JabariAsim.The N Word: Who Can Say It, Who Shouldn't and Why (Houghton Mifflin, 2007). A historical look at the lengthy history of the n-word, with the author concluding the term helps keep blacks at the lowest rungs of society, regardless of context.
2.
MurrayFormanMark AnthonyNeal, eds. That's the Joint! The Hip Hop Studies Reader (Routledge, 2004). An excellent selection of articles that examine hip hop culture from a variety of perspectives.
3.
JohnL. Jackson.Real Black: Adventures in Racial Sincerity (The University of Chicago Press, 2005). A kaleidoscopic ethnography of New York City, with the author concluding racial sincerity trumps racial authenticity.
4.
BakariKitwana.Why White Kids Love Hip Hop: Wankstas, Wiggers, Wannabes, and the New Reality of Race in America (Basic Books, 2005). A cogent analysis of the conditions that lead whites to embrace hip hop culture, underscoring the new forms of racial hybridity that have stemmed from the dissemination of hip hop culture.
