Symposium explores difficult dialogue on issues around hip hop

The hosts of NPR’s “Louder Than A Riot” will be the featured guests at a hip hop symposium taking place from 5-6:30 p.m. Nov.9, in the Screening Room, 112 Center for the Arts. It’s being hosted by the Department of Africana and American Studies, and the Distinguished Visiting Scholars Program, both in the College of Arts and Sciences.

The symposium, titled “A difficult dialogue about hip hop,” will center discussions on hip hop and the criminal justice system, homophobia, and misogyny — topics that have been covered on the “Louder Than A Riot” podcast. The show’s hosts, Rodney Carmichael and Sidney Madden, will share insight and analysis on the way rap lyrics have been used in criminal trials, as well as the way women and LGBTQ/non-binary-identifying artists have navigated hip hop culture and the music industry from marginalized spaces.

Carmichael and Madden, along with podcast producer Gabby Bulgarelli, will attend the UB event to reflect on episodes from the past two seasons and discuss the current state of hip hop going into 2024. Nicole Horsley, 2023-24 Distinguished Visiting Scholar, will moderate the discussion.

“The symposium recognizes hip hop archives, histories, creativity and rebellion as traditional as apple pie. It centers elements of pleasure, death, dying, erasure, silences and the politics of articulation through the culture as a way to discuss community, belonging, the here and now, and look toward the future of hip hop,” Horsely says.

Hip hop began 50 years ago in New York City and has expanded as a global art movement that encompasses music, dance, graffiti and fashion. Hip hop is more than just a music genre: It is a culture that is rooted in self-expression, creativity and community, as well as a platform for marginalized voices to be heard, and for social change to be enacted.

“Marking the 50th anniversary of hip hop is important,” Horsely explains. “The symposium provides a space for us to think about the dynamics of the local, national and diasporic relationships we have or don’t have with hip hop culture. I’m interested in engaging in conversations about the culture, music and futurity of hip hop.

“Buffalo has a rich and dynamic musical past, presence and future. It seems like the ideal time and space to have a discussion guided by a collective love and joy through hip hop.”

Horsley hopes those attending the symposium will focus on the founding principles and elements of hip hop and ponder their effects.

“I hope we think about the state of hip hop studies on campus, in Africana and American studies. At the core of the symposium is exploring our collective and individual relationship to power and resistance,” she says. “Also, recognizing the importance of hip hop archives, narratives and histories. An art of creativity and rebellion that undoubtedly will withstand an additional 50 years.”

“A difficult dialogue about hip hop” is free and open to the public. Support is provided by the Office of Inclusive Excellence. For tickets and to register for the event, visit the eventbrite page.