I think it does. In clear, evocative and passionate prose, Boyd weaves together the threads of basketball and hip-hop while placing them in a larger social, political and cultural context. He has a wonderful way of revealing backstory to give important events their proper perspective. He'll start with the point he is trying to make and then go backwards to describe the social, political and cultural events that set the stage, if you will, for the present situation. Then he will return to and support his original point. For example, in the chapter about the Detroit Pistons and their emergence as the "Oakland Raiders of basketball," he goes back to 1967, makes his way back to the present and then goes forward. It's interesting to note that this is an accepted cinematic convention and it's just as exciting and interesting to read it on the page.

When he's in his groove, flowin', as they say, he's unstoppable. The mouthpiece is platinum. The one person who pops into my mind is Rasputin-I'm sure if there was still a Tsarina of Russia, the empire would be in just as much trouble if Boyd turned his powers of persuasion on her! In the true style of hip-hop( it being at its core a highly personal narrative), Boyd interweaves his own personal and political belief system within the threads of bball and hip-hop. He states early on that he is "a master agent provacateur" and that he is. He manages to take two things that are often dismissed as pop culture and use them to challenge the reader, both intellectually and emotionally. And it's well worth it.


Getting Schooled   December 22, 2009
SuperPlagiarizer (USA)
In his intro, the author mentions his PhD and street-cred hybrid, saying he's "Einstein plus Shaft." His name -- Todd Boyd. No "Dr." or middle names or initials. Todd Boyd -- Tight.

The writing isn't professor-foggy or professor-take-10-pages-to-make-a-one sentence-point; the words are sharp and clear. There are no big words in quotations, no use of "so-called" and only one "indeed" in the whole book. Nice. And while the writing style doesn't convey the speed and aggression of b-ball, or the inside game (Pat Riley and Phil Jackson's books have more sweat and sneaker squeaks), Boyd has the objective distance and big picture theories of a cultural historian.

Boyd covers basketball since the 1970's. I'll just kick it freestyle with some of his points:

- Kareem exemplified the 70's stars' stoicism. He played basketball -- he was not there to entertain the white man. Boyd compares these types of players to jazz greats who were not looking for popular approval. (Like Miles Davis, who would turn his back to the audience while he played).

- The ABA allowed "street ball" play, while the NBA of the 70's was more conservative. When the ABA folded/merged with the NBA, street style was injected into the NBA. And today, street style is the style.

- In the late 70's, the image of the NBA was of lazy cocaine users. Boyd notes that the NBA was no more coked up than other sectors of the entertainment industry. Boyd does not mention that ballers are athletes worshiped by kids. (And Boyd doesn't mention that Magic, Bird, and Commissioner David Stern all came into the league in the same year and upgraded the league's image).

- Magic redefined "position" by playing all five spots to win the championship his rookie year. This helped break the limitations of position -- players could roam all over -- and furthered the street style. (For example, Jordan or Kobe can bring the ball up the court and create his own shot and/or take it to the hole... formerly a point guard had to set, say, Dr. J up. The Dr. was dangerous on the wing, if he got the ball... Jordan was dangerous always).

- Magic smiled a lot, which was a break from the Jabbar stoic style. Magic made it okay to entertain without seeming minstrel. Boyd claims that it was demeaning that Magic was always mentioned in the same breath as Bird. I say Bird was the second-best all-around player, and they elevated each other. I think Magic would agree. (And the only possible knock on Jordan was that he never had a nemesis - a Bird, a Joe Frazier - that took him to an even higher level. Of course, he had no nemesis because he was too good).

- The Celtics and Duke University teams were whiter by design. It's no accident. (I'd add the Utah Jazz).

- The Detroit Pistons were viewed as Bad Boys because they - and Detroit - were so black. (Plus Lambeer :-). Boyd claims they were hated for the same physical play of the whiter Celts. I say the Pistons played nastier.

- Iverson is Boyd's poster boy for hip-hop style in basketball. He does what he wants, and f*%& 'em. Boyd doesn't seem to have a problem with Iverson showing up late or missing practices. Hey, f#*^ 'em. Uh, those are his teammates he's f&$%ing!

