The Conversation - Hip-hop at 50: a global phenomenon

Back in the day, even by their own dopest standards, none of the early rappers could predict that a hip and a hop would actually not stop on its way to becoming a billion-dollar global industry.

It all started on Aug. 11, 1973, when DJ Kool Herc mixed some beats during a back-to-school party in the South Bronx. Since then, hip-hop has left a significant footprint on modern culture. It also revealed the pain and struggle of growing up and living on the margins of mainstream society, not only in America but across the world.

To celebrate hip-hop’s 50th anniversary, The Conversation asked several scholars to explore a range of topics that evolved from the beats and the rhymes, everything from misogyny and homophobia to violence and drugs. Here are selections from those articles.