The Hip Hop African

In 2017, Hip-Hop celebrates its 44th year of existence as a cultural form. Since its inception in urban America, Hip-Hop has transformed into a global phenomenon, serving as a political, social, and cultural mode of expression for people of various races and ethnicities. Not only has rap music experienced an increase in the diversity of its creators and consumers, it has also witnessed an expansion of the political activities of Hip-Hop artists as well as a surge in its influence on political movements across the world. Thus, Hip-Hop is a critical voice for marginalized communities due to its ability to disseminate knowledge, facilitate awareness, and promote mobilization and action for many social injustices.

Hip-Hop and Social Justice is a seminal text that utilizes different methodologies to examine the uses of various components of Hip-Hop culture to engage diverse political, social, and economic concerns. The goal of the volume is to document and analyze the ways in which Hip-Hop music, artists, scholars, and activists have discussed, promoted, or supported social justice challenges. This manuscript is soliciting chapters that examine the relationships between Hip-Hop culture, political engagement, and social justice work over the last four decades.

The modes in which Hip-Hop has participated in social action are not limited to song creations, campaigns and elections, voter mobilization, and/or monetary contributions. Therefore, this edited volume will be interdisciplinary and focus on the number of ways in which Hip-Hop has been involved in or led social justice fights not only in the U.S., but worldwide. This volume will explore topics such as: Hip Hop and education, Hip Hop and the Black Lives Matter movement, Hip Hop and mass incarceration and the prison industrial complex, Hip Hop and electoral politics, Hip Hop and gender and sexuality, Hip Hop and public policy, Hip Hop, race and racism and Hip Hop and social justice globally.

We hope that you are interested in contributing to this peer-reviewed volume. If so, then please email either Lakeyta Bonnette-Bailey at lbonnette@gsu.edu or Adolphus G. Belk, Jr. at belka@winthrop.edu with an abstract of 500 words or less of your proposed contributions and a brief bio. The abstract should clearly identify your research question, thesis, methods of analysis, results, and the disciplinary home of the research, if any. All abstracts are due November 15, 2017.