ABSTRACT
An emphasis on space, place, and identity have been central to hip hop music and culture since its earliest beginnings in the South Bronx. Cities, neighborhoods, and blocks are places where hip hop artists claim their rights to cities in terms not only of identity but also cultural legacy and economic possibility. In addition to “repping” such places, emcees also employ their skills to intervene in the redevelopment of urban space for the purpose of opening up possibilities for alternative geographies and social legibility. The artists and music we examine in this chapter contribute to the dialogue and discourse about claiming rights to the city of Detroit. Emcee, activist, and multi-media artist Invincible/ill Weaver and emcee/community leader Finale’s “Locusts” speaks to the racism and classism that were not only the impetus for Detroit’s systematic and intentional destruction beginning in the mid 20th century, but that also underlay its more recent redevelopment strategies and policies of urban renewal. Emcee, producer, and entertainment justice pioneer Bryce Detroit’s “Hood Closed to Gentrifiers” makes explicit the implications of gentrification in the city’s North End neighborhood. Will See/Owólabi Aboyade – an emcee, spoken word poet, and cultural organizer – provides the conceptual framework of the “Detroit Diplomat” that both Bryce Detroit and we mobilize to unpack cultural diplomacy as an analytic tool. We argue that the tracks herein contribute to larger social movements where artists educate publics, inspire community participation, and critique contemporary social structures.
