Due: Wednesday July 1 by 5pm via Blackboard Papers will be considered late after 5pm.

E-
mailed assignments will not be accepted.

Your assignment is to write a three [not 2 pages plus 2 sentences] to five page paper in response to
the article ““Hiphop Turns 30 Whatcha celebratin' for?”
By Greg Tate which appeared in the Village Voice on January 4, 2005.

Your response should be in the form of a succinct essay which incorporates all of the required
components.

You should not write about what you do or don’t agree with, sentence by sentence or paragraph by
paragraph. Rather, you should, identify broad themes (no more than 3) within the article and
demonstrate your understanding of course readings, discussion and lecture in crafting your
response.

I have provided a few guiding points which may help in defining the specific topic you wish to
respond to. In addition, your essay should discuss the notion of Hip-Hop as culture
and its place within the dominant (majority) US culture, as well as Black culture. You must also
define Hip-Hop in its first occurrence in the essay. You may choose a definition used in
class or research one of your own.

You must use APA citation in this essay.

Your paper should be double spaced with standard ½ inch margins. You will be graded on content,
not length.

You should be proud of this paper when done. Therefore, typos, cross-outs, poor grammar or
syntax, emotional (rather than factual) arguments, and poor flow (transition between sentences,
paragraphs, topics) should all be elements foreign to your final paper.

Guiding Points (each can be considered a theme)

1. Do you agree with Tate’s eulogy of true Hip-Hop versus the ‘populist art form’ most are
familiar with?

“True hiphop headz tend to get mad when you don't separate so-called hiphop culture from the
commercial rap industry, but at this stage of the game that's like trying to separate the culture
of urban basketball from the NBA, the pro game from the players it puts on the floor.”
…
“Hiphop may have begun as a folk culture, defined by its isolation from mainstream society, but
being that it was formed within the America that gave us the coon show, its folksiness was born to
be bled once it began entertaining the same mainstream that had once excluded its originators. “

1
 2. What are the implications for Hip-Hop moving forward? [Tate also wrote the closing article
in the Vibe History of Hip-Hop which may provide insight]
3. “The corporate interest in Hip-Hop (i.e. what eventually brought on commercial Hip-
Hop/rap . . . made strictly for profit and not art or self-fulfillment) hurt Hip-Hop more than it
helped.” [not in the article] . . . what are your thoughts on that statement?

Tate comments: “An interesting question arises: If enough folk from the 'hood get rich, does that
suffice for all the rest who will die tryin'? And where does hiphop wealth leave the question of
race politics? And racial identity?”
4. What is the role of race and class in Hip-Hop?
5. Is Hip-Hop REALLY successful? Should we really be celebrating or mourning?

As always, if you have any questions, e-mail me at hiphopprof@gmail.com.

The following wordle box shows the main themes from the essay based on
frequency of words. This may help you hone in on main themes.