How hip-hop culture meets the academic world: Hiphop Academicus!

Since hip-hop started over 35 years ago in New York, it has been associated with social activism and education. In addition, hip-hop pioneer Africa Bambaataa has argued for knowledge as the fifth element in hip-hop (e.g. rapping, deejaying, breakdancing, graffiti). Accordingly, it is not surprising that academic institutions in universities and K-12 schools are interested in hip-hop with regards to the history of this street culture. This article is aiming to highlight this “hip-hop academization” and analyze the mechanisms in these academization processes. The research questions are as follows: Who is the expert and what is at stake? What symbolic fights are going on between pioneers of the culture and academics? How do hip-hop scholars talk about the academization? Theoretical framework stems from sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, including his work in cultural fields and capital forms. The empirical data, which have been collected with an ethnographical approach, are observations and recordings from academic events concerned with hip-hop and individual interviews with hip-hop scholars in New York City during 2010. The results show how hip-hop at the university is an attractive label, a door opener for the scholars but at the same time regarded as low culture. The pioneers construct the scholars as outsiders in order to maintain themselves as foremost experts of the culture. Key words: hip-hop, academization, hip-hop scholars, academic event