Nelson George

Cultural critic and longtime hip—hop insider Nelson George considers the impact of the commercialization of rap on the music itself and on the black and white audiences to which it was-and continues to be-marketed. George writes both a history of how the rap music industry developed into a dominant youth culture and an impassioned critique of the negative effects that capitalism can have on urban cultural expression and the communities it influences.

HIP HOP IS NOT A POLITICAL MOVEMENT IN THE usual sense. Its advocates don't elect public officials. It doesn't present a systematic (or even original) critique of white world supremacy. Nor has it produced a manifesto for collective political agitation. It has generated no Malcolm X or Dr. Martin Luther King. It has spawned no grassroots activist organization in...