Exploring the central role of language in the Hip Hop Nation, this fascinating book examines the complexity and creativity of lyrical production, the real conversations of celebrated Hip Hop artists, and Hip Hop language in an educational context.

H. Samy Alim is a visiting scholar in UCLA's anthropology department and author of You Know My Steez (2004) and co-author of Street Conscious Rap (1999). His research interests include Black Language, global Hip Hop Culture, and the street language, culture, and music of the Muslim world.

Shout outs 1 "The streetz iz a mutha": The street and the formation of a Hip Hop Linguistics (HHLx) 2 Verbal Mujahidin in the Transglobal Hip Hop Umma: Islam, discursive struggle, and the weapons of mass culture 3 "Talkin Black in this White Man's World": Linguistic supremacy, linguistic equanimity, and the politics of language 4 "Bring it to the cypher": Hip Hop Nation Language 5 Spittin the Code of the Streets: The strategic construction of a street-conscious identity 6 "Every syllable of mine is an umbilical cord through time": Toward an analytical schema of Hip Hop poetics 7 "I'm Pharoahe when I'm on stage; I'm Troy when I'm home in Queens": An interview with Pharoahe Monch