ABSTRACT
Extant research on racial identity formation among multiracial individuals with one black parent focuses on the determinants of a multiracial versus monoracial identification (Harris and Sim 2002) and the negotiation of racial identification with peers, family, or friends (Rockquemore and Brunsma 2002, Khanna and Johnson 2010, Khanna 2010). In addition, a fair amount of research examines whether multiracial identification harms or promotes the psychological well-being of these individuals (see Binning et al. 2009 and Cheng and Lively 2009 for contrasting findings). This chapter analyzes these debates within the popular genre of rap, focusing on rap artists who have one black parent and who discuss their racial identity in their music. Specifically, this research employs an extension of symbolic interactionism-the constructionist approach (Cornell and Hartmann 2006, Berger and Luckmann 1966), which states that racial identity is negotiated between the individual, his or her local environment, and the larger society-as a theoretical framework for analyzing how rap artists with multiple racial and ethnic ancestries express and explicate their identities. What follows is a brief discussion of the most current scholarship addressing
multiracial identity. Next, I define the constructionist approach and apply it to the selected songs of artists Chino XL, Drake, Afro DZ ak, and Michael Franti. I conclude with the argument that, through their music, these rappers represent and embody the varying discourses and research related to multiracial and biracial identity.
