The Griot Tradition as Remixed through Hip Hop

Although Hip Hop is known to come from the streets of South Bronx, New York, its origins go far deeper than that. Unconsciously, the innovative souls of the 1970s Hip Hop movement demonstrated the captivating, vibrational sound of the five regions in Africa: Northern Africa, Western Africa, Eastern Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Thus, The Griot Tradition as Remixed through Hip Hop: Straight Outta Africa fleshes out the common threads of Hip Hop's creative genius across the African diaspora and provides an analytical rubric as a guide to a greater understanding of Hip Hop. The author, Frederick Gooding, examines why Hip Hop holds such an important place within contemporary culture in order to determine how a genre that was so controversial and marginal could become mainstream and central. Through the use of various genres, artists, styles, sounds, images, and rhetorical techniques, Gooding analyzes how Hip Hop, when seen through the lens of African connection, can be appreciated for its regenerative and connective power to create relationships between people both nationally and internationally.

Frederick W. Gooding, Jr. is associate history professor and the Dr. Ronald E. Moore endowed professor of humanities at Texas Christian University.

Acknowledgments
Introduction: The Beat Goes On
Chapter 1: Hip Hop, Explained
Chapter 2: Down by Law
Chapter 3: The Drum Speaks
Chapter 4: The Power of Griots
Chapter 5: Sound Reasoning
Chapter 6: Gather Round: Understanding the Cypher
Chapter 7: Dancing with the Ancestors
Chapter 8: The Magic of Musical Ubuntu
Conclusion: And You Don't Stop...
Bibliography
About the Author