Tha Global Cipha: the transcultural dynamics of a Black aesthetics in James G. Spady's rap oeuvre

James G. Spady's work has established the conceptual and methodological terrain for understanding the African American and the diasporic roots of Hip Hop culture. His book Tha Global Cipha together with his essays on Negritude, Sonia Sanchez, Marcus Garvey, and Geneva Smitherman are essential f...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Western journal of black studies 2013-06, Vol.37 (2), p.112
Main Author: Stemmler, Susanne
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aesthetics
African American Culture
African American History
African Americans
Artists
Authors
Black Studies
Concept formation
Cultural Influences
Culture
Dialect Studies
Diaspora
Essays
Garvey, Marcus Mosiah (1887-1940)
Hip hop culture
Historic buildings & sites
Language Styles
Literary translation
Logic
Logical Thinking
Mass Media
Music
Rap music
Social aspects
Sociolinguistics
Spady, James G
Translation
Translation methods and strategies
Works
Writers
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Summary:James G. Spady's work has established the conceptual and methodological terrain for understanding the African American and the diasporic roots of Hip Hop culture. His book Tha Global Cipha together with his essays on Negritude, Sonia Sanchez, Marcus Garvey, and Geneva Smitherman are essential for future scholars to understand the cultural logic of global rap music and its history. In this essay, I will examine ways in which a Black aesthetics, an African American and Latino culture, has been adapted all over the globe. European research on Rap with its focus on local scenes of rap music has often neglected the historical roots of Hip Hop and its postcolonial implications. This essay focuses on the process of translation, adaptation and appropriation of Black aesthetics. Interviews with pioneers like LA Sunshine and examples of Rap groups like Ojos de Brujo (Spain), K'Naan (Somalia/Canada) and some Berlin based artists will serve as examples. First, this article will examine Spady's conceptualization of rap music as part of the "Black arts continuum," including "Nation language" as one of its elements. Second, I examine the idea of Hip Hop as translation in itself. And, third, I examine Spady's unique methodology that leads to my conclusion of Hip Hop as a participatory aesthetics.
ISSN:0197-4327