Around the World

Hip-hop-the culture, the fashion, and the music-started on the streets and in the clubs of the Bronx in New York City. For young people living in the borough's poverty-stricken neighborhoods, it was an inexpensive way to have fun. But it was also a way to spread the word of what the real world was like.

In Hip-Hop Around the World, readers will learn that though the Bronx is the genre's birthplace, its roots were formed in the music of Jamaica. Readers will discover how the East Coast phenomenon spread all across the country, and then throughout the world, including Africa, Europe, and Britain. Perhaps more important, readers will learn that wherever hip-hop develops, it morphs to be- come relevant to that location. It is truly the music of the people.