LibGuides: Rap and Hip-Hop Research Resources: Finding Background Information

Introduction

Reference sources are a great place to start your research when you need to gather initial information about a topic or get a rough overview of a subject so you can decide what areas to research further. Reference books and online tools are also excellent for looking up a quick fact, definition, or date, and they will often direct you to more sources.

If none of the recommended resources are quite what you're looking for, try a search in the library catalog for the subject you're researching and "reference", "handbook", "guide", or "companion" to see what reference materials we might have on the subject. Remember that you can always reach out to a librarian for help if your search doesn't turn up promising results!

Choosing a Reference Source

We've divided our recommendations by category: encyclopedias, biographies, dictionaries, and discographies. Use the tabs on the box below to navigate the different categories.

Encyclopedias can provide helpful introductions or overviews, and they are an excellent source for checking quick facts.
Biographies are an excellent reference for learning about a particular artist or performer's life and history.
Hip-Hop and Rap Dictionaries are a useful resource for navigating the subject's unique terminology.
Discographies provide lists of sound recordings with information such as artists involved, the date and location, the title of the piece performed, release dates, chart positions, and sales figures.

Rap & Hip-Hop Reference Recommendations

St. James Encyclopedia of Hip Hop Culture by Thomas Riggs, ed.
Call Number: Online Resource
Presents more than 200 entries that examine the history and contributions of hip hop to American and global culture. Entries in the work discuss the music (rap and DJing), dance (breakdancing), and visual arts (graffiti) that are the artistic expressions of hip hop culture.
Hip-Hop Studies: an international bibliography and resource guide by John Gray
Call Number: MPAL Reference Non-circulating ML128.R28 G73 2016
This remarkable new study provides the first comprehensive overview of the burgeoning field of Hip-Hop Studies and its enormous literature. Comprised of more than 7000 entries it encompasses both the early journalistic and popular writing on the subject as well as the wealth of scholarship that has emerged since the mid-1990s.
Encyclopedia of Rap and Hip Hop Culture by Yvonne Bynoe
Call Number: MPAL Reference Non-circulating ML102.R27 B96
A complete guide to the history, development, people, events, and ideas of Rap and Hip-Hop music and culture.
Icons of Hip Hop: an encyclopedia of the movement, music, and culture by Mickey Hess
Call Number: MPAL Reference Non-circulating ML394 .I26 2007
This unique reference provides substantial entries on the most revolutionary hip-hop artists and innovators, past and present, and offers in-depth coverage of each icon's influence in shaping hip-hop music.

God Save the Queens by Kathy Iandoli
Call Number: ML3531 .I26 2019
God Save the Queens pays tribute to the women of hip-hop--from the early work of Roxanne Shante, to hitmakers like Queen Latifah and Missy Elliot, to the superstars of today. Exploring issues of gender, money, sexuality, violence, body image, feuds, objectification and more, God Save the Queens is an important and monumental work of music journalism that at last gives these influential female artists the respect they have long deserved.
Promise That You Will Sing about Me by Miles Marshall Lewis
Call Number: ML420.L2276 L48 2021
A stunning, in-depth look at the power and poetry of one of the most consequential rappers of our time. Kendrick Lamar is one of the most influential rappers, songwriters and record producers of his generation. Widely known for his incredible lyrics and powerful music, he is regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time.
Original Gangstas by Ben Westhoff
Call Number: ML3531 .W475 2016
A monumental, revealing narrative history about the legendary group of artists at the forefront of West Coast hip-hop: Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, and Tupac Shakur. Featuring extensive investigative reporting, interviews with the principal players, and dozens of never-before-told stories, Original Gangstas is a groundbreaking addition to the history of popular music.
From the Streets of Shaolin by S. H. Fernando
Call Number: ML421.W8 F47 2021
This definitive biography of rap supergroup, Wu-Tang Clan, features decades of unpublished interviews and unparalleled access to members of the group and their associates. Using such exclusive access as well as the wealth of open-source material, Fernando reconstructs the genesis and evolution of the group, delving into their unique ideology and range of influences, and detailing exactly how they changed the game and established a legacy that continues to this day.

