 | |
| Author | Dan Charnas |
|---|---|
| Subject | Business & Economics, Industries, Entertainment |
| Publisher | New American Library |
Publication date | 2011 |
| Pages | 672 |
| ISBN | 1101568119 |
The Big Payback: The History of the Business of Hip-Hop is a book by Dan Charnas chronicling the business history of the hip hop industry.
The book was generally well-received. The Village Voice described it as "epic." [2] Evelyn McDonnell of the Los Angeles Times named it a "must-read...character-driven narrative" for anyone interested in "the music business or hip-hop." [3] Dan Charnas revealed that his research for The Big Payback included interviewing "over 300 people: record executives, entrepreneurs, artists, managers, producers, DJs, journalists," [4] research which McDonnell praised as "meticulous." She also wrote that the book has a "fine sense of both the macro and the micro," calling out in particular how it highlighted the "intertwining of commerce and art." However, McDonnell also wrote that despite its "ambitious scope," the book was "not always balanced...largely ignoring Atlanta, Houston, Miami, etc." while focusing on hip-hop mostly from an East and West Coast perspective. [3]
Publishers Weekly called the book a "stylish, lavishly detailed love letter to the genre and the industry," and praised it for its "nuanced treatment of the impresarios behind signature sounds." [5]
What's the 411? is the debut album by American R&B singer Mary J. Blige. It was released on July 28, 1992, by Uptown Records and MCA Records. After signing a record contract with Uptown, Blige began working on the album with producer Sean "Puffy" Combs. Other producers and songwriters included DeVante Swing, Tony Dofat, Dave Hall, Mark Morales and Mark "Cory" Rooney. The resulting music covered hip hop soul, contemporary R&B, and new jack swing styles.
To the Extreme is the major label debut studio album of American rapper Vanilla Ice released on September 10, 1990 by SBK and EMI. Recorded between 1989–90, it contains Vanilla Ice's most successful single, "Ice Ice Baby". It primarily contains hip hop and pop rap tracks produced by Earthquake, Kim Sharp, Khayree, and Darryl Williams.
Eazy-Duz-It is the debut studio album by American rapper Eazy-E. It was released on November 22, 1988, by Ruthless Records and Priority Records. The album charted on two different charts and went 2× Platinum in the United States despite very little promotion by radio and television. Three singles were released from the album, each charting in the US. The remastered version contains tracks from the extended play (EP), 5150: Home 4 tha Sick (1992). The 25th anniversary (2013) contains two bonus tracks which are 12" remixes of "We Want Eazy" and "Still Talkin.'"
John "Mr. Magic" Rivas, was a prominent Puerto Rican hip hop radio DJ.
Andre Manuel, a disc jockey and record producer called The Unknown DJ or DJ Unknown, was a pioneer in the Los Angeles area's 1980s music scene, moving from electro funk and electro rap to gangsta rap. Now a legend of West Coast rap, he worked with rapper Ice-T in the early 1980s, then with Alonzo "Grandmaster Lonzo" Williams, and with MC Eiht's group Compton's Most Wanted in the early 1990s.
KBLA is a broadcast radio station in the United States. Licensed to Santa Monica, California, KBLA serves the Greater Los Angeles area. The station is owned by Multicultural Broadcasting, through licensee Multicultural Radio Broadcasting Licensee, LLC, and operated by pending owner Tavis Smiley with an urban/progressive talk format.
Egyptian Empire Records is the oldest electro record label owned by Egyptian Lover. Known for its unique style of electro music, it also has a political background because Egyptian Lover was the first Afroamerican Label Owner.
Rob Stone was an American music, media and branding executive based in New York City. Stone was the founder of the full-service marketing agency Cornerstone and co-founder of music and style publication The Fader.
I Remember Me is the second studio album by American singer and actress Jennifer Hudson, released on March 22, 2011, by Arista Records. Hudson worked with a variety of producers and writers on the album, including Alicia Keys, Rich Harrison, Ne-Yo, R. Kelly, Harvey Mason Jr., Ryan Tedder, Diane Warren, and among others.
Daniel Louis Charnas is an American author, radio host and record company executive. He is considered to have played a role in the creation of hip-hop journalism.
KMEL is an urban contemporary radio station that is licensed to San Francisco, California, serving the San Francisco Bay Area. It is owned and operated by iHeartMedia.
Keith Phillip Naftaly is an American music industry executive. He is the president of A&R at RCA Records. Naftaly previously held senior A&R positions at record companies including Arista, DreamWorks Records, and Sony Music. He has worked with artists including Pentatonix, Kesha, Whitney Houston, Kelly Clarkson, Luther Vandross, Sia and Christina Aguilera.
BobbyErvin, professionally known as Bobcat or DJ Bobcat, is an American Grammy Award winner and multi-platinum producer, songwriter, DJ, artist and music executive.
Danyel SmithWilson is an American magazine editor, journalist, and novelist. Smith is the former and first African-American editor of Billboard and Vibe magazine, respectively. She is author of two novels and a history of African-American women in pop music.
Tanya "Sweet Tee" Winley is one of the earliest female rappers, active from 1979 to 1982. She is the daughter of Paul Winley, of Winley Records on 125th Street in Harlem. Paul Winley recorded Tanya's and sister Paulette's "Rhymin' and Rappin'" (1979) and Tanya's solo "Vicious Rap" (1980), which are two of the earliest examples of rap songs by women. Tanya Winley is possibly the first recorded female rapper, and was a contemporary of Lady B.
The Breaks is a 2016 American television hip-hop drama film that chronicles the life of three friends during the early 1990s hip-hop scene. The film stars Wood Harris, Mack Wilds, Afton Williamson, David Call and rapper Method Man. Inspired by journalist Dan Charnas' book "The Big Payback", The Breaks was written and directed by Seith Mann and executive produced by Mann, Charnas, and Maggie Malina, along with Susan Levison and Bill Flanagan.
Evelyn McDonnell is an American writer and academic. Writing primarily about popular culture, music, and society, she "helped to forge a new kind of feminism for her generation." She is associate professor of journalism and new media at Loyola Marymount University.
For other people with the same name, see Paul Stewart (disambiguation)
Dilla Time: The Life and Afterlife of J Dilla, the Hip-Hop Producer Who Reinvented Rhythm is a 2022 biography of hip hop producer J Dilla written by Dan Charnas. It chronicles the life of J Dilla until his death in 2006, as well as his posthumous influence on the music industry. Described as "equal parts biography, musicology, and cultural history," the book emphasizes J Dilla's signature rhythmic time-feel, which Charnas termed "Dilla time," and its wide-reaching impact on modern music.
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