ABSTRACT
These two sentences, written by Guru, a prominent rapper, and published in the June 1996 issue of The Source, captured the unique position of this magazine in hip-hop culture. Having garnered vast amounts of credibility and popularity, The Source outranked and outsold all other periodicals that solely reported on hip-hop music and culture during the 1990s. However, readers, artists, and other media sources consistently challenged the magazine to maintain certain standards and “come correct.” Never achieving a hegemonic position, many recognized The Source as “an expert,” but felt empowered, through letters, to critique and revise a number of its professed ideas. Consequently, The Source was not a vehicle through which the editorial staff imposed its views upon readers. Rather, it was a forum through which numerous actors debated, interpreted, and constructed hiphop culture, identities, and community.
