Los Angeles Hip Hop Saved Genre from 'Fading into Oblivion,' Professor Viator Says

HEAT ROCKS -- On this Maximum Fun podcast, professor and author Felicia Angeja Viator discusses the Los Angeles rap scene, B-Real’s unique singsong delivery and Muggs’ talent for finding the perfect loops. Viator is an assistant professor of History at San Francisco State University.

“It’s LA rap that ultimately saves hip hop from fading into oblivion,” Viator said. “From my perspective as a historian, it saves hip hop from whitening up the way that many other Black genres did when they crossed over [to the mainstream].”