PROJECT OUTPUTS

Peer-reviewed Journal Special Issue

Editors: Darren Chetty, Sina Nitzsche, Justin A. Williams 

The aim of this Special Double Issue of Global Hip Hop Studies is to present an expansive view of knowledge about, of and within global hip hop culture: in the music itself, in education and pedagogy, through the four elements, across inter-generational communities, and inside or outside the academy. In their introduction, editors Darren Chetty, Sina A. Nitzsche and Justin A. Williams discuss the origins of the term ‘knowledge’ as the fifth element of hip hop after DJing, graffiti, breaking and rapping, and the challenges around its varied meanings. The editors introduce the method for selecting material, as well as a breakdown of themes and topics covered, such as urban knowledge regimes in Brazil, occult knowledge and didactical strategies in Mongolian and American rap music, hip hop and dance pedagogies at French schools, Japanese and Indian universities as well as positionalities of educators in hip hop education settings around the globe. Reflecting on the editing process themselves, Chetty, Nitzsche and Williams address cases of censorship and potential dangers in printing certain forms of knowledge (e.g. Horton; Bienvenu) and scrutinize ways to tackle such gaps and silences academically. They also consider the journal editing process as a pedagogical experience, including the ethics and power imbalances of peer review. The introduction concludes with an overview of the different articles, reviews and interviews, and explains the context of the graffiti cover of the issue, which was provided by Cardiff-based artist Unity.

Download the issue here

Global Hip Hop Studies (GHHS) is a Diamond Open Access, peer-reviewed, rigorous and community-responsive academic journal that publishes research on contemporary as well as historical issues and debates surrounding hip hop music and culture around the world, twice annually.

Sina and Justin also presented a Keynote at the 7th Annual Network of European HipHop Studies at University College Cork on ‘The Fifth Element’ in May 2024.

Author: Justin A. Williams

Monograph for Cambridge Elements Series: 21st Century Music Practice (Series Editor Simon Zagorski-Thomas), Cambridge University Press
Published November 2024

Summary

With his debut album Original Pirate Material (2002), Mike Skinner, who recorded under the name The Streets, combined the world of UK dance music with US hip-hop. OPM is the result of the so-called ‘bedroom producer’, hybridizing previous forms into something novel. This Element explores a number of themes in this album: white masculinity, the everyday, technology, sampling, hybridity, the Black Atlantic, and US-UK transatlantic relations. It examines the exoticism of Englishness from a US perspective as well as within the wider context of Anglo-American cross influence in post-WWII popular music. Twenty years since the album’s release, this element provides an investigation of the album’s content and reception, as an important case study of (postcolonial) hybridity and (English, male) identity.

More on the book here

Williams, J.A. (2024) Original Pirate Material: The Streets and Hip-hop Transatlantic Exchange. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (Elements in Twenty-First Century Music Practice).

Author & Editors: Adam de Paor Evans and James McNally

Monograph for Cambridge Elements Series: 21st Century Music Practice (Series Editor Simon Zagorski-Thomas), Cambridge University Press
Published November 2024

HEADZ-zINe is a periodical output of the HEADZ Project. Taking the form of the fanzine with a critical edge, it challenges the convention of academic knowledge production and dissemination. HEADZ-zINe seeks to capture the personal, local, and communal histories of hip hop. HEADZ-zINe is foremost interested in the stories of its participants, and through a series of in-depth interviews and complimentary analysis of the artefacts and archives of hip hop, reveals a set of previously untold stories.

HEADZ-zINe is created with much the same immediacy as a zine. It is produced within a period of weeks, is self-published and designed using standard domestic hardware and software. Although the topic addressed is historical, participants’ reflections illustrate the immediacy and closeness of this material to their current lives. True to the aims of the fanzine, HEADZ-zINe illuminates the histories of music culture which have previously been largely un-documented. These histories are told through the personal and collective stories of their participants. HEADZ-zINe is freely distributed, and the inaugural issue has been manufactured with a print-run of only 200 copies, in addition to being available in an expanded edition online.

The zine presents a continued engagement with questions of knowledge production and dissemination. HEADZ-zINe has been developed in collaboration with practitioners and seeks to foreground their histories, thoughts, and ideas. We are interested in how hip hop offers practitioners a way of engaging with and knowing the world through music, artistic and dance practices. In this, we take hip hop seriously as a cultural form through which practitioners and fans learn, share and archive knowledge. Hip hop practitioners are both the creators of and thinkers about hip hop, they are local intellectuals. The principal focus of this zine is on the voices of hip hop practitioners themselves as they not only tell but theorise hip hop history. As accumulators of vinyl records, flyers, posters, photographs, and magazines ourselves we are interested in what these artefacts and archives can reveal to us about the creative acts of curating and remembering cultural history. We are interested in exploring how involvement in hip hop culture shaped the lives of practitioners and provided a space for creatively, imaginatively, and intellectually engaging with the world around them.

