap is the music and hip hop a lifestyle but here South Central is for real.
Negotiating similar ground to William Finnegan's Cold New World but carrying its bones less heavily, Shaw scans the real and imagined South Central seeking out the habitués of its shadowy margins, determined to uncover the lives behind the myths. Hip hop has become the darling of certain academics but what Shaw finds, apart from conspiracy theories, horrifying death rates and universal "dreaming of greatness", is desperately vulnerable men struggling with their fractured identities, often without fathers, caught up in the grimly violent struggles of gangs. It's all about colour: black or white, Blood red or Crip blue, as they either shoot bullets or word plays at their adversaries. You may prefer your beats unbroken or your jeans less baggy but that is precisely why this should prove an informative and challenging account of the people inside the genre, fabled for its oral tradition but here proving its worth on the page. --David Vincent --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
'An intriguing apologia for gangster rap that deserves to be read by everyone from Charlton Heston downwards' -- Q*** Book of the Month
'Brutally lucid...A focused, cold-headed portrayal of an ungovernable world' -- Rolling Stone
'Brutally lucid...A focused, cold-headed portrayal of an ungovernable world' -- Rolling Stone
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Upon being interviewed for this book I had no idea of the strength of issues he would deal with in the end. He was accurate and wasn't scared to show the truth. This book made me appreciate my current success so much more to see where I have been. I have also discovered how much I have learned about how to be in a relationship and attack the music industry. I can't wait for William Shaw's next endeavor. He should consider film writing.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By "rbaldwin42"
Format:Paperback
Despite living in Scotland, another world from South Central LA, I was fascinated by Shaw's intermingling true stories of struggling wannabe hiphop stars. What adds immeasurably to this is his research into South Central's history and culture, how it reflects and entwines with todays youth there. There are also snippets of interviews with major stars - Cube, Master P, Tupac - and more rhymes than you can shake a stick at. And look out for a "cameo" from a (then) unknown called Marshall Mathers... read this book, wherever you live.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
William Shaw put aside his fears, and travelled to South Central LA to interview a host of would-be rappers. The stories told here are mostly tinged with sadness - the paranoid, ambitious 'Babyboy', the viloent 'Mr. Tibu', the friendly 'Big Al', the almost geeky Herman, and the only success story, 'Mr. Short Khop', who went on to record with Ice Cube. However, it was the stories of 'Rah' and 'Blue Diamond' which touched me most - Rah, whose best friend is shot while Mr. Shaw is actually writing the book, and Blue Diamond, who can't leave his house due to his 'Crip' alliance. I simply can't reccomend this book enough - along the way, Shaw teaches the history of South-Central, and of the Crips and the Bloods. Amazing.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Pretty good,but doesn't go far enough
Reading this you find yourself caught between two stools: half the participants in this book you like ,they are witty and entertaining, the other half dumb, lazy, misogynist and... Read more
Published on 18 Mar 2007 by Caterkiller
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very good book.
If you have the slightest interest in Hip Hop then buy this book. It is mainly about MCs and producers you have never heard of, plus a few you will have but are not major stars. Read more
Published on 28 Sep 2006 by British Commentator
5.0 out of 5 stars
A fascinating insight and a thoroughly enjoyable read
A brilliantly written book which I couldn't bear to put down for a minute and instantly regretted not doing so when I finished it - wishing I had savoured it that bit longer! Read more
Published on 26 Nov 2001
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderfully subtle and insightful.
Arguably the most definitive hip hop book written to date, Shaw's insights about the melting pot of South Central LA are absolutely compelling. Read more
Published on 1 May 2001
4.0 out of 5 stars
No need to rap fan
I might not like rap music in the slightest, but I still enjoyed reading this book. It's a powerful look into a world that is unlike anything I'll ever expect to experience.
Published on 16 May 2000
5.0 out of 5 stars
Tough lives beautifully observed
I'm not a major hip hop fan, but I loved this book. It really gets under the skin of what it would be like to grow up in an American inner city right now. Read more
Published on 8 May 2000
5.0 out of 5 stars
A fascinating insight into modern Black American culture.
Westsiders gives a great insight into why people in the gutter continue to reach for the stars. I would be reluctant to call it a book about music because it is so much more than... Read more
Published on 9 Mar 2000
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating description of south central LA life
William Shaw has written a vivid and gripping account of life in the late 90s in surely one of the most scary (to average middle-class English people), and therefore fascinating,... Read more
Published on 28 Feb 2000
5.0 out of 5 stars
As accurate and insightful as The Simpsons.
This book is so much more than a book about the music industry. It is second only to The Simpsons in the accuracy of its insight into that extremely peculiar country, the United... Read more
Published on 12 Feb 2000
5.0 out of 5 stars
quality written inside story on the LA rap scene
This is definately the first book about the hiphop society i enjoyed reading, since it describes what it is like for real. Read more
Published on 3 Feb 2000
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