Schur, Richard L. “Claiming Ownership in the Post–Civil Rights Era.” In Parodies of Ownership: Hip-Hop Aesthetics and Intellectual Property Law, 68-98. ANN ARBOR: University of Michigan Press, 2009. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv65sx2s.8.
Parodies of Ownership: Hip-Hop Aesthetics and Intellectual Property Law
The chapter being observed aims to connect the Civil-Rights movement to hip-hop music. This piece does not focus so much on the origin or initial creation of hip-hop, but instead on the development of hip-hop’s political impact and significance. Richard L. Schur argues that hip-hop aesthetics were developed as a specific type of ownership for Black Americans.
I will use this piece in conjunction with others to observe the past (and even original) uses of hip-hop music. I will then compare it with current purposes for the making of hip-hop music. I argue that neoliberalism in the music industry prefers profits-designed music and aesthetics over political commentary or emotional expression.
Williams, Justin. “Historicizing the Breakbeat: Hip-Hop’s Origins and Authenticity.” Lied Und Populäre Kultur / Song and Popular Culture 56 (2011): 133-67. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23339034.
Historicizing the Breakbeat: Hip-Hop’s Origins and Authenticity
This piece observes the history of hip-hop back to its origins (NYC). However, it goes beyond the sound and also explores the aesthetic and cultural development of hip-hop. I intend to, again, compare classical hip-hops original purposes and means of production to that of contemporary hip-hop. I then will argue that any forms of appropriation of hip-hop music are inspired/encouraged by Neoliberalism.
Weekly Progress:
I am still pulling together a historical framework. Next I will need to determine a relevant artist to observe.