Harris et al.: If I Ruled the World: Putting Hip Hop on the Atlas Journal of Hip Hop Studies 1 Published by VCU Scholars Compass, 2019 1 Journal of Hip Hop Studies, Vol. 6, Iss. 2 [2019], Art. 1 Editor in Chief: Travis Harris, Virginia Commonwealth University Senior Editorial Advisory Board: Anthony Pinn, Rice University Daniel White Hodge, North Park University Associate Editors: Cassandra Chaney, Louisiana State University Jeffrey L. Coleman, St. Mary’s College of Maryland Monica Miller, Lehigh University Shanté Paradigm Smalls, St. John’s University (NYC) Willie Hudson, Azusa Pacific University Copy Editor: Sabine Kim, The University of Mainz Editorial Board: Dr. Jim Dekker, Cornerstone University Dr. Earle Fisher, Rhodes College/Abyssinian Baptist Church, United States Dr. Jon Gill, Center for Process Studies Dr. Daymond Glenn, The Cultural Soul Project Dr. Deshonna Collier-Goubil, Azusa Pacific University Dr. Andre Johnson, University of Memphis Dr. David Leonard, Washington State University Dr. Anthony J. Nocella II, Institute of Public Safety Programs, Salt Lake Community College Dr. Priya Parmar, Brooklyn College Dr. Ashley Payne, Missouri State University Dr. Rupert Simms, North Park University Dr. Darron Smith, University of Memphis Dr. Jules Thompson, Metropolitan State University Dr. Mary Trujillo, North Park University Dr. Ebony A. Utley, California State University Long Beach, United States Dr. Don C. Sawyer III, Quinnipiac University Dr. Melvin Williams, Pace University Journal of Hip Hop Studies 2 https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/jhhs/vol6/iss2/1 2 Harris et al.: If I Ruled the World: Putting Hip Hop on the Atlas Sponsored By: North Park University's Communication Arts Department (https://www.northpark.edu/academics/undergraduate- programs/majors/communicationarts/communication-studies/) Save The Kids Foundation (http://savethekidsgroup.org/) Journal of Hip Hop Studies 3 Published by VCU Scholars Compass, 2019 3 Journal of Hip Hop Studies, Vol. 6, Iss. 2 [2019], Art. 1 My Epitaph “Here lies a man who loved virtue and art, And gave to both his fortunes and his heart.” Ikeogu Oke (1967 - 2018) This special issue is dedicated to Ikeogu Oke. The Journal of Hip Hop Studies recognizes the weight of publishing his poems on Tupac posthumously. He transitioned on November 25, 2018 during the process of bringing together this special issue. He wrote “My Epitaph” as a Facebook post on September 16, 2018. As his epitaph stated, he was passionate about art. Born in Nigeria, he went to the University of Calabar and obtained a BA in English and Literary Studies. He then went on to obtain an MA in Literary Studies from the University of Nigeria. Among his many accomplishments, in 2017, Oke won the Nigeria Prize for Literature for his book of epic poetry, The Heresiad. “If I Ruled the World” contains ten poems written by Oke. They are placed throughout the issue. In Oke’s note on “Good Thing Going” in this special issue he stated: “I had imagined that it would be the type of poem Tupac himself would write if he were to write a formal poem/musical piece, with his characteristic bluntness and unabashedly mirroring the seamy side of our humanity, and which he would like to render as a song with the verve usually associated with rap or hip-hop.” His own words portray the beautiful struggles of African and African diasporic life that he had aimed to communicate in his own poetry. His poems elucidate the ways in which Hip Hop communicates and embodies the evasiveness of freedom for Black people around the world. Oke, from Nigeria, and Tupac, from America, were separated by a vast body of water in the Atlantic, yet they have this shared experience of being African people in the ongoing fight against White Supremacy. They both are our ancestors now and we hope that this special issue will honor their work and legacies. Journal of Hip Hop Studies 4 https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/jhhs/vol6/iss2/1 4 Harris et al.: If I Ruled the World: Putting Hip Hop on the Atlas In Loving Memory and Dedication to Ikeogu Oke (1967 – 2018) Journal of Hip Hop Studies 5 Published by VCU Scholars Compass, 2019 5 Journal of Hip Hop Studies, Vol. 6, Iss. 2 [2019], Art. 1 Foreword Travis Harris My journey, in many ways, reflects the ciphas and flows of this special issue, “If I Ruled the World: Putting Hip Hop on the Atlas.” The idea for this special issue came from my time at what became known as “Grimey Cambridge,” an international Hip Hop Studies conference at the University of Cambridge. This conference, held in 2016, formally entitled “It Ain’t Where You’re From, It’s Where You’re At,” included Hip Hop scholars from around the world. This opened my eyes to a world of Hip Hop Studies that had previously eluded me. With this newfound revelation, I thought that I should put out a special issue on international