This paper explores the insights that hip hop might afford young adult library researchers who study information behavior, particularly in online environments. A Critical Race Theory (CRT) approach was used to explain how existing information behavior models describe youth experiences in ways that mask their unique racialized experiences and culturally specific information-creating behaviors. Using CRT’s counter-storytelling method, a new model called INFLO-mation is introduced, featuring a continuum of information behaviors captured within three descriptive categories of creativity: Rhythm, Rhyme, and Remix (R3). Findings include a discussion the INFLO model, its classification scheme, and illustrative examples from contemporary teens’ digital media practices rooted in hip hop culture
