"A well researched, thought provoking and ultimately convincing narrative that explores why hip-hop has had such a lasting impact on youth culture."( Time Out New York ) "Bakari Kitwana has provided a myth-busting, stereotype-shattering, paradigm-shifting examination of the complex relationship between white youth and black popular culture. Eschewing tired clichŽs, refusing racial pieties, and resisting old habits of thought, Kitwana clears a brilliant path to fresh insight." (Michael Eric Dyson, author of Is Bill Cosby Right? ) Our national conversation about race is ludicrously out of date. Hip hop is the key to understanding how things are changing. In a provocative book that will appeal to hip-hoppers both black and white and their parents, Bakari Kitwana deftly teases apart the culture of hip hop to illuminate how race is being lived by young Americans. Why White Kids Love Hip Hop addresses uncomfortable truths about America's level of comfort with black people, challenging preconceived notions of race. With this brave tour de force, Bakari Kitwana takes his place alongside the greatest African-American intellectuals of the past decades.