Hip hop is global, lapping on every shore and landing at every airport. But what does hip hop mean? Is it music with a chest-thumping beat? The rapid-fire lyrics rapped into a handheld mic. Gravity-defying dance steps? Writers turning walls into canvases with larger-than-life letters and illustrations? The elements of hip hop came together in the Bronx borough of New York City. It was the early 1970s and times were tougher than usual for the poorer parts of urban America. From a whole lot of nothing—and a whole lot of imagination—hip hop took form.
