| Foundation | |
|---|---|
| Author(s) | Joseph G. Schloss |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Subject(s) | Hip hop |
| Genre(s) | Non-fiction |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press |
| Publication date | 2009 |
| Pages | 176 pp |
| ISBN | 0195334067 |
Foundation: B-boys, B-girls and Hip-Hop Culture in New York is a book by Joseph G. Schloss which looks at b-boying and the culture surrounding it. It features excerpts from interviews the author did with major figures in the b-boying world such as Ken Swift of Rock Steady Crew, Alien Ness, and Trac 2[1].
The author, hip-hop scholar Joseph Schloss (whose previous work on hip-hop won the International Association for the Study of Popular Music’s 2005 book award[2]), attended every b-boy event in New York City for five years, learning b-boying as he researched the book[3].
The book also makes arguments against other hip-hop non-fiction books, mainly saying they do not engage the actual hip-hop/b-boy communities enough when doing scholarship of this kind[4][5].
The Boston Globe calls it "the best work ever produced on b-boying, and one of the finest books yet to emerge from the swiftly proliferating ranks of hip-hop scholarship"[6]. It has also received positive reviews from Liberator Magazine and Jeff Chang[1].