Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- Discipline
- Institution
- Publication Type
Articles 1 - 2 of 2
Full-Text Articles in Hip Hop Studies
Digital Griots Playing Lottery Tickets: A Study Of Hip Hop And Social Transformation In Ghana's #Fixthecountry Movement, Jaime M. Kowlessar
Digital Griots Playing Lottery Tickets: A Study Of Hip Hop And Social Transformation In Ghana's #Fixthecountry Movement, Jaime M. Kowlessar
Antioch University Dissertations & Theses
On June 28, 2021, activist Ibrahim Mohammed (Macho Kaaka) was murdered in Ejura, Ghana, after using social media to criticize government failures. When protesters demanding justice were shot by security forces, politically engaged Ghanaian hip hop artists refused silence, contributing to Ghana’s #FixTheCountry movement—the nation’s largest youth mobilization in a generation. Yet scholarly debates about how hip hop contributes to social change remain unresolved, divided between those celebrating its activist potential and those critiquing its limitations. This dissertation introduces the lottery ticket theory as an alternative framework for understanding cultural activism’s relationship to political transformation. Rather than asking whether hip …
Black Transnationalism And Diaspora In Hip Hop: An Analysis Of Billy Woods’ “Asylum”, Rayli Dornan
Black Transnationalism And Diaspora In Hip Hop: An Analysis Of Billy Woods’ “Asylum”, Rayli Dornan
Anthós
This paper examines Billy Woods' 2022 song, "Asylum" from the album Aethiopes, situating it between the frameworks of Black transnationalism and diaspora. Woods critiques colonialism and constructs a collective Black cultural identity through lyricism and sampling, despite the universally destructive effects of colonialism. The methodology of this paper involves close reading and listening to "Asylum," supported by theoretical perspectives on Black transnationalism and diaspora. This research also incorporates historical context and Woods' personal background to frame the song's narrative. Key materials include the song's lyrics, its samples, and relevant academic literature on colonialism and Black identity. "Asylum" critiques colonialism …