Bounce: Rap Music and Local Identity in New Orleans by Matt

Miller (review)

Matt Sakakeeny

African American Review, Volume 46, Number 1, Spring 2013, pp. 174-175
(Review)

Published by Johns Hopkins University Press

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mysteriouslyimportant,”indicatinginthisveinthat“blackmalesexualitiesserveas
oneof thekeylocationsforgrapplingwithboththespaceof deathandthedeath-
boundsubjectivitiesitshapes”(121,122).Hefindsthat“thethugimaginaryworks
atoncetoexpungeandmaskhomosexualdesirethroughsexualviolence”(121),
suggestingthatthismysteriouslyimportant“something”hastodocruciallywith
blackmalesame-sexuality.
EllisconcludesIf We Must Die withaninspireddiscussionof D’Angelo’sfamous
musicvideo,“Untitled:HowDoesitFeel?”asa(self-)objectifyingscene“engaging
apalpableanxietyabouttheeroticviolenceshapingblackmalesubjectivityincon-
temporaryU.S.popularculture...aracialandgenderedeconomyinwhichthey
areimaginedandimaginethemselvesasatoncedesiredandundersiege”(142).
Helinksthiseroticviolence—thatwhichturnsblackmenintheculturalimagination
into“eroticmeat”—toamoreprofoundviolencethatbansblackmenfrompolity
tout court.Theworksof (self-)representation,the“expression”of asubjectunder
erasure—bracketed—producesabizarreeffectwherein“theforceof racialterror
emanatesoutof theblackmalebodyitself ”(127),evenif itdoesnotoriginatethere,
asitwere.Theeroticismof blackmenindexestheembodimentof aconstitutive
exclusionthatfoundstheviolenceof lawenforcement.Howtoundothis?Amidall
of thedeathlyviolenceondisplay,somethingmysteriouslyimportantmightbelimned
intheconspicuousabsenceof attentioninAfricanAmericanstudiesto“thepreva-
lenceof consensualdeath-discoveringsexbetweenblackmeninprisonsandonthe
outside”(122),somethingthatcanperhapsbeapprehendedonlybyasensibility
thatunderstandsthosespacestobeone,living/on/after/death.

Matt Miller. Bounce: Rap Music and Local Identity in New Orleans. Amherst:
U of Massachusetts P, 2012. 214 pp. $24.95.

Reviewed by Matt Sakakeeny, Tulane University

A sthefieldof hip-hopstudieshassolidifiedandbecomeacriticalentrypoint
forresearchonraceandculture,scholarshavetrackedthetransnationalreach
of thegenrewhilealsohighlightingthemanyregionalvariations.Whilebookssuchas
TriciaRose’sHip Hop Wars havemeasuredtheglobalimpactof thecommodification
andcirculationof hiphop,andMurrayForman’sThe ’Hood Comes First underscored
theubiquityof “thestreet”and“theghetto”insomuchhiphop,therearealsocase
studiesrangingfromSouthCentralLosAngeles(MarcylienaMorgan’sThe Real
Hiphop)toTokyo(IanCondry’sHip-Hop Japan)thathavedrawnattentiontothe
localspecificityof hip-hopscenes.
Inthe1990s,afterrapwasestablishedinNewYorkCityandspreadtoLos
Angeles,SoutherncitiessuchasAtlanta,Miami,andNewOrleansdevelopedtheir
ownregionalstylesknowntogetheras“Southernrap”or“DirtySouth.”MattMiller’s
bookfocusesononeof thesenodesof culturalproduction,NewOrleans,wherea
subgenrecalled“bounce”becamethemostrecentinalonghistoryof musicalforms
associatedwiththecity(includingjazz,brassband,MardiGrasIndian,rhythmand
blues,andfunk).Emerginginthe1990s,bouncefeaturedcharacteristicrhythms,
vocalchants,andlyricalthemesthatsetNewOrleansapartandhelpedtolaunch
thecareersof rappersJuvenile,B.G.,andLilWayne.
Bounce: Rap Music and Local Identity in New Orleans isthefirstscholarlymono-
graphdevotedtohiphopinNewOrleans,andthebouncestyleinparticular;it
servesasawelcomeintroduction.Milleralsodirectedadocumentaryfilm(Ya Heard
Me),andoverseesawebsitewithseveralmixtapes(http://www.mattmillerbounce.
blogspot.com)thatcomplementthebook,whichisitself veryaccessibletoreaders

