Roughly fifteen years ago, the initial rumblings of rap music were eminating from the streets of New York City. Rap music is very much a product of its urbanized, literacy-based environment, as can be seen in the advanced technology necessary to produce the music. Although the connection between rap music and its modern roots is impossible to ignore, rap's dependence upon high technology is often over-emphasized, eclipsing any opportunity to connect rap culture to a …showed first 75 words of 3094 total…

…showed last 75 words of 3094 total…rap hopes to 'fight the power' with words and music that voice issues, experiences, and views that are silenced in mainstream mediums of expression, making it a vital participant in a Foucauldian 'insurrection of subjugated knowledges.' Rap uses its status as subjugated knowledge to put itself on the frontline of combating US cultural amnesia and create a sound that, through its embrace and mastery of sonic technologies, moves swiftly and loudly into the future.