Represent!: Hip-Hop and the Self-Aesthetic Relation
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REPRESENT!: HIP-HOP AND THE SELF-AESTHETIC RELATION Christopher (Kip) Kline Submitted to the faculty of the University Graduate School in partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree Doctor of Philosophy In the department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, Indiana University March 2007 Accepted by the Graduate Faculty, Indiana University, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Doctoral Committee _________________________ Phil Francis Carspecken, Ph.D. _________________________ Barry Bull, Ph.D. _________________________ Stephanie Carter, Ph.D. _________________________ Luise McCarty, Ph.D. January 17, 2007 ii © 2007 Kip Kline ALL RIGHTS RESERVED iii In loving memory of Kipchoge Neftali Kirkland iv Acknowledgements I once heard Cornel West say in an interview that as a graduate student, “the books are your friends.” No doubt a wide range of books including major works of the American pragmatists, Habermas, Hegel, Kierkegaard, and others became companions of mine – none so close as West’s own work. Yet, while befriending books is a necessary experience for the PhD student, and certainly solitary reflection is an indispensable component of the life of a philosopher, I have enjoyed the flesh and blood friendship, support, and love of many through the process of this work. It is only through the immeasurable love and support of my wife, Nicole, that I was able to cling to my sanity at times through this process. Not only that, but because of her the joys of the journey were crisper and more alive and the heartaches and frustrations were smoothed over with her constant devotion and companionship. We made many lasting memories through the years leading up to and through this work, highlighted by the birth of our shining son, Kanoa, whose timing was impeccable as he was born weeks after the completion of this study. I also consider myself fortunate to have the support of two loving parents, Richard and Kay Kline, both of them first generation college graduates who made specific personal sacrifices to earn degrees in education. Both became highly respected educators and have both imbued me with a passion for learning, reading, and the educative process. Several colleagues of mine at Indiana University deserve mention. Josh Garrison was my first and most influential friend through my doctoral studies. In many ways, Josh taught me how to be a full-time graduate student and for that I am grateful. Beyond that, I cannot imagine my graduate studies without our ad-libbed games on the fourth floor of v the education building, our armchair theorizing about subjects way outside of our expertise, or our frivolous daydreaming about making loads of money starting any manner of avant garde businesses. Most of my memories of being on campus as a PhD student involve Josh in some way. I continue to enjoy his friendship and his wise counsel. Our relationship is a testament to the fact that philosophers and historians can become lifelong friends. I also thank Dawn Whitehead for being my one colleague with whom I could talk sports (specifically, my one colleague who understands Indiana high school basketball) and hip-hop with intelligently (and Beyonce, too). She also helped me navigate the drama of stats class and I am eternally grateful. Vanessa Vazquez shared my zeal for pop culture and literally took me in during my days of having one foot in Bloomington and the other in Chicago. My philosopher/historian colleagues and pre-dissertation support group, Chris Hanks, Joe Ramsey, and Glenn Lauzon helped sharpen my ideas and provided important friendships. Two other friendships outside of my colleagues played important roles in my life through this work. I am fortunate enough to have a best friend in Tim Tedder who has been a rare and true companion. Our time spent unwinding, reminiscing, and generally feeling comfortable sharing our secrets with each other was absolutely indispensable for me during the course of this work. Josh Sprunger also allowed me to unwind and escape to another world (thanks to Playstation 2) but beyond that and perhaps more important, he was a sounding board for plenty of my ideas about hip-hop. Josh’s sharpness and genuine interest in my work was and continues to be greatly appreciated. vi I thank my friends who continue to do the good work of teaching high school and who kept me informed of what was happening in the “real world” during my graduate studies. Rich Eldridge, Jeff Jackson, Matt Vance, and Dave Willard have been and will continue to be important in this regard. My former colleague Mary Parido is a rare friend who has taught me much about the world. I cannot think of another person outside of my wife who more enthusiastically