Hip Hop’s Li’l Sistas Speak: Negotiating Hip Hop Identities and Politics in the New South

by Bettina L. Love

This book has received the AESA (American Educational Studies Association) Critics Choice Award 2013.
Through ethnographically informed interviews and observations conducted with six Black middle and high school girls, Hip Hop’s Li’l Sistas Speak explores how young women navigate the space of Hip Hop music and culture to form ideas concerning race, body, class, inequality, and privilege. The thriving atmosphere of Atlanta, Georgia serves as the background against which these youth consume Hip Hop, and the book examines how the city’s socially conservative politics, urban gentrification, race relations, Southern-flavored Hip Hop music and culture, and booming adult entertainment industry rest in their periphery. Intertwined within the girls’ exploration of Hip Hop and coming of age in Atlanta, the author shares her love for the culture, struggles of being a queer educator and a Black lesbian living and researching in the South, and reimagining Hip Hop pedagogy for urban learners.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction

137 pages, Paperback

First published October 10, 2012

Reviews

[Dana · Rating 3 out of 5]

this text is more like a 3.5 starts. those stars are solely because i learned soooo much about the trajectory of southern rap's "chokehold" on the rap game for two decades. that was definitely welcomed information. where this gets lost for me is how much this narrative focuses more on Dr. Love's evolution through hip hop rather than the Blackgirls that offered their stories and perspectives to this dissertation study. i'm somewhere in the middle with the analysis on these young girls perspectives and the limited micro-contexts that contribute to those perspectives. nonetheless, this was dr. love's dissertation. i mean she did thiiiiiissssssss as a doc student...absolutely dope.

[Jacqueline · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book took me on a journey yo the 90s and the hip hop music that I enjoyed. It was important for me to look at this music again as an educator and researcher and to critically evaluate the messages prevalent. Love’s study shows how these messages effect the girls she interviewed and gives further areas for study that are worthwhile.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is brilliant and amazing.

[KP · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brilliant, fascinating book, with lots of valuable information. I wish there were more chapters focusing on the students Love interviewed and worked with, however. As it was, there were really only two chapters where they were the focus. The others were about context and background, and then concluding with a cry for hip hop pedagogy to be implemented in the classroom (YES!). This is likely because the book was derived from her dissertation, or WAS her dissertation, and that is the expected structure for academic writing. Nonetheless, I hope to see more from Love that brings those neglected voices forward. She has a strong, clear voice, and so much to offer as both an educator and an academic writer.

[Olivia Hester · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was truly interesting about how hip hop and the rap culture influences youth. However, I was disappointed that Love did not offer how educators can include hip hop in their classrooms. I also would have liked to hear more about her study with the girls instead of her personal background throughout the book.

[Literary Lain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative and thoughtful research.