Sources so far

Here are some of my sources that are available online, if you have any interest in the Culture of hip Hop or the American construct of masculinity these are informative and eye opening. Careful not to overload on this stuff though it can become discouraging to see how truly caustic masculinity has become.

Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes.

Specifically addresses masculinity within hip hop. it is about 6 years old now and the landscape of pop culture has changed, though I don’t thing it is at all for the better.

Hip Hop: Beyond Entertainment

Part 1:

Part 2:

This is a two part KRS-One Lecture at Temple University in Philadelphia where he talks about origins of Hip Hop and the Evolution of mindsets that hip hop has, Great concepts and insight from a Hip Hop legend who was around at the beginning of hip hop.

Tough Guise

This was the first exposure I had to critically thinking about masculinity about six years ago. Sociologist Jackson Katz takes a look at masculinity as it is portrayed in the media in the wake of Columbine Shootings in 1999. He does a great job articulating some of the more racist factors to masculinity and the end is inspiring. It shows places in the media where healthy forms of masculinity are displayed.

Other material that is not on line:

Prophets of the Hood: politics and poetic in Hip Hop By Imani Perry

This book has a whole chapter dedicated to Masculinity in Hip Hop and is really informative to the racial elements that surround Masculinity. The perception of black men in the media is well explained here. She uses a lot of ethnic studies vocabulary that takes a few reads through to fully understand.

The Hip Hop Wars by Tricia Rose

I am only just beginning this book but so far this one has touched on some Issues of violence in Hip Hop and reason that the American public is so ready to receive these violent images.