Hip-hop, to the young scientists who study it, is more than a style of music.

It is a volatile compound made up of several elements: break dancing and graffiti, emceeing (on a microphone) and DJ-ing (on a turntable).

Put another way: "Hip-hop is a lifestyle," says River Laker, development coordinator for Roanoke public libraries.

In celebration of this lifestyle and its multiple expressions, Laker helped arrange today's hip-hop retrospective at Roanoke's main library titled "And It Won't Stop ... The Roots of Hip-Hop."

The extravaganza offers music, spray-paint art and linoleum for the break dancers to spin on. Listening stations and a photo exhibit will trace the form's history. All of which may broaden the local understanding of hip-hop.

"All I want to do is show people what they're missing," said a dancer known as Off da Hook, a leading member of Black Out Entertainment, a local underground artists group that will be well represented today.

And why at the library?

"We're trying to make them cultural centers," Laker said. "Hip-hop is important to popular culture."

-- Pete Dybdahl