Su'ad Abdul Khabeer – The Conversation

Hip-hop culture spread quickly – to places like London, seen here in 1984. Kerstin Rodgers/Redferns

August 11, 2023

Hip‑hop at 50: 7 essential listens to celebrate rap’s widespread influence

Howard Manly, The Conversation; Jamaal Abdul-Alim, The Conversation; Matt Williams, The Conversation; Molly Jackson, The Conversation, and Nick Lehr, The Conversation

On Aug. 11, 1973, a block party in the Bronx spawned a genre that would go on to influence nearly all aspects of US culture – and the music, fashion and art of countries around the world.

The popular phrase ‘knowledge of self’ – invoked by numerous rappers who adhere to Islam – is nearly a millennium old. Paul Hawthorne for Getty Images

August 4, 2023

‘Knowledge of self’: How a key phrase from Islam became a pillar of hip‑hop

Su'ad Abdul Khabeer, University of Michigan

A scholar explains how a concept that appeared in Nation of Islam literature nearly a century ago essentially defines hip-hop’s consciousness today.

Contact Su'ad for