Rap Capital
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15
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Average rating3
A modern epic about the most consequential music culture today, Atlanta rap—a masterful, street-level story of art, money, race, class, and salvation from acclaimed New York Times reporter Joe Coscarelli. From mansions to trap houses, office buildings to strip clubs, Atlanta is defined by its rap music. But this flashy and fast-paced world is rarely seen below surface-level as a collection not of superheroes and villains, cartoons and caricatures, but of flawed and inspired individuals all trying to get a piece of what everyone else seems to have. In artistic, commercial, and human terms, Atlanta rap represents the most consequential musical ecosystem of this century so far. Rap Capital tells the dramatic stories of the people who make it tick, and the city that made them that way. The lives of the artists driving the culture, from megastars like Lil Baby and Migos to lesser-known local strivers like Lil Reek and Marlo, represent the modern American dream but also an American nightmare, as young Black men and women wrestle generational curses, crippled school systems, incarceration, and racism on the way to an improbable destination atop art and commerce. Across Atlanta, rap dreams power countless overlapping economies, but they’re also a gamble, one that could make a poor man rich or a poor man poorer, land someone in jail or keep them out of it. Drawing on years of reporting, more than a hundred interviews, dozens of hours in recording studios and on immersive ride-alongs, acclaimed New York Times reporter Joe Coscarelli weaves a cinematic tapestry of this singular American culture as it took over in the last decade, from the big names to the lesser-seen prospects, managers, grunt-workers, mothers, DJs, lawyers and dealers that are equally important to the industry. The result is a deeply human, era-defining book. Entertaining and profound, Rap Capital is an epic of art, money, race, class, and sometimes, salvation.
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I wanted to love this book so much. I am a huge fan of Atlanta rap music and even wrote a term paper on it in high school. When I first heard about it from Stereogum's ‘The Number Ones' column I immediately ordered it because it sounded perfect for me. I was eager to learn even more about the history of Atlanta rap music. This book is not about the history of Atlanta rap. It is instead a loosely connected group of stories focusing on various figures important to the industry of Atlanta rap in the current era, mostly those involved with the Quality Control label. It describes these figures as they first get involved with rap and follows them to where they are today. Throughout we learn about the general culture of Atlanta, from its politics to its crime. One thing I want to give Coscarelli credit for here is his characterization of these people. Coscarelli clearly loves the people he is talking about and makes them seem both like mythological figures as well as human beings just struggling to make it through the day. This is a well-researched book that does go deep into these peoples' lives and personalities. If you want to find out just what Lil Baby is like, this book will tell you all you need to know about him. Another thing I want to credit Coscarelli for is how he doesn't only look at the success stories. Yes we spend a lot of time with Lil Baby and Migos, two massively successful artists, but we also spend time with Lil Reek, who wasn't able to make the most out of his time in the spotlight as well as Marlo, who ultimately died because of the gangbanging that is so vividly described throughout this book. It is nothing if not comprehensive, and I appreciate Coscarelli for showing just what Atlanta is, warts and all. With that said, this book has a serious structural problem. Something about Rap Capital feels poorly edited. It just... doesn't have a flow. While I understand the difficulties that come with trying to describe a massive industry and its connection to the city that birthed it in less than 400 pages, the fact remains that this book has a problem with pacing and cohesion. I feel like the book would be better served if it took all the Lil Baby segments and put them in one section back-to-back and did the same thing with the other figures in the story. Jumping from one person to the other in a somewhat chronological way just makes this book feel awkward and I can't get over that. There is an amazing book within these 370 pages, but the order of everything means that this version is not that amazing book. I think if I came into this book with lower expectations I would have enjoyed it more. As it stands, its structural issues prevent it from reaching the top quality that I feel it could achieve. It's a good book that I wanted to be great.
