`Close to the Edge’ tells the stories of a global generation that came of age with hip hop. Part memoir, part social history, the book relates the author’s experiences as she traverses the hop hop globe, from Australia to Detroit and from Havana to Caracas. The book explores the elements of hip hop culture – rapping, beat making, b-boying, d-jaying, and graffiti – around the world. `Close to the Edge’ narrates a search for solidarities across borders, a document of the diverse histories, misunderstandings and fissures that hip hop engendered as it went global, and a powerful demonstration of the power of music to forge radical political alliances.