"Hood Politics"

Racial Transformation in Hip-Hop

Abstract

This paper explores the possibility of music to transform
the way we understand each other. In particular, it looks at the
genre of hip-hop and the ways in which it can serve as a vehicle for
understanding black experience. I argue that hip-hop’s structural
elements allow artists to convey their living narrative in a way that
recognizes, challenges, and changes our conceptual understanding
of the black body. Using the works of Darby English and Harry
Nethery, I examine hip-hop and apply their arguments to two
specific rappers in order to illustrate my argument.