5/14 Draft Questions - Sadie Van den Bogaerde

1. In “Cypers: Hip-Hop and Improvisation”, authors Paul Watkins and Rebecca Caines write that “the mother of modern hip-hop scholarship, Tricia Rose (interviewed in this issue), suggests that the aesthetic (and we would argue, improvisatory) features of “flow,” “layering,” and “rupture” in hip-hop are tied to both creative and social outcomes.” Do you see any of these aspects in practices such as altar making?
2. Castillo-Garsow writes in “Somos Mujeres, Somos Hip Hop” that although the music genre is an “underground,” “anti-establishment” art form and culture, women are marginalized in the sphere of hip hop. How have the artists of “Somos Mujeres Somos Hip Hop” challenged this marginalization?
3. I really enjoyed reading in “Somos Mujeres Somos Hip Hip” about the idea of “guerreras” and the necessity of coming together as women to uplift one another and act as leaders rather than the weak followers as which women are often depicted. What other groups function through these values, explicitly or implicitly? How are they similar or different?
4. Jillian Báez explores in her essay how social media allowed two women to “voice their citizenship?” How do you think Jillian Báez defines citizenship? How do you define citizenship?