Ronald Reagan may have been known as ‘The Great Communicator,’ but rap artists don’t view his legacy through such rose-colored glasses. A professor of Black studies and history takes a closer look.
Album artwork for Mount Ninji And Da Nice Time Kid.
Zef Recordz/Die Antwoord
A hip-hop artist and scholar says that while rap stresses the oral tradition, the music is also rife with references to a rich range of literature that spans the globe.
Young Thug performs onstage on March 17, 2022, in Austin, Texas.
Amy E. Price/Getty Images for SXSW
Since rap music emerged in mainstream culture in the late 1980s, conservatives have derided its lyrics and imagery as violent. But hip-hop artists argue those images reflect urban realities.
Hip-hop education helps students from all backgrounds learn.
Alejandra Villa Loarca/Newsday RM via Getty Images
In recognition of National Hip Hop History Month, The Conversation presents four articles that deal with how educators and rappers are taking hip-hop from concerts to classrooms.
It’s been 10 years since Chief Keef became an internet famous rapper with the song ‘Bang.’
Johnny Nunez/WireImage via Getty Images
The police, the media and politicians have long objected Chief Keef’s ties to gang violence. But the rapper wrote the playbook for using social media to make a career out of music.
Hip-hop has always criticized America’s education system.
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
With Congress designating Aug. 11, 2021, as Hip-Hop Celebration Day, a scholar and performer of the art form makes the case for hip-hop to become more prominent in American academe.
Recent space flights by multi-billionaires highlight the extreme economic inequality in America.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
In 1970, Gil Scott-Heron penned a spoken word song called ‘Whitey on the Moon’ that criticized the 1969 Moon landing. A hip-hop scholar explains why the song still reverberates today.
For the second year in a row, hip-hop music is the most popular form of music in the US. So why isn’t it in more of America’s classrooms? A hip-hop scholar weighs in.
The choice of sneaker often expresses its wearer’s desires, dreams and aspirations.
www.shutterstock.com
The meeting of canvas and rubber that began in the 1830s still inspires crowds to queue for the latest pair. Sneakers are now big business and high fashion.
Jamal Knox, the rapper known as ‘Mayhem Mal.’
Screenshot, KDKA CBS Pittsburgh
Rapper Jamal Knox was convicted of making terroristic threats against two Pittsburgh police officers in a rap song. Now his case is before the Supreme Court, with serious implications for free speech.
The Beastie Boys in the music video for Sure Shot.
Screenshot from Youtube
The Beastie Boys’ Ill Communication closed out hip-hop’s Golden Age with a kaleidoscope of jazz-infused beats, bratty punk interludes and a deeper appreciation for storytelling.
J Cole at Etihad Stadium in 2014. Cole (aka ‘Therapist’) runs non-profit organisation Dreamville Foundation, and houses single mothers rent-free in his childhood home.
Photo supplied by Michelle Grace Hunder
It might seem crazy to believe the world is flat. But for some people it reinforces a narrative that gives their lives meaning.
Jockeying for power in the rap world: earlier this summer Drake and Meek Mill traded barbs.
Drake (on left): Steve Marcus/Reuters; Meek Mill: Kevork Djansezian/Reuters
Taking a lyrical swing at another rapper is part and parcel of the genre. So why the profound backlash when Meek Mill accused Drake of not writing his own lyrics?