Hip-Hop Revolution, with Professor Ogbar.
On Tuesday, Professor Jeffrey O. G. Ogbar delivered a talk on the changing landscape of hip-hop to a group of Yale students and community members. Professor Ogbar has served as a faculty member of the University of Connecticut for 15 years, and was recently named the Associate Dean for the Humanities in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. His recently published book, Hip-Hop Revolution, has gained mass acclaim and praise. In 2008, the book received the W.E.B. Du Bois Book Prize, awarded by the North East Black Studies alliance. Ogbar’s other works, including Harlem Renaissance: Politics, Arts, Letters, Black Power: Radical Politics and African American Identity have too be recognized for their fascinating content and pioneering theories. Professor Ogbar’s high level of knowledge regarding several facets of African-American history and popular culture allowed him to portray the evolution of hip-hop through a comprehensive lens.
Professor Ogbar posed several questions crucial to understanding how hip-hop has changed and grown since the 1980s. Such questions included, how have early forms of Black pop culture (i.e. minstrelsy) affected the formation of hip-hop today? In what ways have perception of “authenticity” changed from the politicized music of those like Public Enemy to contemporary YouTube sensations like Soulja Boy? How can America define “conscious” rappers, and why do such rappers face difficulties in attempts to attain platinum record sales? How has hip-hop portrayed drug culture over the last three decades? What are the intersections of the prison industrial complex and these portrayals? Lastly, the question which sparked the most discussion amongst discussion attendees, how have depictions of women and perpetuations of misogyny evolved as hip-hop has developed?
If you’re interested in learning the answers to the aforementioned questions, the Afro-American Cultural Center encourages you to purchase Professor Ogbar’s book, Hip-Hop Revolution. Check out the following Amazon.com below!
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