Communicating Hip-Hop: How Hip-Hop Culture Shapes Popular Culture

(Author) Nick J. Sciullo

This insightful analysis of the broad impact of hip-hop on popular culture examines the circulation of hip-hop through media, academia, business, law, and consumer culture to explain how hip-hop influences thought and action through our societal institutions. How has hip-hop influenced our culture beyond the most obvious ways (music and fashion)? Examples of the substantial power of hip-hop culture include influence on consumer buying habits―for example, Dr. Dre's Beats headphones; politics, seen in Barack Obama's election as the first "hip-hop president" and increased black political participation; and social movements such as various stop-the-violence movements and mobilization against police brutality and racism. In Communicating Hip-Hop: How Hip-Hop Culture Shapes Popular Culture, author Nick Sciullo considers hip-hop's role in shaping a number of different aspects of modern culture ranging from law to communication and from business to English studies. Each chapter takes the reader on a behind-the-scenes tour of hip-hop's importance in various areas of culture with references to leading literature and music. Intended for scholars and students of hip-hop, race, music, and communication as well as a general audience, this appealing, accessible book will enable readers to understand why hip-hop is so important and see why hip-hop has such far-reaching influence. Considers hip-hop across aspects of culture, recognizing hip-hop's pervasive influence on not only clothing styles, music, and brand consumption but also social movements, political activity, legal thought, and artistry Presents evidence of how U.S. culture is strongly influenced by the main elements of hip-hop culture―emceeing, DJing, break dancing, and graffiti Argues that hip-hop should be recognized both as an object of study and approach to studying popular culture Supplies academically rigorous information and perspectives but is written for an educated general readership