- Boyd likes that high schoolers can and do jump straight to the pros. And he doesn't think high schoolers should have to pass a test to play college ball. He claims that it's NCAA affirmative action for whites. (Chris Rock voice here....) Too many black players? Give the ghetto kids a test! If you have $200, how many pairs of duck shoes can you buy at Land's End, and still have enough to buy a jar of mayonnaise?

- The NBA is increasingly non-white, and the whites are increasingly foreigners. The college game is whiter, as it's more controlled, and the best players - who are also black - go from high school to the pros... or stay in college for a year or two before going pro.

- And Boyd weaves Bill Cosby, Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor, and of course hip-hop into the mix.

- Plus a lot more. For example, Boyd highlights David "Skywalker" Thompson, the most electrifying player of his era. He literally took the air game to a whole new level. His career was cut short (you could say his was the promise that Jordan later delivered on), and I'm glad Boyd told his story.

- A couple things Boyd does not mention, that my creative license allows: 1) In the 1920's, Dr. Funkenstein was the first "black" player in the league. A white man who wore blackface, Funkenstein dazzled the crowd by dribbling between his legs, passing behind his back, and doing a "jump shot". (I find the whole concept offensive: Could you imagine Allen Iverson in white face, high striped socks and short shorts while shooting set-shots and being lauded because "He doesn't have much natural talent, but he plays with a lot of HEART!"). 2) If you look closely at Kevin McHale, you can see the scars on his neck from where they took the bolts out. Was he created in a lab as part of a honky Boston conspiracy? 3) In the early 1970's, Twinkle Toes Jackson elevated the game and electrified crowds as "Master of The Lay-up." Twinkle was the first to take off from the free throw line for a lay-up. While he was in flight, the crowd went c-raaazy! Flash bulbs popped everywhere! Then Dr. J started "slam dunking", and Twinkle saw his glory fade. Twinkle compensated for his increasingly anti-climactic layups by improving his trash talking skills, and became one of the best trash talkers ever.


Whoýs Balliný Now?   June 23, 2004
The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers (RAWSISTAZ.com and BlackBookReviews.net)
3 out of 5 found this review helpful

Todd Boyd takes the notion of the hip-hop industry and basketball being synonymous to an entirely new level. With fluid and memorable references to the similarities of how hip-hop came from the streets, to the formation of how basketball is now the newest form of hip-hop, Boyd captures the essence of the sport like no other.

Using references of how both dominate the streets and how the world of basketball has been changed thereafter, Boyd highlights the game and its glitches, from racism down to the money-making formula that has taken hold today. With no stone unturned, readers are carried through moments of fame, glory and the challenges that former and current NBA players face, including dealings within the drug game and how money-making opportunities being offered today are very similar in nature.

Although basketball used to be a quiet and unnoticed, it has now emerged as a dominant and lucrative force in the professional sports arena. With unparalleled style, YOUNG BLACK RICH & FAMOUS details the life that almost every young black man dreams of. The NBA, its lucrative deals and opportunities have transformed the way everyone looks at young black males and the actual sport today. Actually, it's quite obvious that basketball has emerged as the new "American" sport. They said it couldn't be done and couldn't happen - next question: Who's Ballin' Now?

Reviewed by T. Belinda Williams
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers


Boyd has done it again   May 12, 2004
0 out of 2 found this review helpful

Young Black Rich and Famous by Todd Boyd is an excellent book that chronicles the rise and fall and again rise of young rich Black men in the NBA during the 60s and 70s to the young rich Black men of the present day NBA. Boyd in addition to following the life and times of NBA players in the past 30 years or more makes the connection with the rise of Hip Hop. While the NBA was becoming a Black dominated sport and a rising Black cultural force another Black cultural monster was on the rise as well and that was Hip Hop.

Boyd clearly looks at how the NBA with Hip Hop following right behind puts young Black men at the core of cultural change in the face of racial hostility. If anybody has been lucky enough to read any of Boyd's books, essays or articles, they know that Boyd, whether it be music, film, or sports, consistently puts Black men historically at the center of cultural change in the face of racial contempt.

