[By Alysha Griffin] Today, I conclude my Women in Hip-Hop series by providing part II of my interview with Nicole Hodges Persley. I continue to ask her about the performative aspects of hip-hop and how does the interplay of lyrics, videos, and performances come together to create overarching impressions of women’s place in the evolving culture. “Raising the Roof: Black Women’s Voices in Hip […]
[By Alysha Griffin] In the second interview I conducted for “Raising the Roof: Black Women’s Voices in Hip Hop,” I interviewed Nicole Hodges Persley. Persley is an Assistant Professor of Theatre at the University of Kansas. She teaches courses on hip-hop, acting, African American theater, race and performance and improvisation theory. Her research and performance works address the impact of racial, ethnic and national identity […]
[By Alysha Griffin] On yesterday, I provided Part I of my interview with Musicologist, Tammy Kernodle. Today, I provide part II of the interview where I conclude asking Kernodle specific questions about the performative aspects of hip-hop culture as it relates to black women. “Raising the Roof: Black Women’s Voices in Hip Hop” series seeks to interpret the opportunities and challenges black women encounter participating […]
[By Alysha Griffin] For “Raising the Roof: Black Women’s Voices in Hip Hop” series, I interviewed Tammy Kernodle. Kernolde, an Associate Professor of Musicology at Miami University, Oxford, has served as the Scholar in Residence for the Women in Jazz Initiative at the American Jazz Museum in Kansas City, Missouri and has lectured extensively on the operas of William Grant Still, the life and religious […]
[By Alysha Griffin] Hip Hop has become notorious for its treatment of women. Whether through misogynistic images or the large exclusion of women in rap music, Hip Hop has become “Public Enemy #1” in the women’s fight for progress. With all this critique of Hip Hop, however, I think it is important to acknowledge those women who have navigated the tight spaces in Hip Hop […]
[By Cindy Lyles] An instrumental or vocal musical track typically lingers in the background as the opening credits or initial scene of a film unfolds. Music, however, is less anticipated in the opening vignette of a novel, but Toni Morrison proves that song has a place in Song of Solomon far beyond the title. At the beginning of this novel, music serves a similar purpose […]
“Break It Down” is a new HBW Literary Blog initiative that strives to offer critical interpretations of song lyrics, excerpts from novels, and poems. This week, Blog Contributor Goyland Williams has analyzed Strange Fruit, a song written by Abel Meeropol and performed by jazz singer Billie Holiday. *Hold cursor over underlined text to display comments Southern trees bear strange fruit Billie Holiday, similar to many […]