hip hop

For the Shakurs, Black Liberation Became the Family Business

Santi Elijah Holley traces the lines connecting Afeni Shakur's Black Panther Party activism to the musical and political messages of her son Tupac. 

How (Some) of the Hip Hop Generation Learned Black History

Historian Pero Dagbovie traces shifts in hip hop's political messages and says that, to some extent the glorification of materialism replaced a focus on Black history and politics as the genre developed. 

Prof. Hasan Kwame Jeffries on Consulting for Hip Hop at 50 Documentary

The Ohio State professor served as a consultant for the four hour documentary produced by Public Enemy's Chuck D, which begins January 31. 

Who Gets to Sing About Revenge in Pop Music?

by Jewel Wicker

Do the racial politics of musical genre explain why songs about revenge are celebrated in country music and turned into evidence for the prosecution against hip hop artists (even when the songs in question are fiction)?

Hip Hop’s ‘Hidden Figures’: The Feminist Herstory and Future of Hip Hop

"In every facet of hip hop music and culture, women have been innovating and setting new precedents, yet most connoisseurs of hip hop remain unaware of how women have actively shaped its culture and music from inception."

Sampling the Epic in Kendrick Lamar's "Mortal Man"

by Justine McConnell

Remembering the essential orality of classical epics can help to understand them as works that have been sampled and remixed, and to place contemporary popular culture in dialogue with that tradition. 

USF's Aisha Durham Part of Smithsonian Curation Team for Anthology of Hip Hop and Rap

Communications Professor Aisha Durham visited the Smithsonian as a young girl from Virginia, and felt like her African American peers were outsiders to American culture. She now works to highlight the ways that urban Black culture changed America through music, fashion, and other elements of hip hop culture. 

The People vs. the Hip Hop Industry

by Jessica A. Rucker

A high school teacher examines how students' critical sense is engaged by looking at hip hop music as a product alienated by an industry from the people who have historically created it. 

Why Hip Hop Conquered the World: The Smithsonian Anthology of Hip Hop and Rap Drops

The new anthology "tells the story of American history from 1979 to 2013 through the eyes of the young Black Americans who changed it profoundly."

Houston Hip-Hop and Chinese Chicken

by Alana Dao

The story of a restaurant run by Chinese immigrants in Houston is the story of the growth of the diverse Gulf coast metropolis and its fusion of ethnic cultures.

Peniel E. Joseph: Why Ice Cube's Political Logic is so Dangerous

by Peniel Joseph

As flawed as the modern-day Democratic Party is on race matters it is, for better and worse, the party of anti-racism and intersectional justice in contrast to the modern day GOP.

An Ice Cream Truck Jingle's Racist History Has Caught Up To It

The Good Humor ice cream company joined forces with RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan to replace a standard jingle with roots in racist minstrel shows. 

We Insist: A Century Of Black Music Against State Violence

Like music itself, this spirit of resistance takes many shapes, but has never been silenced.

Remembering a Cultural Historian and Hip-Hop Scholar Whose ‘Spady School’ Reshaped the Lives of Penn Students

“He was committed to this idea of democratization of knowledge, and making it accessible to as many people as possible, not confining oneself to just teaching a course at a university.”