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Tag

Tag
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on
on
on
on

it,
it,
it,
it,

no baseball
no new shirt
no recess
the process

Archives in a rap?
Thats gotta be a first
Uncharted waters
Plenty of room to get immersed
Libraries are boring
Nah, let's change the game
Thinking theyre boring
Now thats whats lame
What is knowledge if not collected
Shuffled and sorted
Come looking for information
How you gunna be escorted
Cant find it, cant have it
Cant afford to lose it
Gotta keep an eye on history
Its only useful is we lose it
History like Jordan 96 97
History on that repeat
So if we dont learn from it
We gunna keep getting beat
Archives man, theyre kinda dope
Acknowledge that, Im not being funny
You really dont think theyre important?
Quit being a dummy

Hunter Hurley
Honors 394
5/11/16
Weekly Write-Up #7
This week we were fortunate to have two guest speakers come in
and share knowledge about their specific fields of study, which happen
to be two very different things. However, with our final project looming,
and my cipher group and I getting the ball rolling on what we are
thinking of doing, the two guest speakers this week really
complemented one another. Being able to hear from a B-Boy legend in
the 206 in Fever One is something that really should not be taken for
granted. One quote that stuck with me from him was, "an idle mind is
the Devil's workshop". Tying that into our final project and what we are
working towards as far as starting this collection for the UW libraries, it
is imperative that we push to see just how realistic we can make this
conceptual idea being discussed. Complacency kills, and simply laying
back on a project like this and being passive will get us nowhere
One thing I didnt fully understand, until I took this class and
engaged in conversations as well as the readings, is just why exactly
archives are important to have. In the screening from class, it was
stated that "those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat
it" (Peterson, 2010). So if that is the case, what are things that can be
implemented to not let society fall into this death trap? Archives! As far
as archives in general and what each individually looks like, it is widely
up for interpretation by the creators. The creators need to be able to
sculpt their archive in the most efficient and lasting manner that will
turn their vision into a reality. A concept I thought was highly intriguing
comes from James G. Spady as he said, This is the language within
our community. So thats the language I want to write in (Meghelli,
2013). Although this was stated in reference to a book he wrote, in
which he crafted the work as if it were a casual conversation, arent
books just mini archives that can be sorted and placed within a larger
archive? Archives are collections of information, and within those
collections, are smaller and more focused collections of information.
A second topic examined this week that also applies to our final
project is what and how are the boundaries created that the archive
aims to encompass. Thanks to innovations in technology, the answers
to this question are much more open-ended and leaves the creators of
the archive with a multitude of options, where once there were few. As
one of the weekly readings says, "Once upon a time community was
completely associated with place, that is, it was shaped by topography
and natural resources" (Cox, 2009, p. 252). With how accessible mass

communication is in this day and age, it also seems that the


boundaries for some archives are limitless. Technology has allowed us
as the creators to break through physical barriers that once presented
clear dead ends in the construction of collections of knowledge. Given
all that we have now been offered and have in our arsenal to work
with, it is seemingly the duty of one generation to obtain, collect, and
pass on all acquired knowledge to the next. Each generation has
something new to offer, and each generation has much to learn from
its predecessors and successors. In Dysons reading, one problem
examined was a difference in interests between generations. It states,
by generations rejecting this artistic expression, they are de-homing
their children (Dyson, 2009, p.50) The point is argued that in some
cases, artists from the younger generation had to be respected
elsewhere before they could get the respect of elders on their own
block. With all the knowledge that each generation has to offer, and
the technology available to us, it is a shame that any idea is disposed
of and ignored simply because of a difference in viewpoints. Archives
must embody collections from all different sides of the story as such
diversity is what truly provides for the greatest collection of
knowledge.
An example discussed in the cipher as a group that was scoffed
at for their actions was JJ FAD, and the accusations that the group was
selling out. When creating a Hip Hop archive, would some of the
tracks created by the group be left out and chalked up as not real HipHop because of the other artistic flavors the group dabbled within?
While I think the clear answer is no, it should not be left out, this may
not be the clear answer to people who adamantly oppose such songs
being labeled under Hip-Hop. As stated in the reading, "Mass appeal,
money, radio friendly Hip-Hop helped merge rawer underground album
material into the mainstream while still provoking it" (Abe, 2013, p.
18). Personally, I don't think that people really wanted to write it off as
not being Hip-Hop, but were rather uncomfortable with the way this
new wave was changing the game, especially because it was an allfemale group. Another thing of note about J.J FAD was that they were
one of the first groups to really play off of their sex appeal to attract
listeners and labels. Lyrics such as The P is for perfection and you
know that we are freaks, the E is for exotic (Supersonic, 1988) played
off of a new form of appeal to listeners that had not been presented by
male emcees in the past. Whether or not one believes some of the
group's songs should be filed under Hip-Hop, I think we can all come to
the conclusion that the group had an effect on the Hip Hop community
in a variety of ways.

Citations
Peterson, James Braxton. "Birth of a Nation: Representation,
Nationhood, and Graphic Revolution in the Works of D.W. Griffith, DJ
Spooky, and Aaron McGruder et al." In Aldama's Multicultural Comics:
From Zap to Blue Beetle. Austin: University of Texas Press. 2010
Abe, D. (2013), pp.164-208. In 6 'n the morning: West Coast hip-hop
music, 1987-1992 & the transformation of mainstream culture. United
States: Over the Edge Publishing.
Cox, Richard J. Conclusion: the archivist and community. In Bastian, J.,
& Alexander, Ben. (2009). Community archives : The shaping of
memory (Principles and practice in records management and archives).
London: Facet.
Dyson, M. (2010). Track # 2 (pp.39-58). In Know What I Mean?
Reflections On Hip-Hop (Links to an external site.). Basic Books (Links
to an external site.).
Meghelli, S. (2013). Remixing the Historical Record: Revolutions in Hip
Hop Historiography. Western Journal of Black Studies, 37(2), 94102 (Links to an external site.)
Supersonic. 1988, June 15). Retrieved May 11, 2016.

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