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Heidi R. Lewis

Goodreads Author

Born

in Alliance, OH, The United States

Website

https://www.heidirlewis.com

Genre

Nonfiction

Member Since

January 2022

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/heidirlewis

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Dr. Heidi R. Lewis is David & Lucile Packard Professor of Feminist & Gender Studies at Colorado College, Editor-in-Chief of Oxford Bibliographies in Gender & Women’s Studies, and President of the National Women’s Studies Association. Her scholarship and teaching are primarily focused on Feminism (emphasis on Black Feminisms), Hip Hop (emphasis on Rap), and Critical Media Studies.

Lewis earned a Ph.D. in American Studies (2011) with a certificate in Women’s, Gender, & Sexuality Studies (2008) from Purdue University after earning a Bachelor’s degree in English Studies from Robert Morris University (2003) and a Master’s degree in Literature from Ohio University (2005). In 2010, she joined Colorado College as a Riley Scholars-in-Residence (RSiRP Dr. Heidi R. Lewis is David & Lucile Packard Professor of Feminist & Gender Studies at Colorado College, Editor-in-Chief of Oxford Bibliographies in Gender & Women’s Studies, and President of the National Women’s Studies Association. Her scholarship and teaching are primarily focused on Feminism (emphasis on Black Feminisms), Hip Hop (emphasis on Rap), and Critical Media Studies.

Lewis earned a Ph.D. in American Studies (2011) with a certificate in Women’s, Gender, & Sexuality Studies (2008) from Purdue University after earning a Bachelor’s degree in English Studies from Robert Morris University (2003) and a Master’s degree in Literature from Ohio University (2005). In 2010, she joined Colorado College as a Riley Scholars-in-Residence (RSiRP) dissertation fellow in Feminist & Gender Studies through the Consortium for Faculty Diversity. After serving as a Visiting Assistant Professor the subsequent year, she was hired as Assistant Professor in 2012. She served as Interim Director of Feminist & Gender Studies in 2016, and was promoted to Associate Director the following year. After earning tenure in 2018, she was promoted to Director, a position she would hold until 2022. The following year, she was named David & Lucile Packard (Associate) Professor of Feminist & Gender Studies, and on July 1, 2024, she was promoted to Full Professor.

Lewis is the author of a forthcoming book entitled Make Rappers Rap Again!: Interrogating the Mumble Rap “Crisis” (Oxford UP, 2025). In it, she contends with the claim that Mumble Rap is not real Hip Hop (or the most authentic or pure Hip Hop), because mumble rappers are ignorant about Hip Hop history, disrespectful toward Hip Hop elders, too similar, unskilled, prone to rapping about nonsense, and too soft or feminine. Some critics have even declared Hip Hop dead (again). Contrarily and perhaps controversially, Lewis argues Mumble Rap is real Hip Hop. Relying primarily on discourse analysis, Lewis examines Mumble Rap’s congruence with oft forgotten or subjugated Hip Hop cornerstones like illegibility, melody, the DJ, and the subgenre, as well as the ways most mumble rappers practice citational and collaborative politics that are congruent with real Hip Hop. She also takes a critical approach to examining the Mumble Rap sound, arguing it is much more complicated than it’s often characterized, especially concerning flow and production. To explain the subjugation of Mumble Rap, Lewis situates the subgenre as southern and examines the ways it challenges dominant notions about real Hip Hop masculinity vis-à-vis attention to the mental and emotional, drug use and addiction, and the fallacies of gender and sexuality norms. Last, but not least, she argues Hip Hop will never die.

Previously, Lewis published In Audre’s Footsteps: Transnational Kitchen Table Talk (edition assemblage, 2021), co-edited by Dana Asbury with Jazlyn Andrews. She has also published in Womanism Rising, the second volume of Rethinking Women’s and Gender Studies, The Cultural Impact of Kanye West, the Journal of Popular Culture, the Journal of Black Sexuality and Relationships, and Unteilbar: Bündnisse gegen Rassismus. She has contributed to The Feminist Wire, where she was an Associate Editor; NewBlackMan; NPR; Ms.; KRCC; Bitch; and Act Out, and she has given talks at Vanderbilt, the Motherhood Initiative for Research and Community Involvement, the University of Georgia, Portland State, the U.S. Olympic Committee, the Kampagne für Opfer Rassistischer Polizeigewalt, and other organizations in the U.S., Canada, and Germany. She is currently working on a documentary about her experiences coming of age in northeast Ohio during the crack cocaine epidemic with Lindumuzi Jabu Ndlovu.

