"In shifting the emphasis away from textual analysis of rap songs and toward artists’ understandings of their own practices and identities, Chicago Hustle and Flow avoids the most common pitfalls of hip-hop studies texts. Many scholars have written about gangsta rap, but Geoff Harkness’s committed qualitative approach and vividly drawn setting are deep breaths of fresh air." -Michael Jeffries, author of Thug Life: Race, Gender, and the Meaning of Hip-Hop "While the title of this rather academic text hints at Harkness’s intimate, sometimes engrossing perspective on Chicago gangsta rap, he cast a wide enough net to show the challenges aspiring Chicago MCs faced when this city was still considered a hip-hop flyover zone."-Chicago Reader "A must read that will make an impact on and contribution to the literature on the political economy of black music."-CHOICE "A worthy read about a worthy region."-Roy Christopher "It is not just about rappers and gangs. It is about a bigger picture, one that is a reflection of a class and racially divided society."-Criminal Justice Review "Harkness’s approach is wonderfully refreshing. . . Chicago Hustle and Flow is required reading for anyone wanting a peak inside a major city’s underground rap scene."-American Journal of Sociology "Geoff Harkness’s book is a sincere and genuine urban ethnography of the underground rap science in the post millennium period. . . it is plainly apparent that Harkness had a genuine connection with the artists he interviewed."-Ethnic and Racial Studies "[Chicago Hustle and Flow] offers a much-needed alternative representation of young men struggling with a daily life of inequality."-International Journal of Urban and Regional Research "Chicago Hustle and Flow is a compelling book. . . The author does an excellent job of humanizing his interview subjects (again breaking down stereotypes) and providing readers with a perspective that few would otherwise get to experience."-Popular Music and Society "Chicago Hustle and Flow offers a compelling case study of the vital musical microscenes in the Windy City, revealing the dynamics of race and social class."-The Journal of African American History