Firstly, I would like to state that prior to reading this book I had no idea that Japan even had a hip-hop culture.

Coming into this book with no knowledge whatsoever, I found the topic very fascinating. The book at times was interesting enough to hold my attention continuously, while at other times the text got bogged down by deeply esoteric terms. While this is an ethnography, and in that an academic treatise, I do not feel that such language needs to alienate a casual reader. Condry did good to define his terms specifically and give context to each of his points - however, he also had a tendency to bog down the text with a surplus of data where the same point could have been made in a much more concise manner.

While I liked the book, I am hesitant to give it three stars as I felt it could have been written better. The book did give me reason to look up some of the songs and artists mentioned - I was surprised to find that I did enjoy the music. I would recommend some chapters to people who are already fans of the genre, but I would be hesitant to recommend the entire book to them. As I stated above (and at the risk of redundancy) the book falls short due to too huge an emphasis on academic terms. All the same, it is interesting and Condry does do a very good job of fully explaining the genre and what it means for the culture. ( )

I am a big fan of Japanese rap music and though this book is not up to date regarding the current scene, it is interesting and well written. I rather enjoyed it, and recommend it to every one who would like to know more about Japanese rap music. Just keep in mind that there is so much more. Let this one serve as an introduction. ( )

repetitive, but interesting

Somewhat outdated look at hip hop in Japan in the mid-1990s. ( )