56th NeMLA ConventionPhiladelphia, PA |  March 6-9th, 2025

All submissions must be made through NeMLA's submission portal: View Session (cfplist.com)

Hip hop began in the Bronx, NY, in the early 1970s, but the musical genre and cultural movement build from a rich history of Black American traditions, experience, and epistemology. This session seeks short presentations that will prompt a roundtable discussion about how hip hop has influenced and been influenced by American (r)evolution.
Some might argue that hip hop was and is a cultural (r)evolution for many reasons, including:

* The musical genre's foundation on the interruption and re-revolving of break beats
* The genre's relation to and evolution from previous genres like funk, soul, jazz, and blues
* The political and social critiques embedded in graffiti, street knowledge, and many lyrics
* Hip hop influenced the way an entire generation and the generations that followed experience the world
* The (r)evolution of break dancing from the Bronx to a global sensation
* Hip hop has become a global phenomenon, revolutionizing the way "heads" interact across time zones and languages
* Hip hop remains, in part, a way to "turn around" the material conditions of its producers

The above are just a few examples of approaches presenters might take. I am particularly interested in abstracts that address the historical and future-directed influences and implications of hip hop culture and its five pillars:
1. MCing (Oral)
2. DJing (Aural)
3. Breakdancing (Physical)
4. Graffiti (Visual)
5. Knowledge (Mental)