Having grown up Black in America, the author reflects on his limited exposure to African American literature in school as well as his even more limited opportunity to see himself reflected in the mirrors of those texts. The article then extends into a framework for expanding the inclusion of African American texts in educators' classrooms.…

Hip-hop is an African folk art birthed in America. Whether one simply observes the tonal language that puffs the breath of life into the lyric prose of rap music, the poly-rhythms of the "boom-bap" rhythmic phrasings that became a fixture of New York rap music in the late 1980s, the winding syncopation from the pounding "808"…

This article addresses and explores hip-hop's reclamation of space using transit as a public bulletin. It is situated within counter-publics discourse and couched in the theoretical frameworks offered by visual rhetorical theory. This article also discusses hip-hop counter-publics through guerrilla advertising by former graffiti artists, SKI and…

This article seeks to introduce and situate a seldom-explored subject: the role and contribution of women hip-hop deejays in the testosterone-filled genre called hip-hop. Grounding the analysis in the interviews of six women deejays--Spinderella, Kuttin Kandi, Pam the Funkstress, Reborn, Shorty Wop and Natasha Diggs--"Sista Girl Rock"…

If an educator is to take a critical stance, teach students to do the same, and design lessons that engage students in thoughtful discussions and actions surrounding issues of social justice, then discussions of politics, race, culture, economics and systems of power are crucial to this work, and the use of hip-hop is a worthwhile endeavour. In…

Given that research in language and literacy studies proffers multilingual and translingual literacy studies as central to contemporary English studies, English studies can benefit from increased attention to hip-hop language practices. While some linguists have argued for closer analysis of hip-hop nation language (HHNL) because of its relevance…