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Mixtape Chronicles: an Ethnographic Investigation Into Hip-Hop and African American Culture Concerning Systemic Racism and Oppression

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Mixtape Chronicles: an Ethnographic Investigation Into Hip-Hop and African American Culture Concerning Systemic Racism and Oppression Mixtape Chronicles: An Ethnographic Investigation into Hip-Hop and African American Culture Concerning Systemic Racism and Oppression by Kourtney Moore, M.A. A Dissertation In Technical Communication and Rhetoric Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Texas Tech University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Approved Dr. Michael Faris Chair of Committee Dr. Kendall Gerdes Dr. Michael Borshuk Mark Sheridan Dean of the Graduate School August, 2020 Copyright 2020, Kourtney Moore Texas Tech University, Kourtney Moore, August 2020 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This project would not be possible without the guidance and support of my dissertation committee members: Dr. Michael Faris, Dr. Kendall Gerdes (aka Dr. G), and Dr. Michael Borshuk. I especially want to thank my chair, Dr. Michael Faris, for his continuous leadership and encouragement throughout this entire process including the pre-proposal, qualifying exams and full proposal. Through the madness of my crazy schedule, anytime I emailed him, he was always willing to set up a meeting to chat. He was also very timely, direct, and detailed with his feedback on drafts. He challenged me to always think critically, analyze the language I used, and most importantly, encouraged me to keep pushing. Dr. Kendall Gerdes, always offered her help and on numerous occasions, she sent me articles and websites that assisted me with the development of my dissertation. She helped me brainstorm early on in the process and provided insightful suggestions about the methods of this study. Dr. G believed in my research topic and my abilities to execute a rhetorically driven dissertation. I appreciate Dr. Borshuk for agreeing to be a part of my committee, even though I never had a class with him or even knew him before asking him about being a member. His intellect and passion for Black musical culture inspires me to continuously appreciate my deep roots in African American culture. His feedback and suggestions were always on point. He also made me feel like a true scholar, inviting me to participate in academic events and to present my research related to this study. This showed me that Dr. Borshuk believes my research is significant and that meant a lot to me. A special thank you to some of my previous professors: Dr. Marlon Moore, Dr. Sarah Hallenbeck, Dr. Erin Frost, and Dr. Kristen Moore. Dr. Marlon Moore was the very first Black professor that I had at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington (UNCW). Her class is where I gained the love for African American literature and resonates with me even today. My first academic lesson of “staying woke” came from Dr. Marlon Moore. Her passion for African American literature, queer studies, and spirituality inspired me to become more conscious of social and racial justice issues. My interest for technical and professional communication (TPC) and rhetoric came ii Texas Tech University, Kourtney Moore, August 2020 from Dr. Sarah Hallenback’s professional writing course at UNCW. Dr. Hallenbeck took the time to research universities offering a master’s degrees in TPC and suggested East Carolina University (ECU). Dr. Hallenbeck taught me about being compassionate about professional writing and African American studies, learning about African Americans and bioethics through reading The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Dr. Erin Frost from ECU is one of the most caring, polite, and encouraging professors I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. Her intellectual guidance assisted me in developing my writing and critical thinking skills. Dr. Frost supported me wholeheartedly and provided me with the confidence I needed to continue on to obtain my PhD. Dr. Kristen Moore encouraged me to research problems that need to be solved, and problems that other people like to ignore. She was always more than willing to be there for me to bounce ideas off of her. Dr. Kristen Moore’s social justice activism is extraordinary, and she inspired me to want to be just like her and change the world. My family is my world and the support that they gave me throughout my educational journey has been nothing short of amazing. My grandmother, late grandfather, mother, and father have always instilled in me the importance education. Every single day my parents tell me how proud I make them. I thank my siblings for their support and encouragement, especially our group message thread, where I vent my frustrations and accomplishments with the research process. I thank my lovely nephews and nieces for being so patience with NeNe, for the days I could not play or the times I could not make it to their own functions because I was hard at work, writing and revising. Lastly, to my husband; wow. I commend you for your dedication to our marriage. Thank you for staying up with me until 4 in the morning while I furiously wrote. Thank you for getting dinner when I was too preoccupied with research. Thank you for listening to my complaints and reassuring me that I made the right decision going back to school. My family is my heart and my motivation; I did this because of them. iii Texas Tech University, Kourtney Moore, August 2020 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................... ii ABSTRACT ......................................................................................................... vii LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................. viii LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................. ix THE COME UP: INTRODUCTION .................................................................. 1 Statement of Research Problem ........................................................................ 6 Research Purpose and Questions ...................................................................... 7 Significance of Study ........................................................................................ 8 Definition of Terms ......................................................................................... 10 Overview of Chapters ..................................................................................... 12 Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 15 (THE WARM UP TO) THE WARM UP: LITERATURE REVIEW ........... 17 The Power of Black Music .............................................................................. 17 1740s — Negro Spirituals ......................................................................... 18 1870s — Blues .......................................................................................... 18 1890s — Jazz ............................................................................................ 19 1930s — Contemporary Gospel ................................................................ 20 Hip-hop History .............................................................................................. 20 1970s — Early Rapping and DJing ........................................................... 23 1980s — Golden Age/Gangsta Rap .......................................................... 23 1990s — Nation-conscious Rap ................................................................ 23 2000s — Crunk Music .............................................................................. 24 2010s — Trap Music ................................................................................. 24 Hip-hop and Black Culture ............................................................................. 25 Systemic Racism and Oppression ................................................................... 27 Poverty and Income Disparity ................................................................... 28 Housing ..................................................................................................... 28 Politics ....................................................................................................... 29 Criminal Justice ......................................................................................... 31 Police Brutality ......................................................................................... 31 Education .................................................................................................. 32 Hip-hop and Rhetoric ...................................................................................... 33 Hip-hop and the Nommodic Rhetorical Behaviors ................................... 34 iv Texas Tech University, Kourtney Moore, August 2020 Hip-hop and Signifyin(g) .......................................................................... 41 Critics Who are Opposed to Hip-hop Culture ................................................. 43 Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 47 THE WARM UP: METHODS AND METHODOLOGY ............................... 49 Critical Race Methodology ............................................................................. 52 Racism and Master Narratives .................................................................. 53 Rationale for the Use of Counter-stories ................................................... 54 Data Collection: 3 Phases of Collecting Data ................................................. 55 Quasi-ethnographic Research ..................................................................
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