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 cultures. But at another level, it suggests that as the cultural forms of hip-hop become indigenised through other languages (though Trey is discussing English-language rap), they may have a better chance of encountering analogous forms within those cultures.

Given the extent to which language can be a difficulty for some in engaging with rap, it is worth noting that hip-hop gets taken up in differing forms. In a number of contexts where English is not the first language, break-dancing first gained people’s attention—in part because of the cultural and linguistic difficulties in understanding rap, in part because of the more immediate appeal of the physical. Thus, as Condry comments, ‘A striking feature of global flows of popular culture, then, is that dance—movement of the body—moves easily across linguistic and cultural boundaries, and that movies and videos are a primary channel for this exchange’. (229) He goes on to conclude:

"Language is a key variable for understanding Japanese hip-hop and for transnational exchanges more generally. When we consider cultural globalization, we need to examine what actually moves across the cultural divide, because that is how to get a sense of what kind of divide it is. (231)"

Language, then, is a crucial factor in processes of transfer and localisation. But in what direction is the transfer?

The North American cultural forms of rap and hip-hop may be in the process of becoming localised, but is there an influence in the opposite direction? As Pennay comments in his discussion of rap in Germany, ‘Regrettably, the flow of new ideas and stylistic innovations in popular music is nearly always from the English-speaking market, and not to it’. (128) Similarly, Jacqueline Urla points out: ‘unequal relations between the United States record industry and Basque radical music mean that Public Enemy’s message reaches the Mugurza brothers [of Negu Gorriak] in Irun, and not vice versa’. (189) David Hesmondalgh and Caspar Melville suggest a more reciprocal relationship between black cultures in Britain, the Caribbean, and the US, where they can be seen as ‘linked in a complex network of cultural flows’. But to what extent is this an issue of language and to what extent an issue of market size? Certainly, French rappers such as MC Solar have influenced music in North America.

In a number of ways, the study of the global spread of English provides a useful parallel to these studies of ‘global noise’. The issue of ownership—who owns English—has been widely debated, and consensus seems to be moving towards those who use the language rather than those who facilitate its spread. Hardline accusations of linguistic imperialism have been countered by studies of periphery resistance to the spread of English and by descriptions of new indigenised versions of English, such as Indian, Singaporean and Nigerian English. Most recently, Janina Brutt-Griffler has argued convincingly that: ALASTAIR PENNYCOOK—GLOBAL NOISE