Grandmaster Flash

The slender story line of "Wild Style" features red-hot graffiti artist Zoro. He's got girl and family trouble, but is discovered by a reporter, and thus embarks on a journey from outsider to gallery artist. This low-budget art movie is almost documentary in that it includes a who's who of early hip-hop, which was a creative movement played out in Bronx basements, kitchens, dingy bars, and on stoops, one of many things to do on Saturday night. The...

This book "takes readers from 1979, widely regarded as the moment rap became recognized as part of the cultural and musical landscape, and comes right up to the present, with Shea Serrano ... discussing, debating, and deconstructing the most important rap song year by year. Serrano also examines the most important moments that surround the history and culture of rap music--from artists' backgrounds to issues of race, the rise of hip-hop, and the struggles...