Cynthia Biggs is one of the last of the renaissance women: grand artist, exemplary teacher and superb scholar. Her musical artistry has sustained many of us in the works of Patti LaBelle, the Stylistics, the Jones Girls and Teddy Pendergrass. Her inspiring teaching has touched thousands of students in the USA and abroad. And her first-rate scholarship is manifest in this pioneering book on Hip Hop, plutocratic capitalism and empire. This book is profound, poignant and provocative. It takes seriously a subtle class analysis of American society that serves as the backdrop for probing the complex cultural phenomena known as Hip Hop. It takes us into the intimate worlds of Hip Hop artists by means of interviews and lyrical expressions. And it challenges us to keep track of progressive and prophetic artists in the present age of Obama. I am blessed to be a genuine friend, colleague and comrade of this grand artist, exemplary teacher and superb scholar in her quest for beauty and crusade for justice. Cornel West, Princeton University