Brains, means, lyrical ammunition

Hip-hop and socio-racial agency among African Students in Kharkiv, Ukraine

Bibliographic Data

ID4304304
AuthorsAdriana Helbig (University of Pittsburgh, corresponding author)
Year2011
Volume30
Issue3
Pages315-330
Publication date2011-10-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePopular Music (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0261-1430 • E-ISSN: 1474-0095
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0261143011000250
OpenAlexW2105061465
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited16

In the last decade, multi-racial hip-hop scenes in Kharkiv, a predominantly Russian-speaking eastern Ukrainian city close to the Russian border, have fostered the development of socially-conscious hip-hop among African students. Drawing on musical elements from their respective home countries, the US and local hip-hop traditions, African male youths use Ukrainian-, Russian- and English-language lyrics to express concerns about socio-economic status, personal struggle and racial inclusion. This study analyses how African musicians use hip-hop as a social means through which to fight the escalating violence against dark-skinned foreigners and migrants. It draws on ethnographic data to identify several ways in which African-performed hip-hop has influenced contemporary public opinions regarding 'black' identity in eastern Ukraine

Agency (philosophy · Art · Ethnic group · Ethnography · Geography · Literature · Lyrics · Musical · Political science · Social science · Sociology · Stigma (botany · Ukrainian · Visual arts · Anthropology · Diaspora, migration, transnational identity · Gender Studies · Migration, Ethnicity, and Economy · Music History and Culture · Psychology

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