Abstract
Since its inception in the early 1990s the hip hop subculture in the Czech Republic has gained in numbers and in popularity all across the country becoming one of the most popular youth cultural expression. The success of rap music and hip hop style and its adoption by the "mainstream" popular culture spawned debates within the community around the issue of who represents the "real" Czech hip hop.
Based on in depth interviews with Czech rappers, content analysis of their lyrics and participant observation, this chapter explores the different forms of appropriation of hip hop as a former African American cultural expression. Authenticity becomes the crucial discoursive tool in the debates of who is or is not a "true" hip hopper.
The main imperative currently expressed by Czech rappers is staying true to one's lived experiences. Using the notions of so called "mainstram" and "underground" the "realness" in hip hop is constructed as knowledge and respect for hip hop culture and its history and the avoidance of "selling out" to popular culture industry.
Underground is often perceived as a synonym of "conscious" hip hop reflecting on the state of current society. Contrary to popular belief that hip hop is first and foremost an expression of people that face marginalization and discrimination in given area, Czech rappers are, for the most part, white middle class men.
When it comes to Roma minority in the Czech Republic, hip hop is adopted by activist, social workers and educators that work with Roma youth primarily. What remains problematic in Czech hip hop is the question of gender relations as Czech rappers draw on traditional and stereotypical depictions of femininity and masculinity.
The other side of the spectrum of different forms of appropriation, the most problematic one, is represented by the adoption of hip hop by right wing organizations promoting their ideology while distancing themselves from any kind of connection to global hip hop culture.