At the start of the semester I was unsure what to expect.  Not only did I have limited experience… Continue reading →

“Kanye West is one of the most controversial artists out. From his political views to his current religious conversion. I looked up a few different opinions that stem from critics believing he’s a joke and mocking christanity to those that argue Kanye West is a great example of God’s walk of life from sinning to… Continue reading →

Throughout the 1980’s all kinds of hip hop exploded. Including Christian, Islamic, and Jewish hop hop. Most Christian hip hop was originally created with the intent of spreading the Christian message. Today, most Christian rappers identify as musicians, who are open about their religion and focus their music more so on secular life. Christian music… Continue reading →

In “The Making of a Hip Hop Globe” Fernandes seeks to find answers to questions like; Can hip hop bring together black youth globally? Can rappers and artists become the voice for a generation, stuck in the “cites” aka the urban space, ghettos, and projects on the outer edge of major global cities? Shaolin wants… Continue reading →

“Black feminism taught us to love ourselves, fight for our revolution, and to prioritize our own freedom.” “Hip hop gave us something to bob our heads and shake our hips to.” These quotes from The Crunk Feminist Collection open up the introduction. Crunk feminism emerged in the South as an interpretation and expansion on Joan… Continue reading →

Something we have looked a lot in to during class is how women perform their gender in hip-hop. By watching the videos of, and listening to artists like Cardi B, Lauryn Hill, Nicki Minaj, Salt ‘n’ Pepa, and Young M.A., we can see many views on hip-hop feminism. Delving into Dr. Pabón’s book Graffiti Grrlz,… Continue reading →

I wound up taking this class because I need more credits to graduate. That being said, I was excited for GSHH. I hardly knew anything about hip-hop but learning and analyzing it through the lens of gender and sexuality was appealing. Starting class with Missy Elliot’s Throw It Back had the class thinking about rappers,… Continue reading →

https://genius.com/The-last-poets-black-is-annotated   I chose the Poem “Black Is” because I felt it connected to the entire reading, from the very beginning. On page 13 and 14 the author writes, “Rap’s young creators have located a cultural voice that is both an adaptation to and a departure from earlier voiced of nationalism and black unity politics.… Continue reading →