Boyd in all of his readings keeps it real, precise and consistent when it comes to the Black man and his significance to American culture and society at large. Boyd in Young Black Rich and Famous is witty, clever and at times funny in his breakdown of the NBA and Hip Hop and their relevance to popular culture. This book is a must have for everyone.


Critical Theory meets the NBA   November 16, 2004
Ken (SLC)
4 out of 5 found this review helpful

Using the tools of a critical theorist, Todd Boyd sets out to analyze the quest for freedom of expression and existence, as it is played out on the basketball court and within the Black cultural renaissance of Hip-Hop music. American basketball, as it is played and lived by young African American men and Hip-Hop culture both resist being co-opted by mainstream America. They have both moved from the purlieus of the larger American popular cultural purview to occupy a unique space at the vortex of the American global marketing machine. Within this framework, America and the world, are live witnesses of the creative expression of black culture as it is lived and informed by black rather than white norms and of the global representation of American popular culture, in the face of black rather than white men. Such an analysis requires that one is able to navigate seamlessly between the theoretical constructs of critical theory, the lyrical genius of the Notorious B.I.G. and the choreographic grace of his Airness, Michael Jordan, all the while "keeping it real" as only a Black man can do. Boyd is successful in his methodological approach as he delivers with stunning detail the nuances of what it means to be young, black, rich and famous in America.
Boyd's expertise as a critical theorist is evident as he lays out the theoretical framework for the book and adeptly situates his theory within the venue of the National Basketball Association where Hip-Hop music has become the new national anthem. In addition, his background as a journalist and sports enthusiast gives him a solid foundation from which he recounts more than thirty years of basketball history. As an African American man and scholar, Boyd brings lived as well as critical experience to the understanding of the emergence of Hip-Hop culture as a counter hegemonic movement on the American landscape.
Boyd identifies the creative genius of the African American style of basketball at the center of a transformation that has taken place in the NBA. It is basketball, with its low equipment cost, ability to be played in small places, and its capacity to be played alone, that is uniquely suited for the African American urban reality. Basketball provides African American "ballers" the creative canvass on which portraits of individualized representations of freedom may be painted.
Reminiscent of the aesthetic rhythm of a Magic Johnson assist to James Worthy, Boyd show how the lyrics, the style of dress and the overall attitude of Hip-Hop has informed a new generation "Hip-Hop ballers" in the NBA. Boyd connects the freestyle of play in this new generation of ballers to the freedom of style and expression that is epitomized in Hip-Hop culture.
The connection between Hip-Hop and how it influences the rise of freestyle play in the NBA, and the uncompromising and unassimilated attitude of the young, black, rich and famous NBA stars is critical to Boyd's central theme. Boyd does an outstanding job in developing his thesis along the lines of the transformation of the NBA through these new school players. However, he fails to do justice to the emergence and the development of Hip-Hop as a cultural phenomenon. The book focuses on the transformation of the NBA and Hip-Hop is used primarily as the background music throughout the process. Boyd also neglects the significance of the WNBA as a creative context for African American woman, or perhaps as a restrictive platform for a black female cultural contribution. Finally, Boyd leaves important questions unanswered: Does the power to maintain one's personal freedom and individual creativity only lend itself to the "rich and famous"? If so, how should we address the simply "young and black"?
Overall, the work makes a significant contribution to the growing body of literature that concerns itself with the radical reconstruction of race and representation in a global society. Students and academicians of critical theory, critical race theory, and cultural anthropology will find the examination of the NBA and Hip-Hop as fascinating contexts in which to study race representations and the indigenous creation of cultural norms. In addition, the book provides for the sports enthusiast, a tremendous insight into the evolution of the game of basketball as it distinguishes itself from baseball and football, as the only major professional sport in which individual creativity has transformed the sport, and in doing so transformed the culture.
In the end Boyd makes a shocking revelation that shows that as the NBA gains global popularity as an American cultural commodity, the global spokesperson for American culture is increasingly a black man.