As the operators obliged, the new channel generated enormous excitement in black America just as hip-hop culture, with its swaggering multimillionaire entertainers and athletes, was emerging.

FORBES: The cable capitalist

And, as in other parts of the world, certain aspects of hip-hop culture have made their way onto Chinese billboards and pop charts, as well as into Chinese theme songs and television advertising.

NPR: Made in China: Hip-Hop Moves East

But as long as hip-hop's hold on pop culture remains strong, the number of rappers crossing-over into the movies is expected to grow.

BBC: Rappers move into the movies

And the early rap generation overwhelmingly sampled his music and voice as they laid the foundation of hip-hop culture.

NPR: Harlem Says Its Farewell to James Brown

It was a major growth moment for me as an artist because, you know, I'm committed to my mission of using hip-hop to - as a tool for social change and using hip-hop as a way to spread information, correct information about the music and the culture and about me as an American and me as a black American woman, and going to Indonesia was an intense experience.

NPR: Hip Hop Takes on Diplomatic Role with State Department

Since the popularization of hip-hop, and as the result of other dynamics, as well, the lines between races and culture have become less visible.

FORBES: Steve Stoute Knows Jay-Z And Lady Gaga, And He Knows What Makes For Powerful Branding

Some are directed at "members of the post-civil rights era generation of Black academics" who matured as writers and intellectuals during the rise of hip hop culture.

NPR: Author Comes to Hip-Hop Music's Defense