Category: Academic Article & Book Reviews
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Hip Hop Conference @ Howard University
Hip-Hop at The Mecca. This fall, Howard University will host a 2-day Hip-Hop conference and block party. The conference will feature panel presentations by Hip-Hop Studies scholars from around the world, intergenerational conversations with Hip-Hop artists, workshops, activities, and performances. Details on speakers and performers coming soon! The conference is a celebration of the 50thRead…
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The South Africa Issue of WBL: Global Journal for Hip-Hop Culture
Words Beats & Life: Global Journal for Hip-Hop Culture: The South Africa Issue This special issue of WBLJ explores South Africa, home to one of the largest and oldest hip-hop scenes in the world. This issue considers the historic ties between artists in the US and South Africa, as well as competing perspectives on howRead…
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CFP: Politics of Language in African Hip Hop
The question of language in African literature was debated in the 1960s and 1970s. At the heart of the debate was: who qualifies as being an African writer? and what qualifies as African literature? African authors like Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o and Chinua Achebe weighed in on different sides of the debate. Today a similar debate…
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New Hip-Hop Studies Journal Issues
There are only a few hip-hop studies academic journals. Two have just released issues in time for fall: The Journal of Hip Hop Studies and Global Hip Hop Studies Journal. Both issues are currently available for free download. We suggest getting on the sites and downloading the articles ASAP, and then take your time toRead…
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In Hip Hop Time: Music, Memory, and Social Change in Urban Senegal
Appert, Catherine M. (2018). In Hip Hop Time: Music, Memory, and Social Change in Urban Senegal. Oxford University Press. Book Summary Though Hip Hop has its up’s and downs in the Africa diaspora world, Africans in the continent use Hip Hop to talk about real world issues in their country. According to Appert, Senegalese rappers useRead…
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Hip-Hop Scholarship: Sarkodie – The Brand
We wanted to highlight a recent article by Ghanaian scholar Dr. Nii Kotei Nikoi titled Hiplife Music in Ghana: Postcolonial Performances of the Good Life, that was just published in the International Journal of Communication. Abstract This article examines how common-sense ideas of development are reinforced in Ghanaian popular culture. Specifically, using Sarkodie as aRead…
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HHAP Episode 43: Hip Hop and Activism in Post-Apartheid South Africa, Part 2
This is part 2 of a 2 part conversation with hip hop scholar and University of Cape Town Professor Adam Haupt and hip hop artist Bradley Lodewyk (aka b-boy King Voue) from the group Brasse Vannie Kaap, or BVK. We met up at the University of Cape Town while they were working on their book project,…
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HHAP Episode 42: Hip Hop and Activism in Post-Apartheid South Africa, Part 1
This is part 1 of a 2 part conversation with hip hop scholar and University of Cape Town Professor Adam Haupt and hip hop artist Bradley Lodewyk (aka b-boy King Voue) from the group Brasse Vannie Kaap, or BVK. We met up at the University of Cape Town while they were working on their book project,…
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Hip-Hop and Human Rights in Africa
Hip-Hop and Human Rights in Africa By Msia Kibona Clark February 2019 | Georgetown Journal of International Affairs “The presence of social commentary on human rights in music is not new, it is not unique to Africa, and it is not limited to hip hop. Musicians have often engaged in social commentary around human rights, which hasRead…
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HHAP Episode 29: Ghanaian Hip Hop Scholar Joseph Ewoodzie on Hip Hop in the South Bronx
Ghana born, Bronx raised hip hop scholar Joseph Ewoodzie has published the book Break Beats in the Bronx: Rediscovering Hip-Hop’s Early Years, a book that uncovers details of hip hop’s early years in the South Bronx. Ewoodzie’s book provides rich details of hip hop’s history in the South Bronx. In this interview he discusses his decision…