Last, but certainly not least, Lewis is a proud native of the Midwest—Northeast OH to be precise, Alliance to be exact. She currently resides in Colorado with her husband, children, and fur babies. ...more

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Heidi R. Lewis’s books

Average rating: 4.31 · 26 ratings · 4 reviews · 5 distinct works • Similar authors

	In Audre’s Footsteps: Transnational Kitchen Table Talk by Heidi R. Lewis (Goodreads Author), Dana Maria Asbury, Jazlyn Andrews 4.29 avg rating — 17 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Beyond Mammy, Jezebel & Sapphire: Reclaiming Images of Black Women by Sigrid Asmus (Editor), Catherine M. Pears (Foreword), Jessica Hunter-Larsen (Introduction) 4.25 avg rating — 8 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Make Rappers Rap Again: Interrogating the Mumble Rap "Crisis" it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Make Rappers Rap Again: Interrogating the Mumble Rap "Crisis" 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Womanism Rising by Layli Maparyan (Introduction), AnaLouise Keating (contributor), Osizwe R.J. Harwell (contributor) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Heidi R. Lewis's Blog: In Audre's Footsteps: Transnational Kitchen Table Talk

Join Us at the National Black Book Festival!

We'll be at the National Black Book Festival this fall selling signed copies, bookmarks, pins, and stickers on October 21-22, 2022!

The National Black Book Festival, sponsored by Cushcity, is one of the largest sources for Black authors and literature. The event attracts a wide array of authors, publishers, book clubs, libraries, and readers from the southwest and nationwide. The 15th annual festiv Read more of this blog post »

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Published on June 01, 2022 07:58 • Tags: audres-footsteps, heidi-r-lewis, national-black-book-festival, nbbf2022

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Heidi’s Recent Updates

Heidi R. Lewis is now friends with Elliot
Jan 02, 2026 07:39PM · like
Heidi R. Lewis made a comment on Elliot’s review of Make Rappers Rap Again: Interrogating the Mumble Rap "Crisis" (Theorizing African American Music) " Thank you, thank you, thank you! =D "
Jan 02, 2026 06:58PM · see review
Heidi R. Lewis liked Elliot's review of Make Rappers Rap Again: Interrogating the Mumble Rap "Crisis" (Theorizing African American Music): "Dr. Lewis remains the person I brag the most about knowing. This book is as brilliant as she is, and manages to be readable to someone who doesn’t know a lot about hip hop without sacrificing complexity or care. Her extensive hip hop knowledge is cle" Read more of this review »
Jan 02, 2026 06:58PM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Make Rappers Rap Again by Heidi R. Lewis. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Make Rappers Rap Again by Heidi R. Lewis <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

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Quotes by Heidi R. Lewis (?)

“People who are situated as Black, women, queer, and/or of color often experience resistance from audiences when we dare to honor our expertise. When people struggle to engage with us as knowers, it’s challenging. It’s not always insurmountable, but sometimes we just retreat.”
― Heidi R. Lewis, In Audre’s Footsteps: Transnational Kitchen Table Talk

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“While I have never intended for my work to mimic Audre’s, the first part of the title acknowledges the ways I am indebted to and aim to honor her legacy.”
― Heidi R. Lewis, In Audre’s Footsteps: Transnational Kitchen Table Talk

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“I think we have to think more transnationally about racism in order to build solidarity.”
― Heidi R. Lewis, In Audre’s Footsteps: Transnational Kitchen Table Talk

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Heidi’s Quotes

“We cannot deny the fears and struggles we’ve sometimes experienced as we remain committed to this critical principle. And, as you forewarned in the above quote, we’ve lost some people along the way. Many of them have wondered why non-Black authors cannot write for the series. Many have wondered why non-Black people cannot be featured prominently in it. Many have wondered why the series even exists. But as you also pointed out in the same quote, “sometimes we are afraid for too long.” Because of you and the work you’ve done to pave the way for us, we have learned to face our fears and unapologetically honor Black people and Black experiences.”
― Heidi R. Lewis and Sharon Dodua Otoo

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“I think we have to think more transnationally about racism in order to build solidarity.”
― Heidi R. Lewis, In Audre’s Footsteps: Transnational Kitchen Table Talk

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“But these institutions are forcing these students out, making them choose between the program and their well-being. I wouldn’t have made it through my program had it normalized traumatizing students. It was the sense of community within my program that allowed me to continue.”
― Heidi R. Lewis, In Audre’s Footsteps: Transnational Kitchen Table Talk

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“No shits taken. No shits given.”
― Heidi R. Lewis, In Audre’s Footsteps: Transnational Kitchen Table Talk

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“I had to learn how to not be perpetually grateful to Colorado College. Eventually, my attitude flipped to one of, “You ought to be grateful to have me.” But, once you adopt that attitude, you realize that’s when they turn on you. You have to be prepared for them to respond, “How dare you?”
― Heidi R. Lewis, In Audre’s Footsteps: Transnational Kitchen Table Talk

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