Prep

• • Alex Gale, The Oral History of “Wild Style”, Complex (2013). Note: I advise watching the movie to the end before reading this.
  • Video: Wild Style (Charlie Ahearn, 1982)

In Class

1. 1. Attendance
   2. Q&A: How do we separate history from mythology?
   3. Reading Notes for Next Time

For Next Time]

• Nelson George, ‘Hip-Hop’s Founding Fathers Speak the Truth’, in Forman and Neal (2012); also available in Forman and Neal (2004)
• Video: Founding Fathers: The Untold Story of Hip-Hop (Ron Lawrence and Hassan Pore, 2009). Watch this before class; we’ll review a few scenes during class as they become relevant to our discussion. 

Prep

• • Jeff Chang, ‘Zulus on a Time Bomb: Hip-Hop Meets the Rockers Downtown’, in Forman and Neal (2012). I’ll drop the PDF on the Discord server. This time, we’ll focus on the sections having to do with graffiti. 
  • Video: Wild Style (Charlie Ahearn, 1982). We’ll watch important chunks in class, but please watch the movie in its entirety before class.

In Class

1. 1. Attendance
   2. Story Maps Group Huddles
   3. Q&A: Did street art survive its move to the galleries?
   4. Reading Notes for Next Time

For Next Time]

• Alex Gale, The Oral History of “Wild Style”, Complex (2013). Note: I advise watching the movie to the end before reading this.
• Video: Wild Style (Charlie Ahearn, 1982)

Prep

• • Sally Banes, ‘Physical Graffiti: Breaking Is Hard to Do’, Village Voice, 
  • Video: Wild Style (Charlie Ahearn, 1982). We’ll watch this movie in class, but I encourage you to look at it a few times. You can view this movie for free using the hyperlink in the title.

In Class

1. 1. Attendance
   2. Q&A: How have various kinds of mass media influenced the evolution of hip-hop dance?
   3. Reading Notes for Next Time

For Next Time]

• Jeff Chang, ‘Zulus on a Time Bomb: Hip-Hop Meets the Rockers Downtown’, in Forman and Neal (2012). We’ll focus on the sections concerning graffiti.
• Video: Wild Style (Charlie Ahearn, 1982)

Prep

• Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton, ‘Hip-Hop: Planet Rock’, in Last Night a DJ Saved My Life: The History of the Disc Jockey (Grove Press, 2006)
• Video: DJ Jazzy Jay | Crate Diggers | Fuse (10 October 2012). Jazzy Jay was one of Zulu Nation’s main DJs, was the co-founder of Def Jam Records, and is one of hip-hop’s great storytellers. keywords: crate digging; sacred crates.

In Class

1. Attendance
2. A Moment of Silence
3. Q&A: Is hip-hop inherently political?
4. Reading Notes for Next Time

For Next Time]

• Sally Banes, ‘Breaking’, in Forman and Neal (2004:13-20)
• Video: Wild Style (Charlie Ahearn, 1982). We’ll watch this movie in class, but I encourage you to look at it a few times. You can view this movie for free using the hyperlink in the title.

Prep

• Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton, ‘Hip-Hop Roots: Adventures on the Wheels of Steel’, in Last Night a DJ Saved My Life: The History of the Disc Jockey (Grove Press, 2006)
• Audio: Rich Nice, Merry Go Round Mix (11 August 2020)
• Video: Grandmaster Flash, ‘A Letter to Kool Herc from Grandmaster Flash’ (14 August 2017)

In Class

1. Attendance
2. Q&A: What’s the difference between rap and hip-hop music?
3. Reading Notes for Next Time

For Next Time

• TBD

Prep

• Benedict Carey, ‘In Music, Others’ Tastes May Help Shape Your Own’, New York Times (14 February 2006) 
• Shamus Khan, ‘The New Elitists’, New York Times (7 July 2012)
• Audio: ‘How to Listen to Music in 4 Easy Steps’, Switched on Pop 50

In Class

1. Attendance
2. Q&A: How subjective can taste be for social animals like ourselves?
3. Reading Notes for Next Time

For Next Time

• DUE: Semester Goals HW
• Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton, ‘Hip-Hop Roots: Adventures on the Wheels of Steel’, in Last Night a DJ Saved My Life: The History of the Disc Jockey (Grove Press, 2006)
• Audio: Rich Nice, Merry Go Round Mix (11 August 2020)
• Video: Grandmaster Flash, ‘A Letter to Kool Herc from Grandmaster Flash’ (14 August 2017)

Prep

(Note: These are all short, whether texts or audiovisual clips; please make sure you check them out before our first meeting!)

• Ground Rules for the Classroom
• Frederick Douglas, ‘Learning to Read and Write’ (1845)
• Malcolm X, ‘Learning to Read’ (1965)
• Video: Robert Glasper: “Jazz is the mother of hip-hop” | JAZZ NIGHT IN AMERICA (19 April 2017)

In Class

1. Attendance
2. Q&A: What do we gain from the academic study of hip-hop? And what do academics typically get wrong about hip-hop?
3. Reading Notes for Next Time

For Next Time

• Benedict Carey, ‘In Music, Others’ Tastes May Help Shape Your Own’, New York Times (14 February 2006) 
• Shamus Khan, ‘The New Elitists’, New York Times (7 July 2012)
• Audio: ‘How to Listen to Music in 4 Easy Steps’, Switched on Pop 50

• DUE: Story Maps Final Projects

In Class

1. 1. Attendance
   2. In-Class Presentations
   3. Final Words

For Next Time

• Have a nice summer!

• • Usama Kahf, ‘Arabic Hip-Hop: Claims of Authenticity and Identity of a New Genre’, in Forman and Neal (2012)

This is absolutely timely and worth reading; unfortunately, I think we’re going to have to devote the entire period to Story Map-troubleshooting. Highly recommended, and it would count as a reference to an official assignment, were you to work it into your final project; but this would be the one instance where I would not expect you to have done the assigned reading before class.

In Class

1. 1. Attendance
   2. Story Maps: Logistics & Small Group Huddles
   3. Reading Notes for Next Time

For Next Time

• TBA

• Andrew Nosnitsky, ‘Gray Matters’, Pitchfork (4 March 2013). On the legacy of Houston’s DJ Screw—possibly the most influential hip-hop DJ of this century—and how his impact goes way beyond simply slowing things down.
• Audio: ‘Big Floyd and the Rise of Houston Chopped N Screwed Music’, Switched on Pop (9 June 2020)

In Class

1. Attendance
2. Q&A: Is DJ Screw really to blame for Drake?
3. Reading Notes for Next Time

For Next Time

• Usama Kahf, ‘Arabic Hip-Hop: Claims of Authenticity and Identity of a New Genre’, in Forman and Neal (2012)