Archival Activism

Deciphering State-Sanctioned Histories and Reporting of Canadian Hip Hop

Authors

  • Mark V Campbell Ryerson University
  • Maya Stitski Queen’s University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/jwpm.37844

Keywords:

Canadian hip hop, hip hop history, racism, rogue archival practices

Abstract

Hip hop archives, in their recent and significant growth across American cities, provide new opportunities to engage and preserve what was once imagined as a fleeting youth subculture. Importantly, hip hop archives also allow us to intervene on the lack of archival materials relating to hip hop in the City of Toronto Archives, a municipally funded institution. In this article weargue that "rogue" archival practices provide the theoretical tools for an urgent response and solution to the lack of municipal preservation of marginalized histories. We use the term rogue following Abigail De Kosnik to gesture at some of the productive ways that digital archiving, in its refusal to "follow the rules" of archiving, or in its disorderly fan-based labour, opens new passages to think about hip hop's history beyond state-sanctioned institutions.

Author Biographies

  • Mark V Campbell, Ryerson University

    Dr Mark V. Campbell is a DJ, curator and founder at Northside Hip Hop Archive. Mark is also Assistant Professor at the RTA School of Media at Ryerson University in Toronto. His publications can be found in the Southern Journal of Canadian Studies, Critical Studies in Improvisation, Souls: A Critical Journal of Black Politics, Culture and Society, and The CLR James Journal. His recent book, ...Everything Remains Raw: Photographing Toronto Hip Hop Culture from Analogue to Digital, accompanies his most recent exhibition on tour in Canada.

  • Maya Stitski, Queen’s University

    Maya Stitski is a PhD candidate in Cultural Studies at Queen's University and is the archive projects coordinator/research assistant at the Northside Hip Hop Archive. She holds an MA from the London School of Economics in Gender and Social Policy, and a BAHon from Queen's University in Politics and Women's Studies. Her current research programme and forthcoming dissertation explores the connections between the teachings of hip hop and radical black imaginations, and critical pedagogies in Canada.

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Published

2018-12-28

How to Cite

Campbell, M. V., & Stitski, M. (2018). Archival Activism: Deciphering State-Sanctioned Histories and Reporting of Canadian Hip Hop. Journal of World Popular Music, 5(2), 229-249. https://doi.org/10.1558/jwpm.37844

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