This course will review the five elements of Hip Hop (rap, graffiti, b-boying, beat boxing and djing) as they have been documented in various forms of literature including, film, journalism, documentary and life writing. Students will consider which methods and literary tools are more likely to deliver an accurate history and be challenged by the question of “authenticity.” We will examine how Hip Hop was shaped by the literary influences of its day and became a blueprint for the protest literature of the future.