What is hip hop? What is rap? A few definitions to guide our study ; The key players (The DJ; The MC; Breaking (b-boys/b-girls)) ; Hip hop chronology ; Hip hop's roots ; Chapter summary ; Study questions ; Key terms

Hip hop's ground zero : the South Bronx and urban America. The South Bronx : where hip hop was born ; The lure of the gang lifestyle ; The gang leader ; From street gangs to social clubs ; Chapter summary ; Study questions ; Key terms

Graffiti art and breaking. Graffiti art ; The emerging youth graffiti scene ; The second generation ; The end of the graffiti era ; B-boying and breaking ; African American roots of breakdancing ; Listening guide : listening to James Brown "Give it up or turnit a loose" ; Listening guide : listening to Jimmy Castor Bunch "It's just begun" ; B-boying as performance spectacle ; West Coast style ; Chapter summary ; Study questions ; Key terms

Rap's African and African-American cultural roots. Rap's pop culture roots ; African roots of rap as oral expression : the jeli tradition ; Storytelling genres ; Toasting ; African American girl culture ; MC battles ; Chapter summary ; Study questions ; Key terms

Old school DJs and MCs. The first wave : DJs and early party scene ; DJ Kool Herc ; Competition and the ensuing DJ battle culture ; Afrika Bambaata ; Grandmaster Flash ; The founding fathers' contributions ; The role of the DJ ; The DJ needs an MC ; The hip hop name ; The second wave : "Rapper's delight" changes everything ; Listening guide : listening to Sugarhill Gang "Rapper's delight" ; The new guard : early commercial old-school rap ; Listening guide : listening to Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five "The adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the wheels of steel" ; Crossing over : the new wave connection ; New technologies and new experimentation ; Chapter summary ; Study questions ; Key terms

The golden era. From old school to new school : concept of rappin' ; Second generation rappers ; New-school innovations ; A survey of new-school styles and themes (1980s-1990s) ; Listening guide : listening to Run-D.M.C. "Rock box" ; Listening guide : listening to LL Cool J "I need love" ; Listening guide : listening to Queen Latifah "Ladies first" ; Listening guide : listening to Nayobe "Please don't go" ; Rap : is it just a fad? ; Chapter summary ; Study questions ; Key terms

Hardcore : "message rap" and "gangsta rap." Hardcore rap ; Flashback : "the message" that almost didn't happen ; Lyrical referencing : Sister Souljah ; Visual references and message rap ; Political empowerment : Public Enemy ; Listening guide : listening to Public Enemy "Burn Hollywood burn" ; From cultural movement to political movement to popular movement ; Hardcore, too : from gangsta style to gangsta rap ; The L.A. gangsta rap scene ; Listening guide : listening to Ice-T "Rhyme pays" ; Listening guide : listening to N.W.A. "Straight outta Compton" ; Rap music as a conduit for political culture ; Consideration of Black nationalism and rap music : wasn't old school also "message rap"? ; Gangstas and stock characters from folklore : two types of hustlers ; Popular culture media images in gangsta and X-rated rap : blaxploitation and gangster films ; Chapter summary ; Study questions ; Key terms

Hardcore II : gangsta in the '90s and responses from within the rap community. Keeping it real? Issues underscoring the representation and exploitation of rap ; Harsh messages of gangsta and X-rated rappers ; X-rated rap /Miami bass ; Controversy with gangsta and X-rated rap ; The emergence of G-funk ; Followers of G-funk ; Pop rap goes hardcore ; East Coast-West Coast rivalry : not just Biggie and 2Pac ; Responding to gangsta rap's domination ; Spiritual themes ; Lauryn Hill ; Listening guide : listening to Lauryn Hill "Doo wop (that thing)" ; Christian rap ; Rap and Judaism ; Jazz-rap fusion ; Listening guide : listening to Us3 "Cantaloop (Flip fantasia)" ; Listening guide : listening to A Tribe Called Quest "Excursions" ; Women in hip hop and rap ; White rappers in the 1990s ; Chapter summary ; Study questions ; Key terms

Hip hop culture and rap music in the second millennium. Hip hop : into the new millennium (1995-today) ; What is underground hip hop? ; The South ; Southern hip hop styles ; Listening guide : listening to David Banner, featuring Lil' Flip "Like a pimp" ; Listening guide : listening to Three 6 Mafia, featuring UGK and Project Pat "Sippin' on some syrup" ; Underground rap as independent or alternative rap music ; The millennials (or the millennial generation) ; Young innovators ; Listening guide : listening to Kanye West, featuring Rick Ross, Jay-Z, Nicki Minaj, and Bon Iver "Monster" ; Chapter summary ; Study questions ; Key terms

Conclusion. What is hip hop? Round two ; Chapter summary ; Key terms.