Moderator:
Jeff Chang
Panelists:
Davey D
Andre Gee
Karen Good-Marable
Akiba Solomon
In the preface to “The Vibe History of Hip Hop,” Danyel Smith writes “Hip hop writers” are often accused of being “too close” to the music, to the artists, and to the scene. Hell yes, we’re close to it. We love this shit. The proximity between author and subject has long been a topic of discussion in journalism circles and institutions, most notably in Janet Malcolm’s book, The Journalist And the Murderer. For many hip hop journalists that dynamic is accentuated: does it blur the relationship from a professional exchange to one that’s more personal and potentially compromised? And then there's the money: the role of advertisers in coverage as well as more explicit pay-to-play, as practiced by Ozone magazine, which literally charged artists to be on the cover. And how has the inclusion of bloggers, podcasters and other content creators compounded things?
CODE READ was partly sparked by a tweet from critic Andre Gee. He wrote, "Culture journalists, how many times have you taken out wild quotes from an interview cause you know they could have career implications (or worse) for the subject? I’ve taken it upon myself a couple times." It was also inspired by reflections on the recent allegations against figures like P. Diddy and Russell Simmons: why didn’t hip hop journalism uncover those stories long ago?
Panelists include Andre Gee, the lead hip hop writer for Rolling Stone; Karen Good-Marable, a veteran writer and author, who penned one of the definitive DMX profiles at the height of the haunted rapper’s career, Akiba Solomon, a former editor at The Source whose sharp political coverage was a highlight of the publication; she's currently an editor at the Marshall Project. Rounding out the panel is Davey D, a leading voice in hip hop media, who pioneered the use of platforms from radio to digital to cover and comment on hip hop culture. The conversation will be moderated by writer and author Jeff Chang, whose book Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: A History of the Hip hop Generation is considered one of the greatest on hip hop culture.
Sample credits:
Ime Ekpo, Hip hop Journalism Never Played by the Rules. It Doesn’t Mean Standards Aren’t Needed. (Article: NBCU Academy, 2023)
Andre Gee, culture journalists, how many times have you taken out wild quotes from an interview.... (Thread: X, 2023)
Karen Good-Marable, Ruff Ryder: DMX cover story (Article: Vibe, 1998)
J’Na Jefferson Then and Now: The Complexities Of Hip hop Journalism’s Changing Landscape. (Article: Vibe, 2016)
25 фев 2024
