Talking Back: Hip Hop Through Research and Practice

Talking Back: Hip Hop Through Research and Practice is grounded in feminist and critical theorist Bell Hook’s idea of “Talking Back”. This three-day event opened up a space to learn more about the five pillars of Hip Hop (Knowledge, style writing/graffiti, b-boying/breaking, Djing, Emceeing) and allowed artists and researchers to sit down and discuss their practice and reflect on their research. The event was directed by Rosa Cisneros from (C-DaRE), Maria Polodeanu (Reel Master Productions), and Marius Mates (BreakDots Company).

The hope was that each session explored the importance of hip hop and its cultural, social, political and economic value in some capacity. Talking Back opened up online dialogical spaces for people to come together, learn, share, question, reflect, dream and gather different perspectives to current research streams in the field. The event was of interest to people hoping to engage in culturally relevant discussions, students and artists looking for networking opportunities, and anyone seeking to learn more about hip hop culture. The three-day event included conversations with Dr Alex Mason (University of Sheffield), Otis Mensah, Frieda Frost, Robert Hylton, Dan (Lyrix Organix), Love SSega (UK), Axel Gossiaux (BE), Marius Mates (RO/UK), Adil “Dj KhanFu” Khan (UK), Robin Bodéüs (BE), David Diallo (FR), Dr Monique Charles, Street Factory, and Jade Ward. Each morning there were sharings that included film or a dance workshop.