. . .

The story of hip hop, like the story of millennial America, is
infinitely more intriguing than typical accounts acknowledge. Most
assessments of the hip hop “generation” or “nation” present a culture
that is monolithic in its worldview or definable simply by age. But if
the thirty-plus-year career of the movement suggests anything it is
that hip hop belies the established definitions and caricatures that
tend to celebrate or condemn the culture. Simply put, hip hop is un-
like anything the world has ever seen. It is a vital source of creativity
and industry for youth. Hip hop is consumed with pop celebrity and
street credibility—and capable, many believe, of transforming young
lives. As I prepared to write this book I set out to address a straight-
forward question: Why does hip hop matter? To address the question
I sought to understand what hip hop means to those who identify so
passionately with the movement. While I certainly had my own ideas
about the significance of hip hop, I also wanted to survey the com-
munities, characters, and currents that make up the movement.

Over the course of its career hip hop has developed a notorious

and even self-perpetuating reputation as a spectacular cultural move-
ment committed to defying the cultural and political mainstream.
But as the borders of the hip-hop nation continue to expand, its big-
gest and most important battle is shaping up to be the one it is hav-
ing with itself. Behind the explosive record sales, trendsetting cachet,
and burgeoning economy is an intense struggle for the soul of the
hip-hop movement. There has never been a consensus within hip
hop about its purpose, identity, or destiny. In fact, the most robust
debates about hip hop have always taken place within the movement.
Hip hop has and continues to be its most potent critic and coura-
geous champion.

Assessing the social and political state of hip hop is, admittedly,

a treacherous enterprise. But as comedian and cultural critic Chris
Rock notes about hip hop’s more troubling trends, “It’s getting hard
to defend some of this shit.” While writing this book, I took stock of

P R O L O G U E

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