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174 © 2014 Johns Hopkins University Press and Saint Louis University
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unfamiliarwitheitherlocalhiphoporNewOrleans’musicaltraditions.Miller’stext
isasynthesisof journalisticaccountsof thelocalscene,scholarlywritingsabout
blackmusicandNewOrleanshistory,andinterviewswiththeartistsandothersin
thelocalcultureindustry.Assuch,itexcelsasaresourceforthoseinterestedina
veryparticularsceneandhasnogranderaspirationsforinfluencingnationaldebates
abouthiphop.
Aftertwoinitial,andperhapsperfunctory,chaptersonNewOrleanshistoryand
hip-hophistory,Millerfullydevoteshimself tohissubject,chartingtheemergence
of bounceintheearly1990sanditsdevelopmentthroughtheperiodof civic
uncertaintyfollowingHurricaneKatrinain2005.Thereaderistreatedtobiographical
accountsof majorartistsandtheirrelationshiptobounce,includingfascinating
portraitsof themostsuccessfulrappers,MystikalandLilWayne,whobotheschewed
thebouncestyleintheirquestforinternationalvisibility.Emphasizedalsoarethe
keyfigureswhoenabledthemusicians’success,includingproducerMannieFresh,
industryimpresariosPercy“MasterP”Millerof NoLimitRecords,andthebrothers
Bryan“Birdman”andRonald“Slim”Williamsof CashMoneyRecords.Interspersed
throughoutchaptersarrangedchronologically,theseprofilesofferinsightintothe
smallscaleandrelativeinterconnectednessof culturalproductioninthismidsized
marketwithalarge-sizedreputationasamusicalmecca.
Miller’sgreatestcontributionishiscloselisteningtothosesongsthattogether
makeupthecanonof NewOrleanshiphop.Drawingfromculturalstudiesinter-
pretationsof musicalartifactsas“texts,”Millerfindsabundantevidenceof bounce’s
roleinsolidifyinglocalidentityforblackNewOrleanians.Inthefirstwidespread
bouncesinglefrom1990,GregoryD’s“BuckJumpTime(ProjectRapp),”paired
with“WhereYouFrom(PartyPeople),”Millerobserveshow,inhisrapsaboutlocal
housingprojects,“GregoryDcontextualizeshisdiscussionandcelebrationof New
Orleans‘hardness’andneighborhoodculturewithinanationalrapindustrydominated
bytheestablishedcentersof production”(66).Usingthetoolsof musicalanalysis,
MillershowshowproducerMannieFresh’susageof theubiquitous“Triggerman”
beat,arepeateddrumpatternthatbecamethebasisforvirtuallyeverybouncesong,
linkedthenewstyletothecity’sbrass-bandparadingtradition,creating“heavily
syncopated,parade-inflectedelectronicsnareandbassdrumpatterns”(65).
“Triggerman”itself figuresasacharacterinthebookbywayof abiographythat
tracesitsorigininthesong“DragRap”fromtheQueensduoTheShowboys,and
followsitsascenttobecomingthebedrockof bounce.Alongwithothermusical
elements,includingcall-and-responsechants,relaxedtempos,andmelodicvocals,
thesefeatures,ascomparedtoothersubgenresof rap,madebounceasonicidentifier
of latetwentieth-centuryNewOrleans.
AnAmericanstudiesscholar,Millerdeploysinterdisciplinarymethodologiesto
providearichportrayalof bounce’slocalsignificance.Thisfocusonthemicrolevel
does,however,sometimesleavethereaderisolatedfrombroadercontexts;for
instance,Miller’sdiscussionof localindependentlabelsispresentedwithlittlerefer-
encetothenationalproliferationof hip-hop“indies”inthe1980sand’90s,andtheir
eventualconsolidationintothe“majors”inthe1990sand2000s.Whilefurthering
thelargebodyof researchonNewOrleans’distinctivetraditions,theemphasison
thegeographicandculturalautonomyof thecityexistsintensionwithevidenceof
itsongoingintegrationinglobalculturalflows,asexemplifiedbythe“importation”
of the“Triggerman”beatfromNewYork.
Fortunately,Bounce: Rap Music and Local Identity in New Orleans doesmuchto
extendourknowledgeof NewOrleanscultureintoboththetwenty-firstcentury
andtheterritoryof hiphop.Thebookisavaluableresourceforanyoneinterestedin
regionalhip-hopscenesorexpressivecultureinNewOrleans,andwhencombined
withMiller’smediaproductions,thereisgreatpotentialforincorporatingthestudy
of bounceintotheclassroom.

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