How Hip Hop Became Hit Pop: Radio, Rap, and Race

How Hip Hop Became Hit Pop explores the programming practices at commercial radio stations in the 1980s and early 1990s to uncover how the radio industry facilitated hip hop's introduction into the musical mainstream. It shows how the racial structuring of the radio industry influenced the way hip hop was sold to the American public and how the genre's growing popularity transformed ideas about who constitutes the mainstream.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 226 pages
Publication date: 12 September 2023
Publisher: University of California Press

How Hip Hop Became Hit Pop delves into the programming practices of commercial radio stations during the 1980s and early 1990s to explore the mechanisms through which the radio industry facilitated the mainstream integration of hip hop music. Primarily shaped by the Top 40 radio format, the musical mainstream primarily catered to white audiences. However, the introduction of hip hop to these programs brought about a fundamental shift in the radio industry, as stations grappled with the challenge of incorporating a diverse audience into their playlists. Simultaneously, artists faced pressure from the industry to tailor their songs to fit within the confines of radio formats, leading to changes in the sound of hip hop. Drawing from extensive archival research, Amy Coddington uncovers how the racial structuring of the radio industry influenced the marketing and perception of hip hop to the American public. Moreover, she demonstrates how the genre's growing popularity challenged prevailing notions about the mainstream and its constituents.

The author expresses sincere gratitude to the AMS 75 PAYS Fund of the American Musicological Society, which was supported in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Weight: 318g
Dimension: 229 x 152 x 18 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780520383920