Hip Hop. I then reached out to Daniel White Hodge and Simran Singh. Hodge and I intentionally reached out to a woman and someone from outside of the United States in order to ensure that this special issue was not dominated by a male US-centric perspective. With the team in place, I started the literature review. Quickly I discovered that this body of literature on global Hip Hop studies was massive. I reached out to the network of Hip Hop scholars I had developed from "Grimey Cambridge" and asked for contributions to a global Hip Hop studies bibliography. We have included this bibliography in this special issue. Working on this bibliography has revealed the complexities of Hip Hop and Hip Hop studies. Hip Hop is being researched in multiple languages, from various academic disciplines and according to a number of methodological approaches. One component of the study of Hip Hop around the world is resources. Some scholars do not have the institutional support to fully study Hip Hop. This support ranges from access to other scholarly articles to access to Hip Hop scholars who are trained in the field. In true Hip Hop fashion, it is amazing to witness how Hip Hop is being thoroughly researched throughout the world. The turning point in my understanding of global Hip Hop studies happened when I realized that global Hip Hop studies was solely an artificial boundary created by academia. Whereas I started thinking about international Hip Hop studies out there, I realized that Hip Hop has collapsed those boundaries. In reality, scholars and practitioners cipha and flow with each other across multiple boundaries. There is no "out there" in Hip Hop. Hip Hop did not go global, it has always been a global phenomenon from its inception. “If I Ruled the World” argues that there is no distinction between global Hip Hop studies and Hip Hop. Global Hip Hop studies is Hip Hop studies. Journal of Hip Hop Studies 6 https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/jhhs/vol6/iss2/1 6 Harris et al.: If I Ruled the World: Putting Hip Hop on the Atlas The compilation of “If I Ruled the World” consists of flows and a cipha in and of itself. The late and great Nigerian poet, Ikeogu Oke, blessed us with poems on Tupac Shakur. Oke's poems bring a new perspective to Tupac and positions Tupac as an African diasporic rapper. This perspective means that Tupac was (and still is) African. The shift in thinking from American to African living in a diaspora changes how we comprehend Tupac's identity and his reach around the world. My article “Can It Be Bigger Than Hip Hop,” thoroughly examines Global Hip Hop Studies and lays out the overall argument for “If I Ruled the World: Putting Hip Hop on the Atlas.” I contend for a third wave of Global Hip Hop Studies that builds on the work of the first two waves, identifies Hip Hop as an African diasporic phenomenon, and aligns with Hip Hop where there are no boundaries between Hip Hop inside and outside of the United States. Joanna Daguirane Da Sylva adds to the cipha with her examination of Didier Awadi. Da Sylva's excellent work reveals the ways in which Hip Hoppa Didier Awadi elevates Pan-Africanism and uses Hip Hop as a tool to decolonize the minds of African peoples. The interview by Tasha Iglesias and myself of members of Generation Hip Hop and the Universal Hip Hop Museum provides a primary source and highlights two Hip Hop organizations with chapters around the world. Mich Yonah Nyawalo’s "Negotiating French Muslim Identities through Hip Hop" details Hip Hop artists Médine and Diam’s, who are both French and Muslim, and whose self-identification can be understood as political strategies in response to the French Republic’s marginalization of Muslims. In “Configurations of Space and Identity in Hip Hop: Performing ’Global South’,” Igor Johannsen adds to this special issue an examination of the spatiality of the Global South and how Hip Hoppas in the Global South oppose global hegemony. The final essay, “‘I Got the Mics On, My People Speak’: On the Rise of Aboriginal Australian Hip Hop,” by Benjamin Kelly and Rhyan Clapham, provides a thorough analysis of Aboriginal Hip Hop and situates it within postcolonialism. Overall, the collection of these essays points to the multiple identities, political economies, cultures, and scholarly fields and disciplines that Hip Hop interacts with around the world. A special issue of this caliber requires a large contribution from a number of scholars. Inevitably, we will not be able to name everyone, but here is our best effort. We would like to thank the team of reviewers, they copyedited, reviewed essays, and provided excellent feedback: Ashley Payne, Deshonna Collier-Goubil, Jeffrey Coleman, Cassandra Chaney, Xiomara Forbez, David Leonard, Steve Gilbers, Quentin Williams, Kendra Salois, Velda Love, Sarah Napoli, Melvin Williams, Don Sawyer, Eileen O'Brien, Katharine R.