Christopher John Farley

Rap has changed in innumerable ways since its inception during the 1970s. In this article Farley, a pop music critic and staff writer for Time, contends that no matter what style or artist is at the forefront of popularity, rap's influence on music, fashion, film, advertising, and even politics shows that America has truly become a "hip—hop nation."

MUSIC MIXES WITH MEMORY. AS WE THINK BACK over the 20th century, every decade has a melody, a rhythm, a sound track. The years and the sounds bleed together as we scan through them in our recollections, a car radio searching for a clear station. The century starts off blue: Robert Johnson selling his soul to the devil at the crossroads. Then the jazz age: Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and, later on...