Spring Break
The Daily OrangeAuthor offers new take on hip-hop
By Kristen Aufiero
Posted: 11/17/04, 1:52 AM EST Section: News
Gwendolyn Pough is new to Syracuse University, but she is already well known for her feminism and hip-hop activism.
Pough, a professor in the writing program, wrote a new book, "Check It While I Wreck It: Black Womanhood, Hip-Hop Culture and the Public Sphere," which has already received coverage and positive reviews in several magazines, including Vibe and Africana.
"Basically I thought there was a void in the scholarship and research concerning women and hip-hop," said Pough, noting that there haven't been any books written about the topic. "Hopefully my book will start a conversation and tell stories that have been missing."
The book analyzes and critiques the hip-hop culture in its broadest definition, from the beginnings of hip-hop as a youth movement to its penetration of mainstream music, fashion, movies and art, Pough said. It also addresses how feminism can engage hip-hop in ways that move beyond what it has been traditionally.
Pough said she hopes her message will reach the youth and evoke change.
"Hip-hop started as a youth movement. They saw themselves as making an impact," Pough said. "The book explores how to get some of that back, if possible."
She hopes her book will call attention to and heighten awareness of the roles women have played in hip-hop. The book gets people to think about things in different ways, she said.
"Our way of looking at occurrences has to change before we can see what impact women have had and open up to what kind of impact they can have in the future," Pough said.
Her book is about black womanhood and hip-hop culture. She looks at the representations of women in music, especially in hip-hop love songs.
"It's about how gender and ideas about heterosexual relationships are played out in these songs, and how women have used the hip-hop culture to make a space for themselves," she said. "In my discussion I try to look at things people wouldn't normally think of as positive."
Pough, a professor in the writing program, wrote a new book, "Check It While I Wreck It: Black Womanhood, Hip-Hop Culture and the Public Sphere," which has already received coverage and positive reviews in several magazines, including Vibe and Africana.
"Basically I thought there was a void in the scholarship and research concerning women and hip-hop," said Pough, noting that there haven't been any books written about the topic. "Hopefully my book will start a conversation and tell stories that have been missing."
The book analyzes and critiques the hip-hop culture in its broadest definition, from the beginnings of hip-hop as a youth movement to its penetration of mainstream music, fashion, movies and art, Pough said. It also addresses how feminism can engage hip-hop in ways that move beyond what it has been traditionally.
Pough said she hopes her message will reach the youth and evoke change.
"Hip-hop started as a youth movement. They saw themselves as making an impact," Pough said. "The book explores how to get some of that back, if possible."
She hopes her book will call attention to and heighten awareness of the roles women have played in hip-hop. The book gets people to think about things in different ways, she said.
"Our way of looking at occurrences has to change before we can see what impact women have had and open up to what kind of impact they can have in the future," Pough said.
Her book is about black womanhood and hip-hop culture. She looks at the representations of women in music, especially in hip-hop love songs.
"It's about how gender and ideas about heterosexual relationships are played out in these songs, and how women have used the hip-hop culture to make a space for themselves," she said. "In my discussion I try to look at things people wouldn't normally think of as positive."
