Hip hop is a culture and an evolving form of expression spawned in the 70s out of African American oral tradition. The American Heritage Dictionary says that hip hop is “1. A popular urban youth culture closely associated with rap music and with the style and fashions of African-American inner-city residents. 2. Rap music.” However, this is an unsatisfactory definition that does little justice to the culture of hip hop and it contributes to the general public’s lack of understanding and misconceptions about hip hop and its’ elements.
One of the few things that this definition correctly identifies is the fact that hip hop is a culture. It