“Allow Me to Reintroduce Myself…”

Name: Nick Toole

Age: 21

Height: 5′ 10″

Weight: 180lb

Hair Color: Brown (balding)

Ethnicity: Caucasian

Origin: Brunswick, Maine, USA.

Favorite Rap Song: Gone – Kanye West ft. Cam’ron and Consequence

Favorite Rapper Under 25: Chance the Rapper (Vince Staples is a close runner-up)

This blog is an attempt to start a broader conversation about hip-hop, and more succinctly rap music, in terms of the social implications of the genre. This means exploring issues of social justice (racism, sexism, homophobia) and social commentary. I find these topics to be incredibly difficult to approach, yet necessary to discuss. As a fairly privileged white male, I am not immediately involved with many of the communities about which I will be writing, and so I will proceed with this blog with respect and sensitivity, while still staying true to my own ideas and perceptions.

That said, perceptions and ideas change, and that may be reflected later on in the blog. Given that, it should not be expected that this blog will remain a concrete entity, and instead is subject to change in minute and grand ways.

My interest in hip-hop is simple; it is an eclectic and vibrant genre that breaks from its own mold over and over again. At times it is simply spoken word over a simple beat. Sometimes it is a wonderful web of samples that an artist reconfigures to make a whole new song. At other times it is more singing than rapping, with heavy bass and snare triplets. It is the most collaborative and the most wide-reaching genre of the past quarter-century. Its story is one of struggle and triumph, and the cyclical nature of the two. For these reasons it is engaging and entertaining.

Thus, I write to explore this genre as one of immense social power. It grew out of activism. It has a nasty history of misogyny and homophobia. It is violent and peace-making. How, then, might we approach this genre from a scholarly angle, to understand its power and its oxymoronic nature? My approach is two fold; seeking to promote its power and also to critique its failings. I hope to do this in a way that is both inclusive and thought-provoking. Let me know if I do that well.