Biography
H. Samy Alim is a visiting scholar in UCLA's anthropology department and author of You Know My Steez (2004) and co-author of Street Conscious Rap (1999). His research interests include Black Language, global Hip Hop Culture, and the street language, culture, and music of the Muslim world.
'This vivacious and edifying publication on hip hop language and linguistics has the energetic and dynamic elements of its subject matter.' Journal of Folklore Research
'As intimidating as linguistic scholarship can be to the non-linguist-centered readers, Alim writes with such clarity that the technical aspects of linguistic study are relayed sensibly and not overshadowed by academic jargon or guild-centered writing.' Journal of Folklore Research
'Overall, Roc the Mic Right succeeds in proving that Hip Hop Linguistics (HHLx) is a valuable field of study, teaching us not only about the art form itself, but also about life, culture, and language in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Furthermore, the passion that Alim and those he quotes have for hip-hop makes this a fun book, even for a lay audience.' - Nancy Effinger Wilson
