Acknowledgements + Introduction

WORD reintroduces you to the "golden age" of rap, when the burgeoning music movement was factioning into camps and stockpiling beats to become the best in the land. Author and journalist Adrienne Anderson personally experiences rap's political movement and takes you to the first signs of "bling-bling" rap's rise to the forefront. WORD explores the strengths and weaknesses of hip-hop through interviews with such artists as the controversial rap group The Coup, alternative rappers Arrested Development, and commentaries on the self-destruction of hip-hop culture through in-fighting and the bi-coastal wars.