This book examines the roots of the four pillars of hip-hop--deejaying, emceeing, dance, and graffiti--and explores how they created a culture that burst into the mainstream and went global. A timeline, glossary, essential facts, references, websites, source notes, and an index are also provided.

ch. 1. Born from ashes -- ch. 2. From DJ to producer -- ch. 3. Rapping MCs -- ch. 4. Tagging and bombing -- ch. 5. Rocking and popping -- ch. 6. Looking fresh -- ch. 7. Speaking hip-hop -- ch. 8. Stage and screen -- ch. 9. Hip-hop activism.