National Geographic Represents … For Hip Hop?

I’ll be honest, I haven’t cracked open a copy of National Geographic since I was a kid hunting for naked boobies. But, apparently, the magazine has widened its scope quite a bit. The new edition features a story about the roots of Hip Hop. There’s a cool story about Hip Hop’s global reach on the NG Web site here. And the National Geographic Society is also releasing CDs on its WorldMusic.NationalGeographic.com digital download label, including the recent Hip Hop-heavy GeoRemixed: Big Beats for a Small Planet.

The groovy chart below (tracing Hip Hop’s family tree) from the story in the current issue was sent out by Gnarls Barkley’s people moments ago — they seem very proud to be in such a high-brow mag! Next month in National Geographic: “Hyphy Vs. Crunk: The Great Global Debate Rages On.”

— Mike Breen

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