Rip it Up

When Mos Def, platinum-selling New York-based rapper, decided to make a foray into rock 'n' roll, he called the band Jack Johnson. The name choice was a telling one: Johnson was the first black world heavyweight boxing champion, a man who has been described as 'fighting not only for his own dignity but also to knock white America off its haughty perch.' The band Jack Johnson continues the tradition of setting the story straight by challenging the notion that rock is an exclusively white domain. Collecting the stories of Jimi Hendrix, Arthur Lee and Love, Prince, the punk band Bad Brains, and more obscure black members of 'white' bands, along with original interviews with Slash from Guns n' Roses, Little Richard, Lenny Kravitz, and others, author Kandia Crazy Horse makes it bracingly clear that the true story of black rock has remained largely untold for far too long. This is essential reading for any rock fan, presenting the history of rock from an angle unseen until now.