Globalization
At the same time, hip-hop's twenty-first-century existence is also evidence of its effectiveness as a cultural expression embraced by youth around the globe. With an aesthetic base predicated on self-expression and originality, non-U.S.-based artists find their unique voices and linguistic spaces through a hip-hop prism. Reflecting this, a growing number of studies have addressed the global proliferation of hip-hop. They include:
- Nitasha Tamar Sharma's Hip Hop Desis: South Asian Americans, Blackness, and a Global Race Consciousness (2010)
- Mwenda Ntarangwi's East African Hip Hop: Youth Culture and Globalization (2009)
- Ian Condry's Hip-Hop Japan: Rap and the Path of Cultural Globalization (2006)
- The Global Cipha: Hip Hop Culture and Consciousness, edited by James G. Spady, H. Samy Alim, and Samir Meghelli (2006)
- Ian Maxwell's Phat Beats: Dope Rhymes: Hip Hop Down Under Comin' Upper (2003)
- Tony Mitchell's edited volume, Global Noise: Rap and Hip-Hop Outside the USA (2001)
- Adam Krims's Rap Music and the Poetics of Identity (2000).
Also contributing to the global success of hip-hop is the explosion of MTV on the international circuit, the circulation of hip-hop film classics, the formation and distribution of international record label subsidiaries by conglomerate music groups (e.g., Universal, BMG/Sony, and Warner Music Group), the proliferation of the Universal Zulu Nation international chapters, and the accessibility of hip-hop on the Internet. But regardless of global magnitude, hip-hop remains a cultural practice shaped and informed by the African-derived performance practices that underscore its aesthetic qualities.