You're in the crowd of thousands of fans at an Eminem concert, people from all over, shoulder to shoulder in a huge stadium, singing every word of their favorite song for hours. People from all over the world are connected to each other through the power of music. When it comes to music, life experiences, inspiration and current events play an extremely significant role. Hip hop is an art form that can be expressed through rap songs, break dancing and graffiti art. The culture has become so popular that it has entered into fashion and modern language today. Hip hop music is an extremely important part of today's generation and a global genre, influencing generation all over the world. The culture has entered everywhere, from TV commercials to toys, video games and even the fashion industry. “Hip hop has been the most sought-after music in America, both in terms of sales and as a target of censorship. With its simultaneous focus on invention and tradition, hip hop has survived sampling lawsuits, FBI boycotts, Supreme Court obscenity hearings, mix tape raids, culture parody, pop crossovers, and the threatens that white rappers will take over the music” (Hess 4 ). The lifestyle, which people thought would fade away temporarily, has grown to become a permanent part of world culture. Some hip hop artists like Russell Simmons have become some of today's heroes. Many other artists such as 50 cent, Jay Z, Lil Wayne, Snoop Dogg are now recognized as successful hip-hop moguls. Hip hop culture began among African Americans, Latinos in the Bronx and New York in the mid-1970s. It began on the streets of New York as an underground movement, when young people sponsored parties on their blocks and clubs, to make money as disc jockeys and clubs...... middle of paper ......h | Black Issues in Higher Education | Find articles on BNET." April 22, 2004. Web. July 17, 2011..Sahota, Mandy. Personal interview. July 15, 2011."The History Of Hip Hop pg 2." Please place site name in italics. Np, nd Web July 17, 2011 "Things Aren't the Same Anymore": Hip-Hop's Reconstruction of Gangster Rap Identity." Hip-Hop Linguistics - Underground Hip-Hop | News, reviews, videos, FREE hip-hop. January 30, 2005. Web. July 13, 2011. .Watkins, S. Craig. Hip Hop Issues: Politics, Pop Culture, and the Fight for the Soul of a Movement. Boston: Beacon, 2005. Print.Willams, Joey. Personal interview. July 16th 2011