Tapestries: Interwoven voices of local and global identities
Abstract
The mainstream Hip-hop narrative positions itself as hypermasculine, violent, greed obsessed and overtly misogynistic. Even in spite of this, those at the margins (historically women), have arisen to appear a cut above the stereotypical rap discourse. This piece takes on the journey of expanding the dominant narratives surrounding Hip-hop. We must both back at the past and towards to future to truly the expansive landscape that Hip-hop culture has to offer the world. This piece mainly examines the function of gender identity politics through a Hip-hop lens. Analyzing both the work of renowned artist Lauryn Hill, but also the queer identified music of Mykki Blanco. This piece utilizes the methodologies of performances studies, lyrical analysis and queer theory to construct its viewpoints.
Recommended Citation
Harris, Ryan
(2017)
"“What Is Meant To Be, Will Be”: Hip-hop and the continuum of Gender Politics,"
Tapestries: Interwoven voices of local and global identities: Vol. 6:
Iss.
1, Article 10.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/tapestries/vol6/iss1/10
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Comments
Ryan Harris, 21, is a senior studying Educational Studies and American Studies at Macalester College. He hails from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At Macalester, he is a member of the Mellon-Mays Undergraduate Fellowship. Through Mellon, he explores intellectual interests of Hip-hop culture and its social implications. He also co-chairs the Black Liberation Affairs Committee (BLAC) at Macalester, which seeks to bring and discuss the issues of African Diasporic people with the wider campus community. During his time at Macalester, he has been the recipient of the American Studies Award For Creativity and Social Responsibility and the Richard B. Dierenfield Endowed Prize for Education.