“Women Rapping Revolution”
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Project Overview
Women Rapping Revolution: Hip Hop and Community Building in Detroit is a 248-page book written by Rebekah Farrugia and Kellie D. Hay and published by University of California Press in 2020.
“Detroit, Michigan, has long been recognized as a center of musical innovation and social change. Rebekah Farrugia and Kellie D. Hay draw on seven years of fieldwork to illuminate the important role that women have played in mobilizing a grassroots response to political and social pressures at the heart of Detroit’s ongoing renewal and development project. Focusing on the Foundation, a women-centered hip hop collective, Women Rapping Revolution argues that the hip hop underground is a crucial site where Black women shape subjectivity and claim self-care as a principle of community organizing. Through interviews and sustained critical engagement with artists and activists, this study also articulates the substantial role of cultural production in social, racial, and economic justice efforts.” – University of California Press
Project Goals
- To unite femininity with strength
- To represent the diversity of women rappers in Detroit
- To represent Detroit while avoiding cliches
About the Authors
Rebekah Farrugia is Associate Professor of Media Studies in the Department of Communication, Journalism, and Public Relations at Oakland University. She is the author of Beyond the Dance Floor: Female DJs, Technology, and Electronic Dance Music Culture.
Kellie D. Hay is Associate Professor of Cultural Studies in the Department of Communication, Journalism, and Public Relations at Oakland University. She has authored many articles about music, politics, and cultural identity, and specializes in critical qualitative methodologies.
Forward by Piper Carter and Mahogany Jones | May 2020 | First Edition
Piper Carter, along with emcees Miz Korona and Invincible joined forces to to create a safe space for Women in Hip-Hop every week in the form of a no misogyny open mic event that lasted for 5 years starting in 2009 called “The Foundation”. This book is a research project that chronicles this community and their experiences creating this movement in Detroit.