Featuring Interviews with Willie Wee, Kelz, DJ Lynx, Turoe, Flynn, Kant Control, Krissy Kris, DJ Milo, Sir Beans OBE, and Awkward.

Published Open Access Autumn 2021.

Download Link here: HEADZINE.BRISTOL.HEADZ.1.3.pdf

de Paor-Evans, Adam  and McNally, James (2021) HEADZ-zINe ‘REGIONS-UK’ BRISTOL HEADZ SPECIAL EDITION: Vol 1, Issue 3. HEADZ-zINe, 1 (3). Squagle House, United Kingdom.

Executive Director and Research Lead David Kerr (University of Johannesburg, Oxford Africa Initiative)
Producer Hashim Rubanza
Director Octavian Thomas (O-Key)

As rapper and record producer Doug E. Fresh said: 

“Hip-hop is supposed to uplift and create, to educate people on a larger level and to make a change.” 

Hip Hop Dar es Salaam captures the early history of hip-hop in Tanzania which has yet to be fully or widely told. In making the documentary we adopted new equitable methods of collaboration with hip hop practitioners in which their knowledge of both Tanzanian hip hop history and creative practice are central. For the hip hop practitioner with whom we were working hip hop was not only something they knew about but the practice of making hip hop had enabled them to gain knowledge and skills which they could bring to documentary film making. This film draws on hip-hop approaches to cultural industry, and work through theories of knowledge flows and musical (and musicians) migrations. After opening comments from our collaborators, we will screen the documentary and follow this with a discussion.

Related projects:

• “Sounding East Africa: Music Technology and Ideology” (funded by Perivoli Africa Research Centre, University of Bristol)
• Sounding East Africa: Tanzanian Hip-hop Documentary Screenings and sample pack recordings (funded by AHRC Impact Acceleration Account Seed Funding) (SEA2 Sept 2023-August 2024)
• “The Musical Economy in Tanzania: Equity, Access and Partnership in the Global Value Chain” (funded by the International Scientific Partnerships Fund) (SEA3, Aug 2024-March 2025)
• “Sounding East Africa 4: Connective Marginalities and Cross-diaspora Artistic Conversations”  (funded by AHRC Impact Acceleration Account, Proof of Concept) (SEA4, March 2025-Dec 2025)”

Research Team:

• Dr. Sina Nitzsche, Project Lead, University of Bristol, Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts
• Prof. Dr. Justin Williams, Principal Investigator, University of Bristol
• Sophie Deniz Aydin, Research Intern, University of Bristol
• Julia Hofsendermann, Research Assistant, Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts

This project investigates, for the first time, the potential of open education in hip hop studies. Open Educational Resources (OER) are digital resources that are freely accessible for any learner with an internet connection. OER is a relatively new educational practice which emphasizes accessibility, participation, and empowerment (Hollich 2022: 4). 

Conducting a first-of-its-kind online survey of OER hip-hop studies resources, the project analyses which open teaching resources exist on hip-hop studies and hip-hop culture: What kind of knowledge do they produce about the culture? How far do these materials echo hip-hop’s global promise of empowerment and participation in reality? This project argues that there is a great potential for institutions and instructors to make their hip-hop studies knowledge available to a general public. Open education and hip-hop studies are both movements which can contribute to the decolonization of the curriculum if instructors publish more open, easily accessible, and participatory teaching and learning materials that acknowledge the many forms that knowledge of hip-hop can be found in.

The interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary project was conducted between the University of Bristol and the University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Dortmund in the summer of 2023. It has been an exercise in mentorship and inter-generational knowledge in hip-hop studies as Sina and Justin have worked with student interns to help research and present the project. Initial findings were presented at the 7th Annual European Network of HipHop Studies conference at University College Cork, and will be publishing results in a peer reviewed journal article.

Project Lead: Dave Hook (MC Solareye)

The Hip-hop Listener is an ongoing project in conversation with Forman, Neal, Bradley (eds) The Hip-hop Studies Reader, and developing the knowledge within hip-hop and through hip-hop. A number of rappers were commissioned to write rap ‘chapters’ on a theme of their choosing in the same way that a written anthology is collated, contributing to new forms of knowledge generation and exchange, with its own website in progress. The aim is for this collection to continue into around 10-12 songs, which will then be released as an album and published as a multimedia publication. Dr. Hook’s research in progress was shown at the 7th European Network of HipHop Studies conference.

