The Rap on Hip-Hop

Abstract

From its humble origins some 30 years ago in New York's bombed-out, poverty-ravaged South Bronx, hip-hop has risen to become a dominant cultural force both here and abroad. Strictly defined, the term refers to the entire cultural constellation that accompanies rap music, which in 2001 surpassed country music as the most popular musical genre in the United States. Originally, hip-hop consisted of break dancing, a freestyle dance largely performed on cardboard flats laid out on the street; graffiti, now an influential element of style in fashion, television commercials, and the visual arts; and rap, hip-hop's unquestionable core, widely conceded to be the invention of DJ Kool Herc. Establishing and maintaining a hip-hop collection that pleases patrons and credibly covers a rapidly evolving field is tricky. Because of hip-hop's mass appeal, public libraries definitely need guidance. On the other hand, scholars are doing the best writing and thinking in the genre, so academic libraries should not be disregarded. This article attempts to straddle both the popular and the learned ends of hip-hop's vast print and audiovisual oeuvre, with a keen awareness of ever-tightening library budgets. A generous listing of recording, DVD's and web sites, are provided in order to assist in making sound choices for expanding Library collections.