Rhymin and Stealin begins with a crucial premise: the fundamental element of hip-hop culture and aesthetics is the overt use of preexisting material to new ends. Whether it is taking an old dance move for a breakdancing battle, using spray paint to create street art, quoting from a famous speech, or sampling a rapper or 1970s funk song, hip-hop aesthetics involve borrowing from the past. By appropriating and reappropriating these elements, they become transformed into something new, something different, something hip-hop. Rhymin and Stealin is the first book-length study of...
Rhymin and Stealin begins with a crucial premise: the fundamental element of hip-hop culture and aesthetics is the overt use of preexisting...