Three weeks ago when my latest Tokyo Weekender piece, “A Shut Door: ‘Japanese Hip-Hop Has Sectioned Itself Off’” was published online, it got more attention than I anticipated. I got to talk on The BBC. The article was to expose an extension of Japan’s xenophobia and its rejection of multiculturalism, even while it is straining western influences through a Japanese filter. To avoid talking about it is like braving a sand storm. Taping one’s windows, doors, and air vents still …
Tag: Youth
Teenage (2013) is a documentary by filmmaker Matt Wolf with author-music journalist Jon Savage whose book Teenage: The Prehistory of Youth Culture: 1875-1945 serves as research for the movie. The documentary follows the development of the teenager, a relatively new concept, starting around 1900s (the end of forced child labor) to 1945 (World War II). Back in the days, there was no concept of the second decade of life, you where a child growing straight into adulthood, getting married, laboring or finding …
Hip-Hop and Science, something most people don’t often equate as synonymous. But check the music catalogs of Afrika Bambaataa, Ultramagnetic MC’s, KRS-One, Rakim, Del the Funky Homosapien (Deltron 3030 project especially), all the way down to the Wu-Tang Clan and many others you can find scientific references in their lyrics. GZA of the Wu-Tang Clan has been partnering up with Teachers College, Columbia University Professor Christopher Emdin on a program called Science Genius B.A.T.T.L.E.S. which uses the Hip-Hop element of Emceeing (Rap) to teach science to …
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