Encyclopedia of Rap and Hip Hop Culture

Hip Hop music is comprised of several art forms: 1) MC-ing or rapping 2)B-boying or breakdancing 3)Deejaying (music) and 4) Graffiti art (visual art). This encyclopedia examines all four elements of Hip Hop Culture, providing students, scholars, and music fans with a complete history of the thirty-year music genre. Tracing its early roots from black DJs talking over music in the 1960s, the B-boy dancers in the 1970s, and the scratching and sampling techniques of the '80s to the founding of Def Jam productions, the current East Cost-West Coast rivalry, and superstars such as Eminem and 50 Cent, hip hop fans will find this an indispensable resource.

This encyclopedia includes approximately 100 photographs, discographies after each entry, and a for further listening list at the end of the volume. Also included is the Hip Hop Declaration of Peace.


About the Author
Yvonne Bynoe is an author and lecturer whose work combines the relevant issues of politics, culture, and economics within the context of American popular culture. She is the author of the book Stand and Deliver: Political Activism, Leadership and Hip Hop Culture (2004). Bynoe's writings have appeared in such publications as The Georgetown Journal of International Affairs and the National Urban League's 2001 State of Black America.