Conference Agenda

August 11th, 2023 marked the fiftieth anniversary of hip-hop’s founding moment at a block party hosted by DJ Kool Herc in the Bronx, New York. The recent establishment of an interest group for hip-hop and rap is thus a welcome and overdue addition to the SMT. Typical questions about the relationship between scholars and their area of study are particularly important for the growing subdiscipline of hip-hop theory and analysis. The Hip-Hop and Rap Interest Group will establish a discourse of ethical, antiracist, and inclusionary consideration of such questions with six lightning talks on the theme, “What It Means to Be a Hip-Hop Music Theorist.” The presentations and resultant discussions will contribute to the development of our identity as an IG.