Includes bibliographical references and index

Introduction : hip-hop arts : our expanding universe / Jeff Chang -- pt. 1. Roots : perspectives on hip-hop history -- 1. Dreams of a final theory / Harry Allen -- 2. Nommo / Anthony "Amde" Hamilton -- 3. (Yet another) Letter to a young poet / Marc Bamuthi Joseph -- 4. Physical graffiti : a history of hip-hop dance / Jorge "Popmaster Fabel" Pabon -- 5. The art of battling : an interview with Zulu King Alien Ness / Joe Schloss -- 6. Got next : a roundtable on identity and aesthetics after multiculturalism / Greg Tate, Vijay Prashad, Marc Anthony Neal, Brian Cross -- pt. 2. Flipping the script : beyond the four elements -- 7. The pure movement and the crooked line : an interview with Rennie Harris / Jeff Chang -- 8. Found in translation : the emergence of hip-hop theatre / Eisa Davis -- 9. From the dope spot to Broadway theater : a roundtable on hip-hop theatre, dance, and performance / Marc Bamuthi Joseph, Kamilah Fores, Traci Bartlow, Javier Reyes -- 10. On lit hop / Adam Mansbach -- 11. Who shot ya : a history of hip-hop photography / Bill Adler -- 12. Words and images : a roundtable on hip-hop design / Cey Adams, Brent Rollins, Sacha Jenkins -- 13. Between the studio and the street : hip-hop in the postmillennial visual arts : a roundtable / curated by Lydia Yee, with Nadine Robinson, Samford Biggers, Luis Gispert, Jackie Salloum -- 14. The city in public versus private : through a scanner darkly / Paul D. Miller, a.k.a. DJ Spooky -- pt. 3. The real : identity in flux -- 15. Trapped in between the lines : the aesthetics of hip-hop journalism / Oliver Wang -- 16. L-vis is a pioneer ; or, legacy : the VH1 special / Kevin Coval -- 17. Burn rubber on plastic bubbles : "gangsta limpin" and the art of Dave Funkenklein / retreaded by Dave Tompkins -- 18. Black talk and hot sex : why "street lit" is literature / Danyel Smith -- 19. It's all one : a conversation between Juba Kalamka and Tim'm West -- 20. Homothugdragsterism / Joël Barraquiel Tan -- 21. how I found my inner DJ / robert karimi -- 22. A brand new feminism : a conversation between Joan Morgan and Mark Anthony Neal -- pt. 4. Worldwide : hip-hop arts beyond borders -- 23. brooklyn / Suheir Hammad -- 24. Falling for Bob Marley / Staceyann Chin -- 25. Inventos hip-hop : an interview with Eli Jacobs-Fauntauzzi / Jeff Chang -- 26. Cape Flats alchemy : hip-hop arts in South Africa / Shaheen Ariefdien, Nazli Abrahams -- 27. Afro-blue : incanting Yoruba gods in hip-hop's isms / Raquel Cepeda -- 28. Native tongues : hip-hop's global indigenous movement : a roundtable / curated by Cristina Verán, with Darryl "DLT" Thompson, Litefoot, Grant Leigh Saunders, Mohammed Yunus Rafiq, JAAS -- pt. 5. Next elements : hip-hop arts and future aesthetics -- 29. Untitled / Walidah Imarisha -- 30. Theatres crossing the divide : a baby boomer's defense of hip-hop aesthetics / Roberta Uno -- 31. Put your camera where my eyes can see : hip-hop video, film, and documentary : a roundtable / curated by Eric K. Arnold, with Rachel Raimist, Kevin Epps, Michael Wanguhu -- 32. Codes and the B-boy's stigmata : an interview DOZE / Jeff Chang -- 33. Revolution : an interview with Brett Cook-Dizney / Jeff Chang -- 34. Scarcity and exploitation : the myth and reality of the struggling hip-hop artist / Rha Goddess -- 35. Towards a hip-hop aesthetic : a manifesto for the hip-hop arts movement / Danny Hoch