Why White Kids Love Hip Hop

Why White Kids Love Hip Hop: Wangstas, Wiggers, Wannabes, and the New Reality of Race in America, by Bakari Kitwana (2005)

Kitwana, a former editor of The Source magazine attempts to answer the question of why so many white kids seem to gravitate toward hip hop music. Included in this short book are some interesting points, but the author generally seems to raise more questions than he answers.

The strength of the book is the provocative statements borne from Kitwana’s belief in hip hop’s strong influence on politics and the broader society. The author’s conclusions about both raise eyebrows and they start at the very beginning when the author asserts“the hip-hop generation is the first one to grow up without experiencing de facto segregation.” Such statements will go farther in sparking a spirited debate about the politics of race and class in America than they will in answering the title question. So it is with much of Kitwana’s book.

Like other books that examine the role of popular music in society, Why White Kids seems to overemphasize the impact that hip hop has in challenging the racial politics of the past and in transforming society. At the other end of the spectrum, some critics charge that hip hop has done little or nothing to change society, or that it isn't a movement at all. Both views are often taken to extremes, in the view of this reviewer.

Kitwana’s work provides a lot of food for thought, and while it doesn’t go as far toward answering the question as many would like, it is sparking debate among fans and critics of hip hop culture. The buzz about this book is indicative of the fact that this is a timely topic about which there is a great deal of interest. Readers of this book should expect a broader discussion of rap music within the framework of American culture, rather than a definitive answer to the title question.