The City of Hip-Hop

The City of Hip-Hop positions a unique conceptualization of the history of Hip-Hop, that it was a combination of forces that produced the environment for Hip-Hop to specifically grow in the geographies of New York City and its boroughs. This book argues it was the political forces of the 1970s combined with the economic forces of free market capitalism and privatization of public services, neoliberalism, and the social forces of the deindustrialization of major cities and displacement of populations that led the cultural creation of the “Boogie Down” Bronx. The City of Hip-Hop shows how Hip-Hop is a socio-political reaction that created an alternate reality with a geographic specificity, and it is the interplay with those forces that nurtured it to become the culture force that we know it today in New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago, London, Manchester, Liverpool, Berlin, São Paulo, Tokyo, Washington D.C., Seattle, Paris, Houston, Dallas, Miami, Atlanta, Detroit, Toronto, Cleveland, Johannesburg, Barcelona, Belfast, Gaza City, and elsewhere. Once those of us as fans of the culture zoom out to see such a bigger picture, a much-needed criticism and retelling of the culture and art of Hip-Hop emerges as our understanding.

This book is essential for preservers of the culture, students, scholars, and general readers interested in urban planning, urban design, urban geography, place-making, American Studies, Cultural Studies, Black Studies, and Latin American Studies.

Rob Swift, a DJ par excellence, stands out for his unique contributions to the art and more incredible hip-hop culture. His first crowning achievement was winning the DMC East Coast title in 1992. As a founding member of the X-Ecutioners DJ crew, he played a pivotal role in shaping the DJ culture. Beyond his solo success, he is a global educator, sharing his passion for hip-hop history and the art of DJing.

Rasul A. Mowatt is a critical urban geographer and House Music DJ who focuses on the production and articulation of power through a city. He is the author of The Geographies of Threat and the Production of Violences and Laundering Black Rage. He is also a professor and educator on race, gender, class struggles, cities, colonialism, and violence.