Jay-Z is one of America’s leading rappers and entrepreneurs, as well known for his music as for his business acumen. This text seeks to situate Jay-Z within his musical, intellectual and cultural context for educational study. Thirteen essays address such topics as Jay-Z’s relevance to African-American oral history, socially responsible hip hop and upward mobility in the African-American community. By observing Jay-Z through the lens of cultural studies, this study assists the teacher, student, scholar, and fan in understanding how he became such an historically significant figure. Each essay includes a set of review questions meant to spark discussion in the classroom.

Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

Julius Bailey is a visiting professor of philosophy at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio and lead professor of philosophy and religion at Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio. He has written about music for numerous publications, including Vibe Magazine and The Source Hip Hop Magazine.

Edited by Julius Bailey
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 223
Bibliographic Info: notes, bibliographies, index
Copyright Date: 2011
pISBN: 978-0-7864-6329-9
eISBN: 978-0-7864-8573-4
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      viii
Foreword: On Jay-Z and Hip Hop Studies
CORNEL WEST      1
Introduction: In Search of Meaning: Sign, Symbol, and Shawn
JULIUS BAILEY      3

Part I: The Groundwork
1. Jigga Speaks: The Tradition of Black Oratorical Genius
TONI BLACKMAN      25
2. The Authentic Cultural Agent
G. JAHWARA GIDDINGS      39
3. The Meeting with a President and a “King”
DAVEYD      52
4. A Urban Singer of Tales: The Freestyle Remixing of an Afro-Homeric Oral Tradition
NICOLE HODGES PERSLEY      67
5. The Prodigal God and the Legacy of Socially Responsible Hip Hop
T. HASAN JOHNSON      84

Part II: The Challenges
6. Zen and the Art of Transcending the Status Quo: The Reach from the Hood to the Suburbs
BAKARI KITWANA      99
7. Black Marketing Whiteness: From Hustler to HNIC
STEPHANY ROSE      117
8. A Forty Million Slave’s Moment of Clarity
DAYLAN DUFELMEIER      132
9. Hip Hop’s Prospects for Womanist Masculinity
MELINA ABDULLAH      141

Part III: The Classroom Freestyles
10. Complicating Shawn Carter: Race, the Code, and the Politics of School
DAVID STOVALL      159
11. Oedipus-Not-So-Complex: A Blueprint for Literary Education
A.D. CARSON      172
12. The Culture Industry: Mainstream Success and Black Cultural Representation
GIL COOK      180
13. The Self-Reliant Philosopher King: Shawn Carter Exonerated
SHA’DAWN BATTLE      191

About the Contributors      211
Index      213

“offers a strong pedagogical tool for introducing readers to the socially urgent and complex issues that hip-hop has always evoked…at the end of each essay, questions are included for further discussion, providing excellent teaching tools on significant social, cultural, and political issues”—ARSC Journal.