Throughout the duration of this course, I felt like my entire *limited* perception of hip hop expanded beyond what I imagined, to include a better understanding of where hip hop originates to its mass global effects today. Learning about the transcendence of hip hop as a voice for the marginalized and voiceless to a global… Continue reading →
Asia Rising was really intriguing for anyone who is interested in Hip Hop outside of the United States. There were a couple of things that really stood out to me: Hip Hop means something very different for different people who become rappers in Asia, that isn’t completely unlike here. Some rappers, like Vietnamese MC Suboi… Continue reading →
My Mic Sounds Nice: A Truth About Women in Hip Hop was both so much fun and also at times difficult to watch. The documentary centered on the history of female MC’s in hip hop, starting from its inception to the time the film was released; this history is told through the legends themselves, like… Continue reading →
Roxanne, Roxanne is a feature film inspired by Roxanne Shante, a 14 year-old from Queens who broke into the hip hop scene with her one-take diss track titled ‘Roxanne’s Revenge.’ The movie begins with Shante as a very young girl, being led by her mother and best friend to a park where she is going… Continue reading →
The Get Down just keeps getting more and more raw. In Kuttner and Hammond’s (Re)building the Cypher, the two take a look at the historical significance of the ‘cypher,’ “consisting of a circle of people who take turns performing, rapping, dancing, singing, etc,” in hip hop and the attempts of rebuilding hip hop communities that… Continue reading →
The Get Down is a really great tool for visualizing the way hip hop as a subculture manifested itself in the Bronx, giving a narrative to the combination of its elements, politics, and theory. First and foremost, I really appreciate that the show isn’t “just about hip hop,” in which I mean the show isn’t… Continue reading →
I think Hip Hop, particularly Hip Hop feminism, is a stellar example of the way feminist thought and praxis combine to fit the needs of the individuals it serves, especially when mainstream feminism (a.k.a white lady feminism) shows its exclusivity. I don’t think Hip Hop started as a subculture with the intention to push misogyny… Continue reading →
I’m not sure if I’ll be able to articulate this in the way I intend to, but I think what interested/surprised me the most was how difficult it can be for a woman to pave her way in hip hop …and I mean that in the least ignorant way. I guess when I look up… Continue reading →
Thanks to this class, I have recently discovered Lizzo and I feel as though I am experiencing a spiritual awakening. https://youtu.be/P00HMxdsVZI I never thought that “hip hop” was for me. As a white passing, middle-working class kid, I never thought I could connect to anything that was being rapped about. If I’m being 100% transparent,… Continue reading →
This is one my favorite poems I found from the Last Poets and I feel like it ties in with Foreman’s ideas of space being socially constructed; the lyricists use music as a means to create a place to escape to (and as a tool for thought as Foreman alludes to).
