Queer Voices in Hip Hop: Cultures, Communities, and Contemporary Performance
Queer Voices in Hip Hop: Cultures, Communities, and Contemporary Performance
by Lauron J. Kehrer
University of Michigan Press, 2022
ISBNs
Cloth: 978-0-472-07568-3
Paper: 978-0-472-05568-5
eISBN: 978-0-472-90301-6 (OA)
About the Book
Notions of hip hop authenticity, as expressed both within hip hop communities and in the larger American culture, rely on the construction of the rapper as a Black, masculine, heterosexual, cisgender man who enacts a narrative of struggle and success. In Queer Voices in Hip Hop, Lauron J. Kehrer turns our attention to openly queer and trans rappers and positions them within a longer Black queer musical lineage. Combining musical, textual, and visual analysis with reception history, this book reclaims queer involvement in hip hop by tracing the genre’s beginnings within Black and Latinx queer music-making practices and spaces, demonstrating that queer and trans rappers draw on Ballroom and other cultural expressions particular to queer and trans communities of color in their work in order to articulate their subject positions. By centering the performances of openly queer and trans artists of color, Queer Voices in Hip Hop reclaims their work as essential to the development and persistence of hip hop in the United States as it tells the story of hip hop’s queer roots.
About the Author
Lauron J. Kehrer is Assistant Professor of Ethnomusicology and Musicology at Western Michigan University.
Reviews
“Queer Voices in Hip Hop resists the demonization of hip hop as a flat, toxically masculine space and the inaccurate gender binary that has had a hold in the field of music research on hip hop and identity performance.”
— Alisha Lola Jones, author of Flaming? The Peculiar Theopolitics of Fire and Desire in Black Male Gospel Performance"...by incorporating track titles and/or discographies, [Queer Voices in Hip Hop] encourages us to listen farther back in time to cultivate an expansive aural awareness of contemporary and future sounds...The [author] showcase[s] the power of hip-hop culture's participants, remembering the burden of change weighs most heavily on those most impacted by inequities and injustices."— Women & Music
“With careful attention to musical sound, lyrical content, and cultural context, Lauron J. Kehrer brings the submerged Black queer lineage of hip hop to the surface and shows how Black queer and trans rappers from Big Freedia to Young M.A to Lil Nas X and beyond have pursued their careers while balancing artistic goals and industry expectations. Queer Voices in Hip Hop is an accessible and insightful read that provides a welcome riposte to the persistent erasure of Black queer people from hip hop history and culture.”
— Maureen Mahon, author of Black Diamond Queens: African American Women and Rock and Roll"Kehrer's text is necessary addition to hip-hop pedagogy, celebrating the work of gender, queer studies, and music scholars through their interpolation of relevant works to tackle contemporary issues. The text truly focuses on the voices: individuals, their stories and contributions, and their efforts for placemaking and humanizing queer perspectives in hip hop while challenging industry expectations." — Notes: the Quarterly Journal of the Music Library Association
Tags
Tracking Pop, Cultures, Rap & Hip Hop, Rap (Music), Hip-hop, Gender identity in music, African American gay people, Hip Hop, African American gays, Gender-nonconforming people, African American lesbians, Gay musicians, African American transgender people, Contemporary Performance, Lesbian musicians, Queer Voices, Transgender musicians, LGBTQ+ Studies, Genres & Styles, Music, Cultural & Ethnic Studies, History and criticism, United States, Social Science
Open Access Information
Label: Society for American Music and American Musicological Society, supported in part by NEH and Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
License: CC BY-NC-ND
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