Amina Norman-Hawkins

Rising out of a relatively obscure urban youth movement in the 1970s, hip-hop would become one of the world's preeminent forms of artistic expression wielding tremendous influence in the world of music, fashion, dance, and popular culture. Created primarily by teenagers in New York’s South Bronx to amplify their creative and socio-political voices, hip-hop also served an important role in preserving the heritage and cultural identity of Black and Brown communities in the United States. This course will explore hip-hop’s musical and cultural roots examining its distinguishing characteristics, aesthetic practices, and position in the world. The course begins by exploring the African and Caribbean music and dance traditions that helped shape hip-hop practices, from drum rhythms to syncopated vocal delivery, and communal performance circles. We will explore the music production process, lyric construction, narrative storytelling, and encoded messages. We will also examine how advancements in technology have played critical roles in making hip-hop more accessible due in part to the affordability of personal computers, the shift from analog to digital music formats, and the creation of the Internet. Additionally, we will explore the associated elements of fashion, dance, language, and entrepreneurialism connected to hip-hop. Students will be assigned quizzes, music and song analysis, video feedbacks, a midterm album presentation, and a creative independent (or collaborative) final project.

Through a socio-cultural historical approach, this course provides a chronological survey of the broad repertoire of music created by people of African descent in the United States from the period of enslavement to the present day. Students will explore African American music's characteristics, techniques, styles, and aesthetics, examining secular and religious folk music, compositions in the Western classical music tradition, and contemporary and popular music forms. Beginning with its West African roots, this course traces the dynamic aspects of African American music through examining successive generation’s diverse styles, narratives, and distinctive performance practices. This course will explore the roots, aesthetics, and connections between African American musical genres like gospel, blues, jazz, soul, funk, disco, house, and hip-hop, through the works of composers, artists, and musicians like Thomas Dorsey, Mahalia Jackson, Robert Johnson, Nina Simone, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, and DJ Kool Herc. Students will also examine African vocal and musical characteristics preserved in the United States and still prevalent in African American music such as call & response, polyrhythms, syncopation, guttural effects, and improvisation. Additionally, this course will highlight Chicago’s rich musical history and contributions to the African American musical landscape. Assignments will include readings, music and song analysis, video/documentary feedback, a song review, and a creative independent (or collaborative) final project/presentation.