supported my work over the last several years and she has encouraged me and loved me in ways I can never repay. Her hand is in this dissertation in many ways. This work would literally not have been possible without the participation of my subjects, Melek Yonin, Idris Goodwin, and Dove Rock who let me into their lives and their work and taught me things about hip-hop that I’m not sure I could have learned from other people. Thanks specifically to Dove for letting me interrupt her work days at Young Chicago Authors and for all the candid discussion. Thanks to Idris for all the hangout time and for sharing moments of laughter and of deep thoughts. I learned so much about hip-hop from Idris. I’ll never forget how deeply intrigued he was by the first interview transcript and I’ll always appreciate him saying that I sounded just like Johnny Gill. For Melek, it’s hard to describe what his friendship and artistry have meant to this study. His willingness to be a part of what I was doing was immediate and without pretense. He single-handedly introduced me to the underground scene in Chicago, and like Idris, furthered my hip-hop education in so many ways. I asked all three of these artists to take part in a study and in return they breathed life into an idea and they unhesitatingly gave me their friendship. vii Of course, the professors who have shaped my work are of vital importance to this study. Though I did not formally study with him, I spent much time learning from Cornel West, reading his work and traveling to hear him speak. Clearly, this study is not possible without him and I thank him for giving “prophetic pragmatism” to the world. I appreciated his graciousness during our brief encounters. I also did not study with Richard Shusterman, but he was kind enough to give me helpful feedback via email when this study was just in its infancy. I thank Justen Infinito, who moved quickly from being my first philosophy of education instructor to being my close friend and confidant. I am indebted to her for starting me on the journey that has resulted in this study. I have also had the good pleasure of working with two fine philosophers of education at Indiana University. Luise P. McCarty guided my study of American pragmatism and helped me read Cornel West in new ways. Barry Bull’s deep intellect and broad set of interests supported a wide range of my writing from school policy issues, to Plato, to Cornel West and hip-hop. I am pleased to have worked with these fine scholars with whom I now enjoy friendship. Stephanie Carter had the courage to teach a course on hip-hop and education and in so doing she became instrumental to this work and I thank her for supporting me and being part of my dissertation committee. Finally, no professor has influenced my life or this work more than Phil Francis Carspecken. We share a spiritual connection (I am quite sure he would want me to articulate it this way) that has made my doctoral studies and this dissertation so gratifying and deeply meaningful. There is no possible way to articulate the depth to which Phil has impacted my academic work, my worldview, and my life. viii Preface As Murray Forman said in 2004, one hot minute with an Internet search engine can easily reveal the ever-increasing amount of hip-hop related undergraduate courses and graduate seminars in American colleges and universities.1 The veritable mixtape of classes being offered on the subject spans the disciplines of African-American Studies, English, sociology, cultural studies, communications, and others. Conspicuously missing in Forman’s own list of disciplines in which hip-hop is finding a home are philosophy and education. This is, in part, the argument of this preface, that hip-hop inquiry deserves a place in foundations or philosophy of education like Kanye deserved an American Music Award in ’04 (which is to say, it is overwhelmingly deserved). I will make my own version of the “hip-hop belongs in academia” argument with a special emphasis on its rightful place in philosophy/educational foundations. First, however, it seems necessary to address my own connection with and participation in hip-hop culture. A white scholar writing about hip-hop could be accused of appropriating, co-opting; of being an opportunist, or a “wanksta.” Richard Shusterman was aware of criticisms of this nature when he wrote the essay “The Fine Art of Rap,” included in his Pragmatist Aesthetics. Schusterman’s eloquent argument for why he, a white scholar, should find it appropriate to write about hip-hop is tucked away in a footnote. It is worth repeating in its entirety here. As a white middle-class Jew, I realize that my interest in rap may be criticized as exploitative and not “politically correct,” that I have no right to advocate or study a cultural form whose formative ghetto experience I lack.