Here is an attractive volume that covers the history and elements of Hip Hop Culture (the author uses capital letters to distinguish between Hip Hop Culture and hip-hop, the musical genre also known as rap) from its beginnings in the sixties through mid-2005. The first section of the book consists of a series of four essays, for example, Issues in Hip Hop, which has subsections on Can East Coast Hip Hop and West Coast Hip Hop Coexist?; Has Hip Hop Misrepresented Women?; and other topics. The essays are followed by a year-by-year chronology. The longest section in the book contains biographical sketches page or so for each influential person or group, from Afrika Bambaataa through X-Ecutioners. Chuck D and Flava Flav don't have their own biographies, but they are in the entry for Public Enemy. Similarly, Lil' Kim and Lil' Romeo are not treated in separate entries but are mentioned in the text and can be found through the index. A few women, such as Missy Elliott and Salt-n-Pepa, rate their own biographies. Other chapters list data (for example, percentage of dollars spent, listeners by age and ethnicity); awards; selected organizations (the DJ Project, Universal Zulu Nation); and annotated print and nonprint resources, including documentaries and commercial releases such as Save the Last Dance and Don't Be a Menace. Appendixes list the 30 most-influential hip-hop albums and the 50 most-influential singles, starting with Rapper's Delight. A glossary of terms and a thorough index round out the volume. The author is editor of the Journal of Popular Music Studies and an assistant professor of music and African American studies. His style is somewhat scholarly despite the subject's popularity. Even with some questions about who or what the author has included, this will be used in reference collections; larger libraries will want a circulating copy, too. Its information mix complements the strictly A Z Encyclopedia of Rap and Hip Hop Culture (Greenwood, 2005).

This single volume, geared toward high school and college students as well as teachers, features a wealth of information on the evolution and development of hip-hop. Ten chapters, amply illustrated with black-and-white photographs, cover a multitude of topics ranging from the emergence of hip-hop as a means of expression for politically and economically disenfranchised youth to an analysis of its influence worldwide. Individual chapters include a chronology of the major events, innovations, and recordings in hip-hop history; a review of some of the major challenges and controversies associated with hip-hop culture (e.g., the rise of "gangsta" rap, hip-hop and women, and the relationship between hip-hop and violence); biographical sketches of forty-seven well-known and well-regarded hip-hop innovators; statistical data presented in graph and chart form detailing the economic and cultural influence of hip-hop; a listing of organizations, associations, and programs dedicated to the preservation, promulgation, or practice of hip-hop; and an extensive annotated list of both print and non-print resources. Of particular interest are the appendixes, which detail thirty influential hip-hop albums and fifty influential hip-hop singles. A glossary provides an explanation of common hip-hop terms and phrases. This one-stop resource is excellent for students interested in conducting research into a cultural phenomenon as well as fans wanting to broaden their knowledge of favorite artists.-Cindy Lombardo.