Sunday 20 October, 9.30am until 10.15am, Garden Room Artistic Battles
Hip hop and R&B have been embraced by mainstream society in recent years, yet the culture and its leading exponents still find themselves coming under intense scrutiny. Criticised for propagating homophobia, misogyny and gangsterism, stars from Jay-Z to Rihanna are increasingly called upon to buck the trend and set a good example. It is within this climate that Frank Ocean is lionised for coming out as bisexual, thus standing up against hip-hop homophobia, while Rihanna is lambasted for going back to abusive boyfriend Chris Brown, as she is seen as reinforcing the culture’s underlying patriarchy.
Should musicians be expected to set a good example – in either their music or personal life? Are such calls simply symptomatic of hip-hop’s growing cultural acceptability or proof that it still possesses the ability to terrorise respectable opinion? Are critics expressing deeper anxieties over out-of-control urban youth or is it time for rap culture to grow up?
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Lindsay Johns
writer and broadcaster; (non-residential) Fellow at the Hutchins Center for African & African-American Research at Harvard University |
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Brendan O'Neill
editor, spiked; columnist, Big Issue; contributor, Spectator; author, A Duty to Offend: Selected Essays |
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Rosie Swash
online fashion editor, Guardian |
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Campbell X
film maker and digital consultant, director, Stud Life |
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Tom Slater
deputy editor, spiked; coordinator, Down With Campus Censorship! |
This article identifies a particular aspect of hip-hop’s range of cultural production—conscious rap—in order to isolate one of the more politicized discursive options available to youth in America and a site where critical perspectives on post-Civil Rights America have emerged most forcefully.
Murray Forman, American Studies Journal, 2013
The hysteria over Robin Thicke’s hit shows PC has colonised every area of life.
Tom Slater, spiked, 13 September 2013
When he targets social injustice, racism, corrupt politics and cultural ills, he contributes to the American conversation in a meaningful way. But when he is so casually violent in his attitudes toward women, West does himself, the hip-hop art form and the rest of us a huge disservice.
Jeff Miers, Buffalo News, 26 June 2013
Nowadays gangsta rap doesn't hold the same sway as in the days of Tupac and Biggie. For artists like Drake and Nas, the battles are of ideas and emotions.
Mikael Wood, Los Angeles Times, 15 February 2013
When I was growing up, rap's raw sound drew me in, but its repugnant attitudes toward women and the LGBT community left me feeling torn. I love hop-hop but dislike what it has sometimes stood for.
peter Wright, Huffington Post, 8 February 2013
Campaigners against domestic violence condemn singer for sending 'dangerous message' after she shows compassion for man who beat her
Kunal Dutta, Independent, 19 August 2012Racism today: alive and kicking?
"The 2012 Battle of Ideas at the Barbican was the best ever. It was bustling with interesting people, punchy debates and new ideas. I can't wait for 2013's."
Philippe Legrain, adviser to José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission
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