Pimps Up, Ho's Down

View the Table of Contents . Read the Prologue .”Sharpley-Whiting's book does not suffer from the sort of cowardice one too often hears from black academics who genuflect to hip hop in order to stay current with the tastes of the students who provide them with whatever power they have on college campuses. Sharpley-Whiting calls them as she sees them and wisely quotes the offensive material when necessary. Her book is high level in its research and its thought, and those looking for adult ideas about the subject should look it up.” --Stanley Crouch, New York Daily News”Sharpley-Whiting gets at the heart of the paradox . . . and puts the discussion on the turntable.” --Washington Post”Sharpley-Whiting unmasks thought provoking socio-political commentaries concerning sexual obsession in rap music and its affects on the black female sense of self.”Allhiphop.com”Offers an insightful look into the strip clubs, groupie culture, and other aspects of hip hop that have given a voice to the disenfranchised while raising troubling questions about what those voices are saying and doing.”Vanderbilt Magazine”Offers damning evidence about hip hop’s underlying racial and social prejudices, examining the politics of gender and providing a feminist’s perspective and insights into black music;s underlying message.”--The Midwest Book Review”Sharpley-Whitting’s uncommon perspective is one that deserves to be examined more often.” --Bitch”For B-girls who embrace both the brashness of Lil’ Kim and the pro-feminism of Lauryn Hill, Pimps Up, Ho’s Down is an intellectual look at the intricate, diverse attitudes of young black women within the hip hop community. Sharpley-Whiting combines thought-provoking text with interviews that range from the ‘rich’ (see Trina) to the ‘regular’ (everyday women), giving a voice to today’s complex and contradictory females within hip hop.” --The Source Magazine”Through provocatively titled chapters such as ‘Sex, Power, and Punanny’ and ‘Strip Tails: Booty Clappin’, P-poppin’, Shake Dancing,’ Sharpley-Whiting provides a sobering analysis of women’s participation in the hyper-sexualized black American, urban youth culture known as hip hop. . . . This book delivers a riveting portrayal of hip hop, from the thumping rap music that serves as a soundtrack for America’s strip clubs to the predatory groupies who relentlessly pursue rap stars.” --Ms. Magazine”Probing. . . . A canny study. . . . Sharpley-Whiting brings both street smarts and sophisticated cultural analysis to her subject.” --Philadelphia Inquirer”Clear and well written. . . . It serves as a decent jumping-off point to discussions of young black women in our current society. . . . Sharpley-Whiting has opened up the dialog, offering a source for research in a burgeoning area of study.” --Library Journal”Sharpley-Whiting provides interesting anecdotes about the ways in which women are portrayed (and often used) within hip hop. . . . [Her] insightful analyses [include] a particularly interesting discussion of the intersections of race, class, and capitalism in strip clubs.” --Bust MagazinePimps Up, Ho’s Down is an in-depth look at hip hop’s effect on young black women. Sharpley-Whiting discusses topics such as light-skinned black (or ethnically ambiguous) females getting more love in hip hop videos, unreported sexual abuse within black communities -- even the fact that most hip hop groupies do not consider themselves groupies. She successfully ties these trends