Notions of hip hop authenticity, as expressed both within hip hop communities and in the larger American culture, rely on the construction of the rapper as a Black, masculine, heterosexual, cisgender man who enacts a narrative of struggle and success. In Queer Voices in Hip Hop, Lauron J. Kehrer turns our attention to openly queer and trans rappers and positions them within a longer Black queer musical lineage. Combining musical, textual, and visual analysis with reception history, this book reclaims queer involvement in hip hop by tracing the genre’s beginnings within Black and Latinx queer music-making practices and spaces, demonstrating that queer and trans rappers draw on Ballroom and other cultural expressions particular to queer and trans communities of color in their work in order to articulate their subject positions. By centering the performances of openly queer and trans artists of color, Queer Voices in Hip Hop reclaims their work as essential to the development and persistence of hip hop in the United States as it tells the story of hip hop’s queer roots.

From the trailblazing mind of Young Penny, the sensational hip-hop artist who defied norms with hits like 'White Boy Money', 'Fair Casket', and 'Love International', comes a sonic tapestry unlike any other. "Queer Beats: Stories from LGBTQ+ Artists in the Music Industry" is a riveting, no-holds-barred exploration, and a "melodiously penned odyssey through the rhythms of queer representation in the world of music" (East Bay Express). Young Penny, who shattered ceilings by claiming the title of NYC's first openly gay gangsta rapper, orchestrates an intimate concert of voices, giving readers front-row seats to the symphony of struggles, triumphs, beats, and ballads of the LGBTQ+ community in the music scene. As the maestro of this tale, Penny draws from his own journey, juxtaposing it against the broader crescendo of the queer music movement—each note resonating with tales of love, resilience, activism, and liberation. Punctuated with vibrant anecdotes and deep reflections, this tome unveils the untold narratives of artists who've danced on the fringes, serenaded from the shadows, and are now stepping into the limelight. It's not just a chronicle of queer music, but a manifesto of self-expression, challenging every reader to find their own rhythm in the cacophony of life. For fans of Young Penny, music aficionados, and anyone curious about the harmonies of the heart, this book is a ticket to the most evocative concert you'll ever attend. So, turn the pages, feel the pulse, and let the music of 'Queer Beats' transport you.

Over the past four decades, rap and hip hop culture have taken a central place in popular music both in the United States and around the world. Listening to Rap: An Introduction enables students to understand the historical context, cultural impact, and unique musical characteristics of this essential genre. Each chapter explores a key topic in the study of rap music from the 1970s to today, covering themes such as race, gender, commercialization, politics, and authenticity. Synthesizing the approaches of scholars from a variety of disciplines—including music, cultural studies, African-American studies, gender studies, literary criticism, and philosophy—Listening to Rap tracks the evolution of rap and hip hop while illustrating its vast cultural significance. The text features more than 60 detailed listening guides that analyze the musical elements of songs by a wide array of artists, from Afrika Bambaataa and Grandmaster Flash to Nicki Minaj, Jay-Z, Kanye West, and more. A companion website showcases playlists of the music discussed in each chapter. Rooted in the understanding that cultural context, music, and lyrics combine to shape rap’s meaning, the text assumes no prior knowledge. For students of all backgrounds, Listening to Rap offers a clear and accessible introduction to this vital and influential music.

First published in 2013, Queer Style was ahead of its time. It was the first book to address the cultural, political, and material histories of clothes as signs and markers of gender and sexual identity, and remains key reading for scholars and students across fashion studies and the humanities more broadly. Now, 10 years later, the authors have revisited their classic work and updated it to examine the function of subcultural dress within queer communities and the mannerisms and messages that are used as signifiers of identity.

There is not much room within mainstream Hip Hop for women to claim space as cultural agents. The relative dearth of female emcees present to balance the gender perspectives within mainstream Hip Hop and no queer (or even openly queer friendly) voices in mainstream Hip Hop, leads to important questions for scholars to consider: In a musical culture that is seen as male dominated and somewhat hostile to the LGTBIQ community, how do queer women carve out a space that is solely their own? How do they do this in a realm in which they have double marginality?This research shifts the popular focus away from the pitfalls of mainstream Hip Hop and instead draws our attention to the way that Hip Hop is lived and practiced at the local and interactional level. This paper draws from ethnographic fieldwork, lyrical analysis and in depth interviews with lesbian Hip Hop artists from the San Francisco Bay Area in order to analyze the ways that queer women contribute to the broader landscape of the Bay Area underground Hip Hop scene. Specifically, this project explores how Queer women of color within the Hip Hop generation navigate a Bay Area music scene and a broader global underground of queer Hip Hop artists. In contrast to literature that highlights women's invisibility in Hip Hop, this paper describes how queer women work to make themselves visible within Hip Hop culture.

Khalil Amani has put homophobia on blast! 50 Cent, Eminem, DMX, Ja Rule, Busta Rhymes, Elephant Man, Buju Banton, Tim Hardaway, TD Jakes, Creflo Dollar, Bishop Eddie Long the jig's up! Your homophobia has been officially dismantled! Do you even know why you're homophobic? Homophobia is rooted in our Judeo-Christian upbringing. It doesn't matter how gangsta you are! We have been religiously/culturally brainwashed to believe that homosexuality is a sin against God-the greatest story never told-in the church! Now it is time to unlearn the ignorance of ages gone by. These preachers are damnable liars-purveyors of religious ignorance! Hip-hop heads, gay and straight, peep game. The truth is here! Nas has declared, "Hip-hop is dead." Introducing some new voices into the game-meet HOMO-HOP world! No more speculation about gay rappers! Yes, there are many gay & lesbian rappers with great stories. Hip-hop used to be about giving voice to the voiceless or as lesbian rapper FELONi so aptly raps, "If hip-hop is here to represent the black collective, then what the f*#! is it about my black perspective?" It is time for homo-hop to get off the back seat of the mainstream hip-hop bus and jump in the driver's seat! "Homophobia, like racism, seems quite silly after reading this book!"

Filipino Americans are one of the three largest Asian American groups in the United States and the second largest immigrant population in the country. Yet within the field of Asian American Studies, Filipino American history and culture have received comparatively less attention than have other ethnic groups. Over the past twenty years, however, Filipino American scholars across various disciplines have published numerous books and research articles, as a way of addressing their unique concerns and experiences as an ethnic group. The SAGE Encyclopedia of Filipina/x/o American Studies, the first on the topic of Filipino American Studies, offers a comprehensive survey of an emerging field, focusing on the Filipino diaspora in the United States as well as highlighting issues facing immigrant groups in general. It covers a broad range of topics and disciplines including activism and education, arts and humanities, health, history and historical figures, immigration, psychology, regional trends, and sociology and social issues.