The title of this book, Global Noise, suggests that the musical form of rap is not only internationally enjoyed, appropriated, and produced, but also, like its parent culture hip-hop, “noise”--a politically oppositional cultural form that still exists in its offspring expressions. Some may insist that hip-hop and its musical manifestation rap emanate from and reflect a distinctively urban African American cultural and historical location. Stemming from this notion, then, any nonlocal appropriations of this form would be seen as homogenization, Americanization, or even cultural erosion. In Global Noise, Mitchell presents case studies of hip-hop’s global effects and interpretations, portraying how rap has been embraced and taken up by diverse peoples. The authors claim that the globalization of hip-hop has actually increased musical diversity and now potentially mediates and articulates local cultural concerns. Sometimes hip-hop culture emerges quite altered from its original New York sources, as in Germany (Pennay), whereas in other situations hip-hop is used as a vehicle for indigenous cultural concerns (New Zealand, Mitchell) or as an attention-grabbing political baton (Australia, Maxwell). In England, hip-hop has spawned fresh pop genres like Drum ‘n’ Bass and Breakbeat (Hesmondhalgh and Melville).

I disagree with many of Mitchell’s comments in his introduction, such as his assertion that hip-hop has already “peaked” or had its “golden age,” as well as generalized statements that U.S. hip-hop is showing a dearth of “innovation, surprise, and musical substance” (p. 3). Many of the contributing authors found that some local rap expressions outside the U.S. have also been pop-oriented and unoriginal, and that innovative localized underground scenes can be found in the United States. Mitchell insists that hip-hop’s African Americanness can be explicated from its signification, which I would argue is impossible. He criticizes the hegemony of U.S. rap (in academia and sales figures), but why does he assume that rap music as culture should somehow be immune from the current ubiquitous U.S. cultural, political, media, and economic unidirectional flow?

Despite these theoretical contentions, the book is a long-awaited and necessary addition to the scholarly study of popular musics and their global appropriations and implications. In his introduction, Mitchell has assembled a useful survey of world rap, in which he fills in gaps not covered by chapters in the book. The volume’s authors draw on a diversity of data sources: video, lyrics, rappers themselves, the media, sales statistics. For instance, Condry explores rap clubs, an initial breakdance phase, hip-hop via films, and rap as commodity in Japan, arguing that there is no simple dichotomy between cultural and economic aspects of globalization.

The diversity, creativity, and indigenous voices found in these various rap “scenes” give credit to the sensitivity, rigor, and vision of the contributing authors. Prevos found initial “slavish American imitations” (p. 40) in French rap, yet argues for rap’s natural syncretism with indigenous French wordplay and highlights the complexities of rap’s Afrocentrism for France's mostly ethnically Arab rappers. Chamberland looks at issues facing the rap subculture in Canada, particularly the lack of support or recognition for black Canadian musicians and the success of local and overseas francophone rap in Quebec. Swedenburg shows how three Muslim rap artists in the United Kingdom and France use hip-hop activism to combat “Islamophobia” (p. 57). Levy found that in Bulgaria rappers have mostly emulated U.S. rap styles as part of a wider movement toward Western styles and values. Urla shows how performers in Spain use rap to fuel Basque nationalism and language revival. Morelli shows how in Korea a highly visible group that raps in Korean has come to represent a “new generation.”

Global Noise seems primarily aimed at academics and scholars of popular culture with ample theoretical concern. Although it is highly useful to anthropologists and ethnomusicologists (with more emphasis on culture than music), the book could have been directed more at global hip-hop practitioners themselves, who would enjoy the lyrics, sounds, and stories from their worldwide colleagues and benefit from the politicization the book could provide, which is one of the ultimate goals of hip-hop culture. The few photos and graphics included are wonderful; more would have been welcome.

I would have liked much more exploration of hip-hop as an umbrella cultural form rather than just accenting the singular branch of rap music. There is scant mention of DJ-ing (now a global phenomenon), or breakdancing (which is currently undergoing a renaissance in New Zealand), or aerosol art (which is flourishing in Germany and Australia).

What I find emerging from this inclusive and exhilarating book, however, is the materialization of individual scenes, with their own histories, groups, publications, ethnic complexities, thematic features, and localized politics, rather than mere linguistic differences or unsubstantiated musical distinctions. Rap music has proved itself to be a useful vehicle for global links and local exigencies, generating indigenous hip-hop spaces and adherents, which the editor and contributing authors have thoughtfully considered. Whether this book actually proves that hip-hop is not an Americanizing “global noise” drowning out local song but rather an “example of a vibrant hybridity of contemporary culture” (Condry, p. 225) is now for the reader to discern.