2Have you ever listened to Hip Hop? Or watched a Hip Hop video on TV? Or listened to someone recite rhymes while they listened intently with their headphones on? If so, then this is the right book for you! In this dynamic read, we start with the principle that Hip Hop performs an important social function, and consequently so do the mental images generated within it. We start by examining why Hip Hop holds such an important place in our culture and explore its mass market global appeal. We seek to understand how something so controversial and marginal could become so mainstream and central. This book infuses historical contextualization as a backdrop against exploration of particular genres, artists, styles, sounds, images, and rhetorical techniques within the Hip Hop movement. We will analyze how Hip Hop works while studying telling examples from well-known underground sound. After reading this book, you will be able to effectively screen out biases and stereotypes subtly conveyed against Hip Hop within the various media outlets. More importantly, you will be introduced to the six overarching organizing themes, or HipHopetypes that constitute the basis of Underground HipHopology. In the process, you will also develop a heightened appreciation for the power that Hip Hop can generate nationally and internationally. Be forewarned; you will never listen to Hip Hop the same way again!