Sometime after Jay-Z wore a Che Guevara T-shirt for his MTV Unplugged performance in 2001, the “urban” clothing store in my local mall—the place where I bought all my Enyce, Sean John, Ecko, and ...

A typical take on rap is that whatever Paul Wall and Busta Rhymes are pulling, there is a whole body of “conscious” rap, also termed “underground,” “alternative,” “grassroots” or less formally ...

In her introduction, cultural anthropologist McQuillar (Rootwork: The Folk Magick of Black America) reflects on contemporary urban youths' ""reluctance to reflect on the broader world around them, ...

The title of this book hearkens back to a fairy tale time that Hip-Hop scholars refer to as the Golden Age. A period when lyricists made their audience think first and dance second, when hemp and ...

This one’s for the hip-hop aficionados. Brother Ali is one of the sharpest, most distinctive and most eminent voices of 21st century conscious rap. DJ Abilities is a tasteful and skilled ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Rap music has long been a voice for struggle triumph and everyday life, but one Oakland record label is using it to create ...

If you ignored the Xbox truck and Virgin Mobile booth, the scene at the Brooklyn Brewery in Williamsburg Saturday looked like a hip-hop period piece circa 1988. Socially conscious messages issued from ...

Ahmer Javaid (left) and Arif Farooq alias Qafilah (right) are among the rappers making up the hip-hop community of Kashmir. Credit: Najmus Saqib They may look like any other group of young men ...

Rap music has long been a voice for struggle triumph and everyday life, but one Oakland record label is using it to create something deeper. 24-year-old Alonzo Henderson is doing something you don't ...

Rap music has long been a voice for struggle triumph and everyday life, but one Oakland record label is using it to create something deeper. 24-year-old Alonzo Henderson is doing something you don't ...