Hip-Hop Studies – Part 1

Thus far I have read the first chapter in That's The Joint: The Hip-Hop Studies Reader and have found it very intriguing. I noticed that the opening Foreword by Michael Eric Dawson is from the Prelude of Dawson's book Know What I Mean (2007). Just that little reference validated the forthcoming material as being an important contribution to the discourse on hip-hop. Within the first part on history, the inclusion of different viewpoints provides both a subjective and objective vantage around the culture, origins and evolution of hip-hop. The introduction emphasizes the ever-increasing body of scholarly research on hip-hop. It paints a picture of how I fit into such a young discipline and how crucial it is for me to situate myself in a way that will not be criticized as being too academic or too colloquial. I must maintain a discourse that enlightens a specific area of hip-hop, without being considered the outsider that might tend to utilize the culture to my own advantage. Since I cannot claim any authenticity to hip-hop's roots, I can only stress my own cultural intermingling with the culture through being first exposed to it by my brother, who as a youth was very much active in rapping and beat-boxing. Exposure to him and various other friends were involved in a version of hip-hop that was resituated to suit the needs of the youth that appropriated it. It is reassuring to know that research on hip-hop is not being approached with the same skepticism it once received. The inclusion of hip-hop in pop-cultural studies and music courses validates its ever-increasing presence within society. And the institutionalization of the genre in places like Harvard and Regina allow for further studies, that still raises questions of authenticity, and whether or not transplanting something that originated in the streets of New York can be authentically re-created and studied in an academic atmosphere. It really depends on the individuals and what their definition tends to include. But since culture is always a continuous process of growth, assimilation and development, it only seems natural that the culture of hip-hop will evolve and incorporate itself into other levels of class, race and culture.

The various contributions in Part one include perspectives that include an academic voice, a more colloquial, "street" language article, vignettes from Billboard and a primary interview between three founding fathers of hip-hop. These different approaches, as mentioned earlier, have obvious difference in tones and writing styles. The academic style approaches the subject in a straight and objective fashion. The more informal article uses somewhat of a sarcastic yet insulting tone that discredits the readers ability to be interested in the subject matter. Phrases such as "Word up" and "The first ass spin!?!" color the article. However, an article that uses language typical with the culture and that resonates with individuals who participate in the culture would be more likely read by them because it is accessible to them in terms of language. Likewise, this subjective viewpoint has its advantages. There is more reference in this article to specific terminology around breaking and to specific artists and crews; something that an academic approach my miss if they were not intrinsically involved in the culture. How will my approaches change now that I've just witnessed various frameworks? As for my research, it seems important to find that balance between writing something in the escalade that only academics would be interested in reading. I must also steer clear of a truly ubiquitous and simple generalization of a specific culture that warrants a breadth of scholarly integrity. What is also useful is the interview approach that questions the originators of the hip-hop culture. Questions used here serve as a basis for me to adapt into the initial questions that I have been compiling. A further reading of the studies reader will provide additional insights into methods and techniques that may be helpful in my own research.