‘Fifth Element’ project commissioned 6 tracks of the overall project

Committee: Dulcie Dixon-Mckenzie, Natalie Hyacinth, Monique Ingalls (Co-Chair), Matthew Williams, Justin A. Williams (Co-Chair)

Keynotes: Robert Beckford, Joy White, Pauline Muir, Monique Charles

Including a Gospel Industry Panel, Early Career Panel, and performance by The Renewal Choir 

Book Celebration: Black Music in Britain in the 21st  Century Ed. Monique Charles with Mary Gani and Black British Gospel Music: From the Windrush to Black Lives Matter Eds. Dulcie Dixon McKenzie, Pauline E. Muir, and Monique M. Ingalls

The aims of the day were to put scholarship about Black British sacred and secular music in conversation with one another, and to support academics and practitioner-scholars of all levels in building a community around these significant areas of study. 

Schedule – ‘Black British Music: Sacred and Secular’ Study Day, 25 March 2023

Project Lead: James Kennaby (Vice Beats)

This project, with additional Brigstow Institute seed funding, helped to support a research project based on artist-scholar collaboration. The goal was to think through, test, and refine models for artist scholar collaboration: a) to widen the notion of knowledge within and outside the academy, to value different forms of knowledge and b) to create research impact from those findings. 

Under the leadership of Vice beats (James Kennaby), he organised the event ‘An Afternoon of Dilla’ (AAOD), and had recently made a J Dilla tribute album (Dilla: The Timeless Tribute, 2020). This was an opportunity to collaborate with Hip-Hop academics, and was serendipitous as we recently had a PhD student (Zach Diaz) write a thesis on hip-hop producer J Dilla. 

The first iteration of the events were held in London, Bristol, and Manchester and was a rare opportunity to tour both academic and artist talks and sets. Kennaby, not only a talented artist, but was expert in securing partnerships with other businesses and charities, including the James Dewitt Yancey Foundation, Monkey Shoulder, Stop Ya Beefin donuts, and was able to sell bespoke merchandise including sticker packs, t-shirts, donuts, vinyl records and other merchandise.

Rarely do academics get the opportunity give talks and then and refine it immediately, so we had a chance to evaluate, change, and improve on the ‘public engagement’ side as well as any other logistical elements we could improve on. 

2024 saw An Afternoon Of Dilla return to London, this time in a larger venue (BRIX, London Bridge). Kennaby forged further partnerships, including developing a custom speaker with UK based speaker manufacturer Minirig. The partnership led to DJ Prime Cuts (of Scratch Perverts) creating an Afternoon Of Dilla mix for the Minirig Soundcloud. The partnership with Monkey Shoulder continued who supported the event’s raffle with various prizes, alongside hosting a J Dilla themed mix for Monkey Shoulder created by Agent J. The mix became number 1 in the Mixcloud Hip-Hop chart worldwide with 15,000+ listens. 

The event boasts a strong brand, developed by Japanese illustrator Nearski, and is intended to be an annual event. AAOD is scalable and transferrable and we are looking for other cities around the world to host the event.

Photography – Chris Beschi
Videography – Ellis Dawg

Author: Jason Ng & Michael Chuvessiporn

Practice-led community zine containing interviews with beatmakers/music producers from Bangkok Thailand.
Published February 2024

Summary

This zine explores the narratives shaping Thailand’s beatmaker scene, spotlighting the artists, communities, and creative ecosystems that have fostered its growth. Through interviews, visual storytelling, and deep dives into production culture, BKKBEATCIPHER VOL. 1 captures the unique history of Thai beatmaking—its global influences, local adaptations, and the underground networks sustaining it.

From DIY bedroom producers to established names, the zine uncovers the creative processes, challenges, and aspirations of beatmakers navigating Thailand’s evolving music industry. It also examines how hip-hop, electronic music, and traditional Thai sounds intersect in the beats that define this scene.

Featuring artist spotlights, archival elements, and discussions on technology, collaboration, and sustainability, this project aims to document not just the music but the stories behind it.

Authors: Dr. Jason Ng & Dr. Steven Gamble

Abstract

There has been much debate concerning the changing nature of cultural production and distribution in the digital creative economy. Music production work has been especially affected by promotional conventions established by social media and music streaming platforms. This article critically builds atop perspectives on the platformisation of cultural production to investigate how independent hip-hop music producers develop their careers in the era of digital media platforms. It examines how traditional media and digital platform gatekeepers affect producers’ abilities to professionalise, promote creative work to audiences and manage precarious conditions for their labour. Insights from interviews with 15 producers from 8 countries are analysed and discussed to provide a nuanced view of the conditions for music production careers in the platform era of the digital creative industries.

Citation:

Ng, J., & Gamble, S. (2024). Hip-hop music producers’ labour in the digital music economy: Self-promotion, social media and platform gatekeeping. New Media & Society,  https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448241295304