The research study conducted a qualitative inquiry into understanding the lived experiences of youth in the hip hop culture. The materialization of hip hop from a music genre to a culture has evolved over the last twenty years and has been embraced by the youth as a lifestyle (Taylor & Taylor, 2007, Hip hop is now: An evolving youth culture.). As a result, it has become more critical for professionals in the mental health field to be more astute on how to communicate with adolescents, in treatment, that have adopted the practices, beliefs, and language of the hip hop culture. However, there was a gap in research that understands the meaning of hip hop as lived by the adolescent. The qualitative research study used social identity theory as the theoretical framework for understanding the lived experiences of youth in the hip hop culture. Social identity theory was defined as one whom understanding that he or she belongs to a particular social group coupled with emotional and value significance to being a member of this social group (Tajfel, 1982, Social psychology of intergroup relations). Phenomenological inquiry was used to answer the following research question: “what is the meaning of hip hop as described by the lived experiences of adolescents?” The researcher interviewed eight individuals who were 19 years of age. The results of the study revealed the meanings and the essence of the participants lived experiences in the hip hop culture. The completion of this research study assisted in closing the current gap in literature on the hip hop culture and improved the current understanding of adaptive and maladaptive functioning within the hip hop culture.