DEAD PRECEDENTS: How Hip-Hop Defines the Future
Emerging alongside cyberpunk in the 1980s, the hallmarks of hip-hop — allusion, self-reference, the use of new technologies, sampling, the cutting and splicing of language and sound — would come to define the culture of the new millennium. Taking in the ground-breaking work of DJs and emcees, alongside science-fiction writers like Philip K. Dick and William Gibson, as well as graffiti and DIY culture, Dead Precedents is a counter-cultural history of the twenty-first century, showcasing hip-hop’s role in the creation of the world in which we now live.
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Praise:
“A book with so much energy and passion in it… a lively screed.” — Samuel R. Delany, author Dhalgren
“Dead Precedents shows how hip-hop culture opens new hope for the future by changing our understanding of the past.” — Steven Shaviro, author Extreme Fabulations
“This book extracts detail after detail on hip-hop and cyberpunk and gracefully weaves together a clear and fresh perspective on where we are today. Such a refreshing nonstop read!” — M. Sayyid, Antipop Consortium
“An intellectual hornet's nest, buzzing with ideas. The canon of hip-hop crit welcomes a bold new entry, calculated to blow the doors off the usual moribund academic fare. Theory finds its own uses for things.” — Mark Dery, author Born to Be Posthumous
"Dead Precedents is a phenomenal book—so many fresh insights and considerations, and extremely well-written." — B.R. Yeager, author Negative Space
Reviews:
THE GUARDIAN
Dead Precedents by Roy Christopher Review: How Hip-hop and Cyberpunk Hijacked Culture by Dan Hancox.
OKAY PLAYER
Dead Precedents is on OkayPlayer's list of the best hip-hop books published in 2019 by John Morrison.
CONCRETE ISLANDS
Unmoored from the Flow of Time: Roy Christopher’s Dead Precedents by Stewart Gardiner.
POPMATTERS
Dead Precedents Explores How Hip-Hop Created the Future by Mark Reynolds.
THE NEW INQUIRY
Death by Association by Aida Amoako.Other Press:
LITERARY HUB
Literary Allusion Runs Deep Through the History of Hip-Hop, a book-adjacent essay by Roy Christopher.
THE MANTLE
Dead Precedents: The Lost Tapes, book background and supplementary music, picked by Roy Christopher.
THE QUIETUS
Dead Precedents: How Hip-Hop Hacked The Future, an exclusive excerpt from the book by Roy Christopher.Interviews:
ALLMUSIC BOOK'S DEEP DIVE
An in-depth discussion of the ideas in Dead Precedents with Steve Jurgensmeyer, June 9, 2020.
AFTERNOON LIVE ON KATU-TV (ABC)
Interview on Portland's Afternoon Live on KATU (abc) May 16, 2019.
CALL OUT CULTURE
Talking Dead Precedents on Call Out Culture podcast with my dudes Alaska, Zilla Rocca, and Curly Castro, May 9, 2019.
