• Joan Morgan, ‘Hip-Hop Feminist’, in Forman and Neal (2012)

Please make sure to read and re-read this article, since Ms. Morgan will be with us to talk about this and more!

In Class

1. Attendance
2. Q&A: TBA
3. Reading Notes for Next Time

For Next Time

• Interviews: Andrew Nosnitsky’, lebronjames.co (August 2018)
• Audio: ‘Young Thug Gets His Due, But Is It Too Late?’, Popcast (6 September 2019)

• Amanda Petrusich, ‘Against Chill: Apathetic Music to Make Spreadsheets to’, New Yorker (10 April 2019)
• Audio: ‘Why Lo-Fi Is the Perfect Background Music’ Switched on Pop (19 May 2020)

• Video: ‘How J Dilla Humanized His MPC3000’, Vox Earworm (6 December 2017)

In Class

1. Attendance
2. Small Group Huddles
3. Q&A: What do we lose when we ‘use’ music, as opposed to listening to it? 
4. Reading Notes for Next Time

For Next Time: Slight Return (Guest Speaker)

• Joan Morgan, ‘Hip-Hop Feminist’, in Forman and Neal (2012)

• 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: TBA
3. Reading Notes for Next Time

For Next Time

• TBA
• Audio: TBD
• Video: TBD

• Matt Miller, ‘Rap’s Dirty South: From Subculture to Pop Culture’, (password-protected PDF) in Forman and Neal (2012)
• Video: ‘How the triplet flow took over rap’, Vox (15 September 2017)

In Class

1. Attendance
2. Q&A: TBA
3. Reading Notes for Next Time

For Next Time

• 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)

• Gilbert B. Rodman, ‘Race … and Other Four-Letter Words: Eminem and the Cultural Politics of Authenticity’ (password-protected PDF), in Forman and Neal (2012)
• Video: Adam Neely, ‘Scotch Snaps in Hip-Hop’ (11 March 2019)

In Class

1. Attendance
2. Review: Story Maps Final Project
   • Examples
3. Q&A: Is cultural appropriation always a bad thing?
4. Reading Notes for Next Time

For Next Time

• Matt Miller, ‘Rap’s Dirty South: From Subculture to Pop Culture’, (password-protected PDF) in Forman and Neal (2012)
• Video: ‘How the triplet flow took over rap’, Vox (15 September 2017)

• Mychal Denzel Smith, ‘Confessions of a Conscious Rap Fan’, Pitchfork (28 June 2022)
• Audio: ‘Kendrick Lamar’s Anxiety Era’, Popcast (24 May 2022)
• Video: ‘Do the Knowledge’, Hip-Hop Evolution S2E3 (2018)

In Class

1. Attendance
2. Small Group Huddles
3. Q&A: If hip-hop is protest music, why is there so much gaybashing?
4. Reading Notes for Next Time

For Next Time

• Murray Forman, ‘Represent: Race, Space, and Place in Rap Music’, (password-protected PDF) in Forman and Neal (2012)
• Audio: TBA
• Video: TBA

• Paul Gilroy, ‘It’s a Family Affair’ (password-protected PDF), in Neal and Forman (2012)
• Audio: ‘Allah B of the Nation of Gods and Earths’, The Cipher Show 151 (18 April 2016). Peace! We trace the history of the Nation of Gods and Earths – and its influence on hip-hop – with one of its earliest members.
• Video: ‘Molefi Kete Asante – Afrocentric Education’ (12 April 2016)

In Class

1. Attendance
2. Q&A: If hip-hop is protest music, why did so many conscious rappers support the patriarchy?
3. Reading Notes for Next Time

For Next Time

• Mychal Denzel Smith, ‘Confessions of a Conscious Rap Fan’, Pitchfork (28 June 2022)
• Audio: ‘Kendrick Lamar’s Anxiety Era’, Popcast (24 May 2022)
• Video: ‘Do the Knowledge’, Hip-Hop Evolution S2E3 (2018)

Prep

• Kembrew McLeod, ‘Authenticity Within Hip-Hop and Other Cultures Threatened With Assimilation’ (password-protected PDF), in Forman and Neal (2012)
• Audio: TBD
• Video: Adam Neely, ‘Why Are There So Few Cover Rap Songs?’ (22 September 2022)

In Class

1. Attendance
2. Q&A: How can we come up with a thesis, and what is the mark of a good one?
3. Reading Notes for Next Time

For Next Time

• Paul Gilroy, ‘It’s a Family Affair’ (password-protected PDF), in Neal and Forman (2012)
• Audio: TBD
• Video: TBD

Prep

• Joan Morgan, ‘Hip-Hop Feminist’, in Forman and Neal (2012)
• Audio: ‘Women’s Rap Renaissance’, Switched on Pop 198 (8 December 2020)
• Video: What Makes The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill So Special?, Sound Field (2 March 2023). I’m not endorsing any of the claims made here, necessarily, but the producers offer some useful background–and I’m sure our guest speaker might have an interesting perspective here…

In Class

1. Attendance
2. Q&A: What do feminists hear when they listen to hip-hop?
3. Reading Notes for Next Time

For Next Time

• Kembrew McLeod, ‘Authenticity Within Hip-Hop and Other Cultures Threatened With Assimilation’ (password-protected PDF), in Forman and Neal (2012)
• Audio: TBD
• Video: Adam Neely, ‘Why Are There So Few Cover Rap Songs?’ (22 September 2022)

Prep

• Tricia Rose, ‘Never Trust a Big Butt and a Smile’, in Forman and Neal (2004)
• Audio: ‘Saweetie, City Girls, and the Female Rapper Renaissance’, Popcast (29 November 2020)

In Class

1. Attendance
2. Q&A: How can we come up with a thesis, and what is the mark of a good one?
3. Reading Notes for Next Time

For Next Time

• Joan Morgan, ‘Hip-Hop Feminist’, in Forman and Neal (2012)
• Audio: ‘Women’s Rap Renaissance’, Switched on Pop 198 (8 December 2020)
• Video: What Makes The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill So Special?, Sound Field (2 March 2023)