Week 10-Media, Commodification and Hip-hop

This week's lecture and readings discuss Hip-hop's commodification in the media. How do you see Hip-hop's influence in popular media such as commercials, television, film and journalism (print media)? How is Hip-hop commodified by artists, corporations and/or the media? Think broadly about the different elements of Hip-hop. Do you see Hip-hop music and culture as a product that the media often disassociates from the artists that produce it? Why or why not? Where does the notion of "blackness" figure into this equation? Try to remember to give specific examples in your responses.

Week 9- Hip-hop and Race in American Film

How has Hip-hop's aesthetic shaped American film? In what ways do we see race articulated through a Hip-hop aesthetic? As you explore the readings, audio and visual references, think about the ways in which Hip-hop has influenced the cinematic and storytelling styles. How do you see particular elements of Hip-hop translated into film? How does the race of a filmmaker impact his/her vision if at all? As you watch the films Do the Right Thing, 8 Mile and Hustle and Flow, think about the ways that diverse racial and ethnic groups use Hip-hop as a platform to tell stories.

Week 8- Women, Gender and Sexuality in Hip-Hop

This week, we watched the film Say My Name by Nirit Peled. This documentary presents the voices of many female MCs, past and present, who have contributed to Hip-hop culture. How are particular stereotypes of does gender and sexuality sampled in Hip-Hop? What stereotypes of men and women circulate in Hip-hop culture and how do female MCs manipulate them? As you blog on the key words GENDER and SEXUALITY, think broadly about the ways that Hip-hop culture has the potential to marginalize and liberate men and women from seemingly fixed categories of representation.

Week 7- Hip-hop's Urban Griots

MC's in Hip-hop music are storytellers that follow in the tradition of West African griots. Whether MCs write their rhymes or improvise them on the spot, they become living archives of history that connect the past to the present. As you blog on the key words FLOW and BATTLE, think about the ways that Hip-hop MCs use their storytelling to describe lived and imagined experiences. How does an MCs environment shape his/her style? How does the battle in MCing relate to artistic expression in the other elements of Hip-hop?