The Hip-Hop Underground and African American Culture

The underground is a multi-faceted concept in African American culture. Peterson explores a variety of "underground" concepts at the intersections of African American literature and hip-hop culture, using Richard Wright, KRS-One, Thelonious Monk, and the tradition of the Underground Railroad, among other examples. He explores the manifestations and the attributes of the underground within the context of a more panoramic picture of African American expressivity, situated at black cultural and conceptual crossroads.