This is a perfect example of how globalization has affected music. Internationally, artists are able to collaborate and communicate to build transnational cultures that ignore traditional geographic and cultural boundaries. I created this blog to shed some light on this subject, and particularly in the realm of hip-hop.

Hip-hop is a relatively new idea for most of the world. Hip-hop is a musical movement, but it’s also more than that; hip-hop is a culture. It exploded out of New York in the late 1970’s, and took the United States by storm. Hip-hop culture is based around MCing (rapping), DJing, b-boying (break-dancing and graffiti. These art forms were practiced and advanced by incredibly dedicated young people, who used hip-hop as a means of escaping the daily struggle. According to hip-hop pioneer Afrika Bambaataa, its roots include “funk, soul, rhythm & blues, jazz, rock heavy metal, salsa, soca (calypso), TV shows, kiddie shows, horror movies, techno, pop, disco, african, arabic, reggae,” just to name a few. So a form of music, indeed a culture that blends so many others, was bound to go looking for its roots someday, and that’s where international hip-hop comes in. Around the world, there are movements springing up that mirror the 1970’s Bronx, and young people are creating hip-hop cultures of their own.

I created this blog to follow the experiences of fans, artists, filmmakers and writers involved in hip-hop around the world, as well as share some experiences of my own.

At the very least this blog will teach you something about international hip-hop you never knew. However I hope it will do more than that. I want to point out some notable things about international hip-hop, its contradictions and successes. And by the time you're finished reading this, I hope you will be able to feel the incredible amount of enthusiasm, spirit and drive that international hip-hop and all its participants have to offer.