Blacking Up: Hip-Hop's Remix of Race and Identity

2010

57min

Against the unique backdrop of American popular music, Blacking Up explores racial identity in U.S. society. The film artfully draws parallels between the white Hip-Hop fan and previous incarnations of white appropriation from blackface performer Al Jolson to mainstream artists like Elvis Presley, the Rolling Stones and Eminem. It interweaves portraits of white Hip-Hop artists and fans with insightful commentary by African American cultural critics such as Amin Baraka, Nelson George, Greg Tate, comedian Paul Mooney and Hip-Hop figures Chuck D., Russell Simmons, Ml of Dead Prez, and Di Kool Herc. Blacking Up will be a useful resource for courses in Media Studies, Cultural Studies, Sociology, African American Studies, Anthropology, and Cross-Cultural Dialogue as well as for Student Services programs.