Call for chapters
Hip Hop North of the 49th Parallel: Hip Hop in Canada and Canadian Hip Hop
Edited by Dr. Charity Marsh and Dr. Mark V. Campbell

Can we confidently assert that there is such a thing as a hip hop nation in Canada? If so, what might this ‘nation’ look like given on-going colonial/settler relations, the nature of overlapping African diasporas, the increasing celebrations of multiculturalism, changing immigration policies, the rise of urban reserves, the on-going threat of francophone separatism, and disparate geographic realities from coast to coast to coast? Or would it be more useful to articulate hip hop in Canada and Canadian hip hop within the framework of Benedict Anderson’s ‘imagined communities’ or through the lens of ‘diasporic sensibilities’ as recently suggested by Murray Forman? Is Rinaldo Walcott’s assertion of Canadian hip hop as subversive and insubordinate vis-a-vis the Canadian state a productive place to begin our critical inquiry?

The editors of Hip Hop in Canada and Canadian Hip Hop are interested in exploring hip hop cultures and communities (past and present) in their diverse and varied forms throughout Canada. Our intention is to elaborate on the ways in which geography, coloniality, race, gender, religion, ethnicity, and socio-economic structures intersect with hip hop cultures. We read hip hop widely in Canada, from recording artists to digital beatbattles to staged ‘ciphers’ to award ceremonies and graffiti festivals to community-based hip hop projects. It is critical at this juncture to make clear the lay of the Canadian land; articulating and theorizing where new hip hop knowledges, social forms, and cultural practices might make possible more equitable futures.

We encourage articles that explore the following topics and more:

Canada’s Hip Hop Nation
Hip Hop and Diaspora
Indigenous Hip Hop Culture
Community development and Hip Hop
Francophone Hip Hop Culture
Hip Hop Festivals and award ceremonies
Canadian Hip Hop films
Turntablism and Controllerism in Canada
Maritime Hip Hop cultures
Prairie Hip Hop Cultures
Race and Hip Hop
West Coast Rap and Hip Hop
Multiculturalism and Hip Hop
Teaching through/with Hip Hop
Canadian/Regional Hip Hop histories/herstories
Remix cultures
Inuit Hip Hop cultures
Fatherhood/ Mothers and Hip Hop in Canada
Bboy-Bgirlism in Canada
Consumption of Hip Hop culture in Canada
Hip Hop and the Recording Industry in Canada
Hip Hop and Community radio shows
Performing Canadian Identities through Hip Hop

We are interested in critical interventions, histories, theoretical papers, interviews and fieldwork that interrupt, illuminate, empower, emancipate and/or deepen our knowledge of hip hop cultures in Canada.

Completed papers are due: 15 November 2012

Please email abstracts to both Charity.Marsh@uregina.ca and mcampb14@uoguelph.ca