ABSTRACT
Hip-hop culture began as the quintessential American subculture, immersed in a unique space and time, and among a regionally specific confluence of races and ethnicities. This chapter presents a contrasting take on hip-hop, seeing it as a dynamic cultural movement rather than simply a subcultural phenomenon. It examines how the forest and trees of hip-hop culture interconnect, how the vantage point of the consumer can shape the consumer's musical interaction, and the manner in which the trees provide a different narrative of hip-hop culture than the forest. Identity-centric aspects of hip-hop, such as knowledge of self in general, and pro-Black narratives more specifically, can speak directly and positively affirm perceived marginalized social identities. Advances in technology and the Internet age have added to this range of available material for hip-hop. The Do-It-Yourself (DIY) generation is made possible by the advance of technology, the affordability of advanced music technology tools, and the amount of free-ware that is widely available.
