THE ATTEMPT TO SUM UP ANY POPULAR CULTURE movement, particularly one as vital and volatile as hip hop, presents an inevitable set of problems. By the time this book is published-perhaps even by the time this introduction is written- the currently dominant artists and musical styles discussed here may already have been displaced by the unstoppable forces of hip—hop innovation. By definition, the great proportion of popular music is prone to disposability as trends both shape and follow the ever—changing tastes of the recordbuying public. Even by the blink—of—an—eye pace of pop music, however, the constant drive to develop new flavors that is the engine of hip—hop success is also responsible for the notoriously short shelf—life of rap artists and their signature styles. After all, the rap industry evolves so quickly...