Jabari Evans – Assistant Professor of Race and Media, University of South Carolina Before he was arrested in December 2011, Chief Keef was a 16-year-old budding rap star. He’d released…
R&B singer R. Kelly was found guilty of racketeering and sex trafficking charges on Sept 27, 2021, having been exposed as the ringleader of a decades-long scheme to recruit girls, boys and…
For months, fans were relegated to watching their favorite singers and musicians over Zoom or via webcasts. Now, live shows – from festivals like Lollapalooza to Broadway musicals – are officially back. The songs…
In ‘Rumors,’ Lizzo and Cardi B pull from the ancient Greeks, putting a new twist on an old tradition
Grace B. McGowan – PhD Candidate in American Studies, Boston University It isn’t often that a pop star releases a music video that aligns so well with my academic research. But…
Written by Eurie Dahn – Associate Professor of English, The College of Saint Rose Using punctuation and capitalization as a form of protest doesn’t exactly scream radicalism. But in debates…
Henning Bjornlund – Professor, Business School, University of South Australia; André F. van Rooyen – Principal Scientist, Innovation Systems for the Drylands., CGIAR System Organization; Vibeke Bjornlund – Researcher,School of…
Adam Gustafson Assistant Teaching Professor of Music, Penn State “I need a change,” Aretha Franklin says at one point in “Respect,” the new film starring Jennifer Hudson as the Queen…
Marlene Daut – Professor of African Diaspora Studies, University of Virginia Following the July 7, 2021 assassination of Haiti’s President Jovenel Moïse and after one Haitian official requested that the…
Jill Vasbinder Senior Lecturer in Dance, University of Maryland, Baltimore County In January 2020, 14-year-old Jalaiah Harmon created what would become one of the biggest viral dance sensations on TikTok.…
A.D. Carson Assistant Professor of Hip-Hop, University of Virginia Not long after the July 20, 1969, Moon landing, Gil Scott-Heron – a poet hailed as the “Godfather of Rap” – released…