From its start, the art of Hip-Hop music has not only defined our countries generations, it has done so by reporting on social and criminal injustices in America. Referred to as the “Black CNN,” Hip-Hop music, throughout the past 40 years, has been reporting all of societies major issues and complex policies that remain to this day. Whether it is the subject of brutal and biased policing, over-crowded jails, marginalized neighborhoods, public education, and the imbalance of economic wealth — it has been holding up a mirror to the world casting a dark reflection of the state of our country. Rappers are the voice of poor, urban African - American youth, whose lives are dismissed or misrepresented by the mainstream media. Hip-Hop music, with its African roots, has become an American art that reflects itself and the times in our country in profound ways. A country at war with itself, is also at war with Hip-Hop. The music in 2024 has transcended race and class; it has become intertwined with the American Dream and the Amerikkkan Nightmare. Executive Produced by Ice T, USA vs. Hip-Hop, will trace in chronological order the defining events of the music as it pertains to criminal justice, the connection between federal & state law enforcement, mass incarceration, social justice reform, and public policy. These singular events defined the music, and how Americans have categorized race and American exceptionalism. You can’t have Hip-Hop without the War on Drugs and vice versa. This sprawling anthology will outline in sweeping detail — the Hip-Hop stars, American gangsters, and law enforcement agencies that were intertwined in a narrative that strangely connects like a puzzle starting in 1980 to present day. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices