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Call for Contributors: I am seeking contributors for Icons of Hip-hop, a two-volume narrative reference collection to be published by Greenwood Press. This collection will consist of 10,000 word biographical essays on hip-hop’s 24 most important artists. Some of the artists currently available to contributors include Nas, Wu-Tang Clan, Lil Kim, Master P, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, and Ice Cube.

Each 10,000 word essay will profile the life and career of a hip-hop artist (or group) and discuss the specific contributions that make the figure a hip-hop icon. For some artists these contributions will be stylistic developments, and for others raising awareness of women’s roles, of regional music scenes, etc. For earlier artists, essays will include an examination of their current roles or continuing influence. Your entry should refer to other hip-hop artists (collaborators, adversaries, label-mates, etc) whose careers intersect with that of the icon.

Essays will be supported by several sidebars that place the icons within cultural and historical context. The sidebars will highlight such issues as rivalries between artists, hip-hop’s culture of death and dying, the importance of geographic region, musical innovations (including sampling technologies), legal issues, media scandals, and wider phenomena, movements, or styles that were sparked by a particular artist. There are certain consistent themes to the sidebars, such as regional scenes (Houston, Memphis, Miami, etc), and hip-hop’s intersections with other music forms (rock, jazz, blues, etc).
Persons invited to submit completed essays will be asked to meet an April 5, 2006 due date. Submit a brief letter of interest and a one-page CV to Mickey Hess at mhess01_at_ius.edu

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Received on Sat Jan 07 2006 - 11:15:26 EST