What unites the collaboration between Michael Jordan and Nike, Barack Obama’s meteoric ascent to the White House, and Kendrick Lamar’s historic 2018 Pulitzer Prize win? Hip hop culture.

That’s according to Dr. Todd Boyd in his new book, Rapper’s Deluxe: How Hip Hop Made the World. Rapper’s Deluxe is a collection of major moments in hip hop and American history that highlights the genre’s expansive influence on the world’s cultural canon.

Host Ali Muldrow and Dr. Boyd talk about Lauryn Hill’s critical acclaim and commercial success, gender and respectability politics, hip hop’s influence on fashion in iconic moments like Nicki Minaj and Anna Wintour seated next to each other at a fashion show, and much more. 

Dr. Todd Boyd is the Katherine and Frank Price Endowed Chair for the Study of Race and Popular Culture and Professor of Cinema and Media Studies in the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts. He has appeared in numerous award winning documentaries and has written over one hundred articles, reviews, and more. A media commentator, author, producer, consultant and scholar, Dr. Boyd is an intellectual and creative force who transcends boundaries and defies conventional categorization.

Image courtesy of Phaidon. 

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