Emma Hurring, blog 2!
Reading “Histories and ‘her stories’ from the Bronx” really inspired me. I thought that the researchers used amazing techniques in order to really understand the subjects and the women that they were interviewing. From collecting qualitative data through interview, to asking them questions over email and even watching them perform I thought this was an amazing way to not only triangulate data, but to really go deeper into understanding these artists. However, my main interest in this week’s reading centered around alternative artists inspiration and influences. I thought it was very thought provoking when La Bruja spoke about how poetry had led her to a path of hip hop. I am still curious as to whether she sees her poetry as an entirely separate entity to her hip hop work, or whether she considers them to go hand in hand, each opening opportunities for the other. La Bruja also interested me as she focused on the feminine influences that pushed her into a career of hip hop and performance. In contrast, in the article “The Rise of Seattle Hip hop” it speaks about how the male identifying, Sir Mix-A-Lot’s, work has now influenced the biggest female hip hop artist, Nicki Minaj. Furthermore, it was interesting to me that Sir Mix-A-Lot was inspired by a place, Capital Hill. In “The Rise of Seattle Hip hop” it mentioned Sir Mix-A-Lot had an “ode to Capital Hill”. This surprised me, as the Capital Hill in Seattle is a neighborhood known for its LGBTQ+ focused positive attitudes and hip hop is traditionally associated with homophobia and a lack of tolerance.
DJ Selections:
Last Letter by Witt Lowry was one of my DJ selections for the week because he is an artist that really blurs the lines between poetry, rap and hip hop. This really drew parallels to me between La Bruja (as spoken about in the "Histories and her stories" article and Witt Lowry, as they both explore how hip hop and poetry and other forms of the spoken word go hand in hand. Furthermore, Witt manages to place amazing emphasis on the beat and on the lyrics in my opinion.
Black Stax, Spell on You, was my second DJ selection for the week. They were my second choice as they are a local Seattle based hip hop group and because many of their aims as a group include the ambition to inspire others, especially young black children. This connects to the article about "The Rise of Seattle Hip Hop", as they are also a Seattle based hip hop group. Additionally, this also did connect me to the "Histories and her stories" article, as they are really focused as a group on inspiring others, and in that article it frequently explores how different artists had different motivations to pursue their craft.
This also isn't a song choice, but I thought this was an amazing piece of poetry that speaks about the power of hip hop and the way that hip hop and poetry intersect with one another.
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