Conference Presentations by D B
International Hip Hop Conference, University of Cambridge, 2016
What is ‘black’ voice? Does it exist and if so, how is it represented, authenticated, and perform... more What is ‘black’ voice? Does it exist and if so, how is it represented, authenticated, and performed? In our paper, we examine the ways in which hip hop has become the de facto form of black American expression and how that demarcation informs, challenges and often undermines black culture at-large due to hip hop’s pervasive yet limited scope.
In Desiree Burch’s one-woman show, Tar Baby, she examines the performativity of ‘blackness,’ a term that is problematic and unquantifiable yet emblematic of how people of color are often codified within American society. Though this dilemma did not originate with hip hop, we argue that the music’s current, long-term popularity has set the most recent parameters on black speech and performance. Using Burch’s play as a frame for conversation, we challenge this predominant signifier of blackness and question its marginality within the black community.
We also investigate the greater power of the hip hop voice, as one that is embedded in American culture-at-large, clearly distinguishable from other Anglophonic cultures. With widespread usage of this vernacular outside of its specific cultural origins, can we still claim that hip hop automatically equates blackness? Is hip-hop now or can it ever be post-black?
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Uploads
Conference Presentations by D B
In Desiree Burch’s one-woman show, Tar Baby, she examines the performativity of ‘blackness,’ a term that is problematic and unquantifiable yet emblematic of how people of color are often codified within American society. Though this dilemma did not originate with hip hop, we argue that the music’s current, long-term popularity has set the most recent parameters on black speech and performance. Using Burch’s play as a frame for conversation, we challenge this predominant signifier of blackness and question its marginality within the black community.
We also investigate the greater power of the hip hop voice, as one that is embedded in American culture-at-large, clearly distinguishable from other Anglophonic cultures. With widespread usage of this vernacular outside of its specific cultural origins, can we still claim that hip hop automatically equates blackness? Is hip-hop now or can it ever be post-black?
In Desiree Burch’s one-woman show, Tar Baby, she examines the performativity of ‘blackness,’ a term that is problematic and unquantifiable yet emblematic of how people of color are often codified within American society. Though this dilemma did not originate with hip hop, we argue that the music’s current, long-term popularity has set the most recent parameters on black speech and performance. Using Burch’s play as a frame for conversation, we challenge this predominant signifier of blackness and question its marginality within the black community.
We also investigate the greater power of the hip hop voice, as one that is embedded in American culture-at-large, clearly distinguishable from other Anglophonic cultures. With widespread usage of this vernacular outside of its specific cultural origins, can we still claim that hip hop automatically equates blackness? Is hip-hop now or can it ever be post-black?