Unexpectedly, when I was doing research on the history of a former blues nightclub district in North Richmond, California, I stumbled upon a facet of that history I had not anticipated: the participant of cross-gendered performers and club-goers. And, in mainstream venues. It flew in the face of all my presumptions of the role of [...]
Musical Subversion: “Glee” version of Dr Dre’s “Bitches Ain’t Shit”
Reposted from Sociological Images FINDING GLEE IN DR. DRE’S BITCHES AIN’T SHIT Sociologist Michael Kimmel passed along a fantastic and entertaining example of resistance. In the video below, a Columbia University a cappella group sings Dr. Dre’s Bitches Ain’t Shit. The appropriation of the song works on so many levels: the all-white, all-female group, the [...]
Pop music as “lustful pleasure-seeking in Iran” (@History is made at night)
Reposted from History is made at night: Lustful pleasure-seeking in Iran Iranian police detained 80 young men and women for “lustful pleasure-seeking” activities at an illegal concert, Tehran’s chief prosecutor has been quoted. The socially conservative Islamic republic launched a crackdown two years ago on “indecent western-inspired movements”, such as rappers and Satanists, as part [...]
Somali Rap and Radio (@ History is made at night)
Reposted from History is made at night From Waayaha Cusub (from Reuters Nairobi, 9 April 2010): For centuries, Somalis used poetry and songs to pass protest messages to powerful rulers they were too afraid to confront directly. Now, some young Somalis are using rap to speak out against Islamists who they say are using religion [...]
Moroccan rapper Don Bigg “crosses over”
When I interviewed Don Bigg in Casablanca in 2008, he told me that his goal was for his albums to be in the rap bins at Virgin and FNAC, not the World Music bin. Steeped in the hip-hop tradition, there was no place other than the rap category where his music belonged — still, as [...]
