ABSTRACT
From very modest beginnings, hip-hop has grown into a cultural phenomenon that has transcended boundaries, such as race, class, gender, and geography. Young people in places as diverse as New York, Tokyo, London, Seoul, and Cape Town, to name just a few, have embraced various elements of the culture. They listen to and enjoy the intricate rhymes and rhythms of rap music, and make up their own; they pop and glide in breakdance; they pop open a spraycan and create public works of art in graffiti; and they mix and scratch their way into the art of DJing. In addition, a number of movies, like Beat Street, Wild Style, Krush Groove, Juice, and House Party have centered on the hip-hop phenomenon. Even when the focus has not been on hip-hop, it has been represented in soundtracks, and backdrops of various movies, especially by directors like John Singleton and Spike Lee, and in television shows such as New York Undercover and Homeboys in Outer Space. Hip-hop has arrived in visual and audio media and has loudly announced its presence on the world stage.
