
Mar 22
Color (De)Coded: Analyzing Complexion and Colorism in Rap Music
Color (De)Coded: Analyzing Complexion and Colorism in Rap Music: an interactive discussion about complexion and colorism in rap music from the 1980s to today, from Dr. VaNatta Ford's forthcoming book, Tone DEF: Colorism and Gender Prescription in the Rhetoric of Rap Lyrics. Dr. Ford, along with Durham's DJ Twenty3 (Jimissa Mclean) on the turntables, will facilitate a conversation on the role and function of color references in rap music and the differences between colorism, complexion discrimination that privileges light skin over dark skin, and color naming, mentioning complexion, and how they show up in our favorite songs.