Beatboxing: How Hip-hop Changed the Fight Game

by Todd D. Snyder

Overview

"The masterful art of chess, Kung-fu sword play, and the sweet science of boxing are all hip-hop expressions that connect us universally. Beatboxing tells the story. It's razor sharp."—Masta Killa, Wu-Tang Clan

“I love how Todd Snyder's brain works. Like him, I love hip hop, and I love boxing. But I've never seen someone tie them together so well, detailing their shared history, the way each impacted the other and the personalities involved. Beatboxing is written with such tethering, with that kind of impact and insight. It might be my favorite sports book—since the last one Snyder wrote.” —Greg Bishop, Sports Illustrated

Step into a world of rap moguls turned fight promoters, boxers turned rappers, and rappers turned boxers. From Mike Tyson to Tupac, from Roy Jones Jr. to J Prince, explore how a cultural collision forever altered the relationship between music, race, sports, and politics.

Daryl McDonald of Run-DMC once said that the rhyme Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee! The hands can’t hit what the eyes can’t see! was hip-hop’s most famous lyric. Muhammad Ali’s poetic brilliance and swagger—ignited by hype man Bundini Brown—gave hip-hop artists the template from which they forged their identities and performed their art. Hip-hop’s impact on boxing, on the other hand, has not been explored. Until now.

In Beatboxing, Todd Snyder uncovers the unique connection between hip-hop and the sweet science, tracing a grassroots cultural movement from its origins in the South Bronx to its explosion across the globe and ultimately into the charged environment of the prize ring. Featuring interviews with champion fighters and music legends, this is the definitive book about an enduring phenomenon and is a must-read for boxing and hip-hop fans alike.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781949590395
Publisher:	Hamilcar Publications
Publication date:	11/16/2021
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	1,123,930
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.80(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Dr. Todd D. Snyder is an Associate Professor of Rhetoric and Writing at Siena College in Albany, New York. He received a B.A. and an M.A. in English from Marshall University(2004, 2006) and a Ph.D. in Rhetoric and Composition from Ohio University(2011). Snyder is the author of Beatboxing: How Hip-hop Changed the Fight Game, Bundini: Don't Believe The Hype, The Rhetoric of Appalachian Identity and 12 Rounds in Lo's Gym: Boxing and Manhood in Appalachia. His scholarly research draws from a variety of fields: rhetoric and composition, community literacy studies, communications studies, cultural studies, and critical theory. Snyder also teaches a course at Siena College in hip-hop studies and contributed a chapter to The Oxford Handbook of Hip-Hop Studies. The son of a West Virginia boxing trainer, Snyder’s work is also intimately connected to his life experience, the theme of working class masculinity serving as primary focus of his writing projects.

Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PRELUDE 

Tale of the (Cassette) Tape

INTRODUCTION 

Check the Rhime

CHAPTER 1 

Streets Is Watching

CHAPTER 2 

Brooklyn Go Hard

CHAPTER 3 

Let the Rhythm Hit ’Em

CHAPTER 4 

Walk This Way

CHAPTER 5 

Welcome to the Terrordome

CHAPTER 6 

Me Against the World

CHAPTER 7 

Ambitionz Az a Ridah

CHAPTER 8 

Dirty South

CHAPTER 9 

Y’all Must’ve Forgot

CHAPTER 10 

Lean Back

CHAPTER 11 

Get Money

CHAPTER 12 

Get Rich or Die Tryin’

CHAPTER 13 

What’s Beef?

CHAPTER 14 

Hate It or Love It

CHAPTER 15 

Watch the Throne

CHAPTER 16 

Mo’ Money, Mo’ Problems

AFTERWORD 

Don’t Call It a Comeback

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

APPENDIXES : A COMPILATION OF HIP-HOP & BOXING SONGS

APPENDIX A 

Songs that Reference Boxing Personalities

APPENDIX B 

Noteworthy Hip-Hop Collaborations with Boxers

APPENDIX C 

Noteworthy Hip-Hop Songs Specifically Crafted for Boxing

APPENDIX D 

Noteworthy Hip-Hop Songs by Boxers

NOTES

WORKS REFERENCED

Editorial Reviews

I love how Todd Snyder's brain works. Like him, I love hip hop, and I love boxing. But I've never seen someone tie them together so well, detailing their shared history, the way each impacted the other and the personalities involved. Beatboxing is written with such tethering, with that kind of impact and insight. It might be my favorite sports book—since the last one Snyder wrote.” —Greg Bishop, Sports Illustrated

From the Publisher