Ever since it first came barreling out of the South Bronx a quarter-century ago, hip-hop has been seen as a primarily black expression, a unique forum to discuss the hopes, dreams, fears, and trials of African American life. So it is ironic that hip-hop has grown to become our national soundtrack, bringing us a world in which Snoop Dogg shills for Chrysler and Three 6 Mafia's paean to pimps wins an Academy Award. In his examination of hip-hop's white audience, Jason Tanz—a hip-hop-loving white boy who grew up in the suburbs of the Pacific Northwest—sees a generation struggling with its identity and wrestling, often unsuccessfully, with the legacy of race.

Other People's Property provides a one-of-a-kind look at how hip-hop is lived far from the inner cities that birthed and sustain it: from "nerdocre" rappers, who rhyme about Star Wars conventions and computer code; to a group of would-be gangstas in a neighborhood so insulated it's nicknamed "the bubble"; to a breakdancing class at an upper-crusty dance academy in New Canaan, Connecticut; to a pop-rap station in melanin-challenged Green Bay, Wisconsin. Tanz interviews dozens of fans, artists, producers, and promoters, including some of hip-hop's most legendary figures—Public Enemy's Chuck D, white rapper MC Serch, and former Yo! MTV Raps host Fab 5 Freddy, among many others.

Drawing on his own experience as a white fan as well as his in-depth knowledge of hip-hop's history, Tanz gives us a hard-edged, thought-provoking, and humorous snapshot of the particularly American intersection of race, commcerce, culture, and identity.

Jason Tanz's work has appeared in the New York Times, Fortune, Spin, and Time Out New York, among other publications. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Click here to order Other People's Property or read Jason Tanz's brief history of white rappers on Amazon.com.

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