Hip Hoptionary by Paul Westbrook; Alonzo T. Westbrook
Call Number: Oak St Library ML102.R27 W47 2002
In addition to the lexicon of idioms and beeper codes, Hip Hoptionary™ also features lists of hip-hop fashion labels, books, mixed drinks, and brief bios of America’s famous rappers.
Black Talk by Geneva Smitherman
Call Number: HPNL African American Reference 427.97308996 Sm68b2000
This new edition of Black Talk includes more than 300 new words and phrases and, now more than ever, reflects the ever-changing meanings and uses of this vital and rich language. In a style that is always informative and always entertaining, Geneva Smitherman takes this dictionary far beyond a list of words. Black Talk is a cultural map that charts word meanings along the highways and byways of African American life.
Juba to Jive by Clarence Major
Call Number: HPNL African American Reference 427.09 M28D1994
African-American slang cuts through logic and arrives at a quick, efficient interpretive solution to situations and things otherwise difficult to articulate. This reference book looks at the dazzling spectrum of this vibrant, humorous language, selecting and presenting over 2000 slang words and phrases, giving definitions and dates of origin.

Rap Music in the 1980s by Judy McCoy
Call Number: Online Resource and MPAL Reference Non-circulating ML128.R28 M32
An annotated bibliography lists 1,070 articles, books, and reviews pertaining to rap music, artists, culture, and politics and published from 1980 through 1990. A 76-entry discography discusses rap albums released during those years that contributed to rap music's evolution or popularity, or to the development of popularity of a subgenre.
The Billboard Book of Top 40 R and B and Hip-Hop Hits by Joel Whitburn
Call Number: MPAL Reference Non-circulating ML156.4.B6 W45
This first edition of The Billboard Book Of Top-40 R&B & Hip-Hop Hits offers complete and authoritative chart information on the most popular rhythm and blues and hip-hop songs and artists to reach the top 40 positions on Billboard's R&B Singles chart from 1942 - the present.

Related Cultural Studies Reference Material

This box collects recommended reading for issues related to rap and hip-hop culture including recommendations on African American musical culture, race in society, and street art.

Issues in African American Music by Portia K. Maultsby (Editor); Mellonee V. Burnim (Editor)
Call Number: ML3556 .I878 2017
Bringing together the viewpoints of ethnomusicologists, historians, and performers, these essays cover topics including the music industry, women and gender, and music as resistance, and explore the stories of music creators and their communities. From the antebellum period to the present, and from classical music to hip hop, this wide-ranging volume provides a nuanced introduction for students and anyone seeking to understand the history, social context, and cultural impact of African American music.
Encyclopedia of race and racism by Patrick L. Mason
Call Number: Online Resource
Examines the anthropological, sociological, historical, economic, and scientific theories of race and racism in the modem era.
The World Atlas of Street Art and Graffiti by Rafael Schacter; John Fekner (Foreword by)
Call Number: Residence Halls Illinois St. Library: Allen Unit One LLC Collection 751.73 Sch119wo
The World Atlas of Street Art and Graffiti is the definitive survey of international street art, focusing on the world’s most influential urban artists and artworks. Since the lives and works of urban artists are inextricably linked to specific streets and places, this beautifully illustrated volume features specially commissioned "city artworks” that provide an intimate understanding of these metropolitan landscapes.
Understanding Graffiti by Elizabeth Olton (Editor); Troy R Lovata (Editor)
Call Number: Online Resource and Main Stacks 751.73 Un22
This collection of original articles brings together for the first time the research on graffiti from a wide range of geographical and chronological contexts and shows how they are interpreted in various fields. The chapters offer perspectives of disciplines as diverse as archaeology, history, art history, museum studies, and sociology; elicit common themes of authority and its subversion, the identity work of subcultures and countercultures, and presentation of privilege and status.