Hip Hop Underground : The Integrity and Ethics of Racial Identification

"Hip Hop Underground"ais a vivid ethnography of the author's observations and experiences in the multiracial world of the San Francisco underground hip hop scene. While Anthony Kwame Harrison interviewed area hip hop artists for this entertaining and informative book, he also performed as the emcee Mad Squirrel. His immersion in the subculture provides him with unique insights into this dynamic and racially diverse but close-knit community.

"Hip Hop Underground"aexamines the changing nature of race among young Americans, and examines the issues of ethnic and racial identification, interaction, and understanding. Critiquing the notion that the Bay Area underground music scene is genuinely colorblind, Harrison focuses on the issue of race to show how various ethnic groups engage hip hop in remarkably divergent waysOCoas a means to both claim subcultural legitimacy and establish their racial authenticity."

Anthony Kwame Harrison holds a Ph.D. in Anthropology from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. He is Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology/Program in Africana Studies at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. He is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Popular Music Studies.