Edited by Ajay Nair and Murali Balaji (Lexington Books)

Whether used as a vehicle of self-expression or as a commodity, hip-hop's global influence is undisputed. So It was only a matter of time before South Asian Americans would embrace It. For those who've adopted hip-hop as a surrogate culture - and perhaps more for those who haven't - serves to answer the dreadful, played out question: Why do you listen to that music? As the book explains, it's much bigger than music. In their introduction, editors Ajay Nair and Murali Balaji assert that "hip-hop was the language for those of us who rebelled against both the expectations of Anglo society and of our South Asian parents." Many will relate to Deeptl Hajela's story of self-discovery In her personal essay, "How Hip-Hop Helped an Indian Girl Find Her Way Home," where she cites Public Enemy for inspiring her cultural awakening. And despite hip-hop's homophobia and misogyny, lesbian Sh Lankan raptlvist D'Lo still holds on to hip-hop as a "megaphone" for her Identity. DJ Rekha, Swapnil Sha, Nitasha Sharma and others contribute to this collection that, If nothing else, proves that the brown is indeed down. - Zoneil Maharaj

Music editor ZONEIL MAHARAJ took a break from his normal Hyphen duties ("get advance copies of albums, bootleg them sumbitches and slang 'em in the Mission") to profile iLL-Literacy, a spoken word crew he calls "some of the most creative live performers I've come across." San Francisco-based Maharaj has learned a few things about unconventionality from his own family: "My dad still kills goats in the back of his car shop. And there's a huge Hindu trident on my parents' front lawn. That right there should sum up how we roll." After two years with Hyphen, Maharaj is, sadly, leaving to focus on his role as editor in chief at urban culture magazine Oh Dang!, which he co-founded.