ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the direct and indirect relationships between Black Popular Hip-Hop Culture and Africana Studies. It organizes in the following manner: definition and description of hip-hop culture; definition and description of Africana Studies; reflexive analysis of memory and black artistry; and conclusion and analysis of the Black Popular Hip-Hop and Africana Culture in contemporary times. Prior to this social-historical transition, participants in the cultural movement of hip-hop referred to this genre of music as be-bop. Hip-hip criticism, however, has primarily focused on the music's negative and antisocial characteristics, and has rarely yielded information about hip-hop's relationship to its artistic precursors. An explication of Africana Studies and Hip-Hop Culture can notably address issues of a researcher's cosmology, epistemology, axiology, ontology, and social ecology. The social-political philosophy of Africana Studies regulates thought and agency regarding the retention, evaluation, and description of African people on a continental and diasporic basis.
