Episode 13: "Got 99 Problems, But A Book Ain't One" - A Conversation About Hip Hop w/ Dr. Mark Anthony Neal
April 11, 2018

The focus of today’s conversation is hip hop, popular culture, and the representation of blackness in the media. We interviewed Dr. Mark Anthony Neal, a Professor of Black Popular Culture in the Department of African and African-American Studies at Duke University. We begin the interview by discussing the current state of hip-hop and its cultural influences (22:04) and differences between historical and contemporary hip-hop (24:00). We also focus on how black male identity is constructed in the media and popular culture (25:45) and how black male identity in hip hop has evolved over time (27:43). Moreover, we discuss femininity and female identity in hip-hop (29:34) and how the performance of femininity shapes popularity in music and entertainment (33:08). We close the interview by discussing how the cultural scripts imposed on black men are used to justify violence against black bodies (35:34), the transformation of Jay-Z and hip-hop (38:04), barriers to promoting alternative hip-hop and art (41:35), and the relationship between black popular culture and social change (47:32).
Other Topics Include:
00:30 - Catch up with Ty and Daphne
2:40 - BhD “Oh Lawd” News Segment
08:17 - Ty and Daphne Discuss Entertainment News for the Week
11:24- Representation of Black Men in the Media
20:25 - Learn More about Dr. Neal
44:55 - Black representation on the Big and Small Screen
50:25 - Ty and Daphne reflect on the interview
Resources:
Dr. Mark Anthony Neal’s Twitter @NewBlackMan | Instagram- @bookerbbbrown
Dr. Brittany Cooper’s Academic Wesbite - http://africanastudies.rutgers.edu/faculty-mainmenu-134/core-faculty/140-brittney-cooper
Treva Lindsay - https://wgss.osu.edu/people/lindsey.268