Jul 27 2007
Know What I Mean?
GUEST: Michael Eric Dyson, author of “Know What I Mean? Reflections on Hip Hop” and Professor of Theology, English, and African American Studies at Georgetown University
The topic of hip hop as a means of social and political expression is something we have covered often on Uprising. Ever since it’s inception in the 1970s in New York’s West Bronx, Hip Hop has been an artistic force that has spread rapidly throughout the country and is now unequivocally a global phenomenon, from Palestine to Cuba and everywhere in between. Hip Hop has many faces from commercial to underground, hedonistic to conscious. Hip Hop has always been controversial and a subject of contention between genders and generations. To tackle these controversies head-on is my next guest, a favorite here on Uprising – Michael Eric Dyson.
Michael Eric Dyson is a Professor of Theology, English, and African American Studies at Georgetown University. He has written over ten books including Holler If You Hear Me: Searching for Tupac Shakur; Why I Love Black Women; I May Not Get There With You: The True Martin Luther King, Jr; Making Malcolm: The Myth and Meaning of Malcolm X; Is Bill Cosby Right?, Come Hell or High Water: Hurricane Katrina and the Color of Disaster; and Debating Race.
His latest book is “Know What I mean? Reflections on Hip Hop.” The book has an introduction by Jay Z and an Afterward by Nas.
Michael Eric Dyson’s website is www.michaelericdyson.com
One Response to “Know What I Mean?”
Thanks, Sonali, for covering this topic with this guest. I am slowly beginning to appreciate the substance of Hip Hop through your many interesting shows on the subject. This conversation just increased my interest into looking into this issue in more depth.
I am a 60 year old white female with a strong bias toward classic rock and roll, and all the revolutionary things it represented to my generation, including social and racial justice. I have struggled for a long time to appreciate hip hop because I could see it was a social movement. Sorry, I’ll still stick with the music of the 60’s, but I now understand the message of hip hop, and it’s the same message my generation has always respected.
Thanks for your wonderful show, and all that you do to support justice and true democracy.