"Hip Hop is one of the largest cultural movements that the world has seen. It was born in the United States through racial, class and gendered divides as a way for marginalized, primarily black and brown youth in the United States, to share their stories and experiences. In desegregated communities suffering from the effects of “white flight”, from near non-existent social services, from police who were the bad guys, from the devastation of drug addiction and dealing, in communities that suffered – hip hop grew.
The spirit of hip hop has always been one of empowerment through artistic expression. The four elements of hip hop - b-boying/b-girling, DJing, graffiti and MCing - are art forms that have enabled people to articulate the reality of their lived experiences and to share their knowledge with the world. It is the artistic embodiment of “the personal is political.” These art forms have always represented another aspect of hip hop: the notion of constant battle. Just as hip hop is about fighting both self-imposed and systemic oppression; success for hip hop artists is about competition - with oneself to be better, and among others to be the best.
Hip hop is about self-education and the encouragement of people to improve their circumstances through advancement of their knowledge and their skills." 

http://www.themissgproject.org/teachers/MissG-Curriculum-HipHopUnit.pdf