Why history? Britain’s regional hip-hop pioneers

Sharing insights from the past that help us to make sense of the present.

Hip-hop culture truly arrived on our shores in 1983, a decade after its origins in New York City. Although many defining events, artists and recordings demonstrate the spread of the genre in the UK, these are almost exclusively urban. In fact, forms of hip-hop expression were also developing in provincial areas, connected to, but distinct from the well-documented sounds of the metropolis.

Join Adam de Paor-Evans and Mikey D.O.N as they shed light on the hidden histories of hip-hop pioneers in provincial and rural Britain. Drawing on themes of identity, relocation, and representation, and showcasing memorabilia that captures the aesthetics of 1980s provincial British hip-hop, they will discuss how its uniqueness is woven into the fabric of our cultural and social history.

This event is accompanied by a podcast by Adam de Paor-Evans that presents some of the well-known and lesser-heard sounds that inspired the provincial hip hop scene between 1983-1992, available on Mixcloud.

Sign up to watch the event live and have the opportunity to submit your question during the audience Q&A.  Join the conversation online too, using the hashtag #ForCuriousMinds.

Speakers:
Adam de Paor-Evans, Reader in Ethnomusicology, University of Central Lancashire
Mikey D.O.N, original founding member of KRISPY 3, JAHPHILIATES, DJ, and Worldwide FM presenter

Chair: Farhana Haider, Journalist and Broadcaster, Presenter for the BBC World Service’s Witness History

Adam de Paor-Evans is a recipient of a British Academy/Leverhulme Small Research Grant 2020 – funded by BEIS.

Free, booking required

This event will have live subtitles provided by StageTEXT, delivered by MyClearText

This event will take place on Zoom Webinar. The link to join the event will be sent to you in a confirmation email. A recording of this event will be added to our YouTube channel after the event has taken place. If you have any questions about this event please refer to our Public Events FAQs. If your question is not answered, please email [email protected].

Image credit: 'New York (the Creators and Makers)' by Jay, Project Cee, and Scarce, Wall of Fame, Exeter, 1991. Photograph: Scarce.

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