An expert in hip hop music and culture will give a glimpse of the artform’s future cultural impact during a public presentation at 7 p.m. Sept. 23 at Oklahoma City University.
OCU’s next Martha Jean Lemon Distinguished Speaker is Adam Bradley, a bestselling author, professor and leading authority on hip hop culture. Bradley's presentation, “Hip Hop’s Futures,” promises an engaging exploration of the genre’s evolution and its trajectory as a global cultural and economic force. Bradley will delve into the profound question: What happens when a music centered on youth culture reaches middle age?
With hip hop having celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2023, it has transitioned from a localized expression to a global art form and multi-billion-dollar industry. Bradley will address what hip hop looks and sounds like now, and what it will become in years to come, moving beyond its early days as an upstart cultural phenomenon and its peak as a dominant commercial force.
Drawing on his extensive research, including close listening to some of hip hop’s most iconic songs and candid conversations with influential artists such as Rakim, Tyler the Creator, Chuck D, Rapsody, Latto and Kendrick Lamar, Bradley will guide the audience in imagining the many potential futures of hip hop.
Bradley is a professor of English and African American Studies at UCLA, and the founding director of the Laboratory for Race & Popular Culture (the RAP Lab). He is widely recognized for pioneering the academic study of rap lyrics as poetry and has collaborated with prominent artists in popular music. He has co-curated major exhibitions, including “Hip Hop America: The Mixtape Exhibit” at the GRAMMY Museum.
A prolific writer, Bradley is a writer-at-large for the New York Times’s T Magazine, where he crafts long-form essays. He is the author of six acclaimed books, including “Book of Rhymes,” “The Anthology of Rap” and the national bestseller “One Day It’ll All Make Sense,” a memoir co-written with the Grammy Award-winning rapper and actor Common. Bradley’s work consistently bridges academia with popular culture, making complex ideas accessible and engaging.
For more information about Bradley, visit his website at .
For more information about the lecture series, visit okcu.edu/lemonlecture.
