Combining a rich blend of essays and poems by representatives from the fields of journalism, activism, theater, film, science, art, law and the spoken word, The Hip Hop Tree offers a provocative take on a contemporary social expression in need of a larger perspective. With timely contributions from Bakari Kitwana, author of the era-defining "The Hip Hop Generation", and outspoken activist and minister, Paul Scott, The Hip Hop Tree challenges both the Hip Hop and civil rights generations to explore the historic, cultural and musical dimensions of this modern-day phenomenon called Hip Hop. "The Hip Hop Tree is an extraordinary addition to the growing bibliography of work depicting this genre's broad cultural dimensions. The Hip Hop and civil rights generations poetically converse with the ancestors within its outstretched limbs." --Hashim Shomari, former aide to a U.S. Senator, activist and author of From the Underground: Hip Hop Culture as an Agent of Social Change "Without the "hip-hop is dead" cliches and revisionist history that mar many a work about this culture, The Hip Hop Tree is a fresh, fluid and enjoyable collection of serious work. For both the hip-hop outsider and insider, the claimant and the hater, this book places things in a necessary context--with style." -Akiba J. Solomon, hip-hop journalist & cultural critic