Signifying Rappers

Signifying Rappers: Rap and Race in the Urban Present is a nonfiction book written by David Foster Wallace and Mark Costello. The name of the book is a reference to the practice of "signifying" used in rap lyrics which have alternative meanings beyond their conventional interpretations, such as cut (turntable technique), bite (stealing someone else’s rhymes), dope (great), dog (male friend) and new words such as edutainment (KRS-One) or raptivist (Chuck D of Public Enemy). The book explores the history of this music as it intersects with historical events, either locally and unique to Boston, or in larger cultural or historical events.