9. Islam and Hip Hop in Black America:

Abstract

This chapter explores the significant connections and interplay between Islam, Black cultural expression and oral traditions, rap, and Hip Hop. Drawing on the literature, the work and words of historical figures and rap and Hip Hop artists and activists, and his own personal and professional narratives, Amer Ahmed highlights the infusion of Islamic ideology and knowledge into Hip Hop. Through the frames of public and hidden discourse, Ahmed illuminates how rap and Hip Hop inform and draw meaning from Black Americans’ resistance to oppression, as well as other global freedom movements. The chapter applies an intersectional lens to multiple levels of inquiry, and to the subjects of identity, intergroup dynamics, and systemic inequality. Ahmed concludes with recommendations for how Hip Hop can be used in critical, liberatory pedagogy and practice.