• 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)

Since we didn’t get a chance to really dig into Monday’s assignments, we’ll try to find some time to talk about them on Wednesday. Much of the class will be dedicated to final projects, however.

• Review: 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). Take careful notes. You must list at least three details from the video (an interesting fact or research finding, an intriguing hypothesis, some provocative claim); note the time stamp or approximate duration (e.g., 3m41s, or 3:41-5:25) and provide an annotation for each item. For example, you might question the way the author interprets a research finding; or you might speculate as to how a hypothesis might apply to a related topic; or you might explain what confuses you about a particular claim. I’d say this double-entry chart on the New York Times learning blog is geared more towards critically watching narrative fiction, but looking at it should give you a sense of what I’m looking for here. I won’t ask you to turn this in (unless you miss class), but I will cold-call a good bit to see what you noticed.

In Class

1. Attendance
2. Story Maps Accounts
3. Small Group Pow-wows
4. Q&A: What exactly is ‘dirty’ about the ‘Dirty South’?
5. Reading Notes for Next Time

For Next Time

• 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)

• 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). Take careful notes. You must list at least three details from the video (an interesting fact or research finding, an intriguing hypothesis, some provocative claim); note the time stamp or approximate duration (e.g., 3m41s, or 3:41-5:25) and provide an annotation for each item. For example, you might question the way the author interprets a research finding; or you might speculate as to how a hypothesis might apply to a related topic; or you might explain what confuses you about a particular claim. I’d say this double-entry chart on the New York Times learning blog is geared more towards critically watching narrative fiction, but looking at it should give you a sense of what I’m looking for here. I won’t ask you to turn this in (unless you miss class), but I will cold-call a good bit to see what you noticed.

In Class

1. Attendance
2. Q&A: What exactly is ‘dirty’ about the ‘Dirty South’?
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)

Prep

• 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). Take careful notes. You must list at least three details from the video (an interesting fact or research finding, an intriguing hypothesis, some provocative claim); note the time stamp or approximate duration (e.g., 3m41s, or 3:41-5:25) and provide an annotation for each item. For example, you might question the way the author interprets a research finding; or you might speculate as to how a hypothesis might apply to a related topic; or you might explain what confuses you about a particular claim. I’d say this double-entry chart on the New York Times learning blog is geared more towards critically watching narrative fiction, but looking at it should give you a sense of what I’m looking for here. I won’t ask you to turn this in (unless you miss class), but I will cold-call a good bit to see what you noticed.

In Class

1. Attendance
2. Q&A: Is cultural appropriation always a bad thing?
3. 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)

Prep

• Tricia Rose, ‘Never Trust a Big Butt and a Smile’, in Forman and Neal (2004), pp. 291-306
• Audio: ‘Saweetie, City Girls, and the Female Rapper Renaissance’, Popcast (29 November 2020)

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

• 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)

Prep

• Davarian Baldwin, ‘Black Empires, White Desires: The Spatial Politics of Identity in the Age of Hip-Hop’, (password-protected PDF) in Forman and Neal (2012)

We didn’t get very far in discussing Baldwin, so let’s finish the job on Monday.

In Class

1. Attendance
2. Q&A: Was gangsta rap the real conscious rap?
3. Reading Notes for Next Time

For Next Time

• 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)

Prep

• Davarian Baldwin, ‘Black Empires, White Desires: The Spatial Politics of Identity in the Age of Hip-Hop’, (password-protected PDF) in Forman and Neal (2012)

In Class

1. Attendance
2. Q&A: Was gangsta rap the real conscious rap?
3. Reading Notes for Next Time

For Next Time

• 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)

Prep

• DUE: Story Maps Proposal Outline
• Murray Forman, ‘Represent: Race, Space, and Place in Rap Music’, (password-protected PDF) in Forman and Neal (2012) 

In Class

1. Attendance
2. Q&A: Where does keepin’ it real go wrong?
3. Reading Notes for Next Time

For Next Time

• Davarian Baldwin, ‘Black Empires, White Desires: The Spatial Politics of Identity in the Age of Hip-Hop’, (password-protected PDF) in Forman and Neal (2012)