Established by American Studies Ph.D. Kevin Kosanovich working in Swem Library’s Special Collections, the William & Mary Hip Hop Collection is the most comprehensive of its kind dedicated to Virginia’s hip hop culture and history from the 1980s to the present. The collection includes oral histories committed to preserving and documenting Virginia’s rich hip hop past, as well as recordings of hip hop music, publications, and ephemera created by Virginia and Virginia-based artists, collectives, and businesses.  Additionally, the collection documents the origins and impact of hip hop culture on college campuses throughout the state by collecting records of hip hop based student organizations, college radio stations, events and concerts with a special focus on William & Mary itself.

Oral History are available for most artist, and a brief summary of each is available . The majority of Oral Histories have been made available online and are linked directly from this finding aid. However, some interviews are available only in Swem Library's Special Collections.

Sound recording are available for many artist, and where possible, these to are availalbe through links from this finding aid. The sounds tracks very from individual to mulptiple tunes per artist.

Other digitized materials include photographs, record covers and flyers, and to a lesser extent written documents.