Hip Hop Studies Summit

2026 Hip Hop Studies Summit

7th Annual Hip Hop Studies Summit
Stand Up!: Hip Hop as Activism & Cultural Resistance

Throughout its history, hip hop has been a vehicle for personal and community activism, and has served as a site of cultural resistance. From Public Enemy’s Fear of a Black Planet, to N.W.A.’s critique of policing, to Queen Latifah and MC Lyte’s pioneering of hip hop feminism — hip hop has served as a voice of the people and of the Culture, challenging norms and speaking Truth to power. Hip hop anthems have organized social and political movements, have served as rallying cries to bring communities together, and have been the mode by which folks stand up for themselves, for their people, and for what is most important to them. Hip hop operates as truthteller, as journalist, as teacher, as community archive, as mirror.

On a personal level, hip hop also enables artists and listeners to stand up for and rep themselves—to promote, to praise, and to protect creative voice. Hip hop serves as an affirmation, as a mantra, as a tool to squash beef, as joyful rebellion, as the great “I am,” and as liberation, especially in the face of oppression.

We invite artists to imagine the many ways hip hop lives within them—as a heartbeat of resistance, as a voice for justice, and as a force for cultural transformation. Show us how you stand up, what or who you stand up for, and the ways in which hip hop amplifies and serves as a soundtrack for it all.

Gallery

Artist Spotlights

Q. Cole

@qcole
https://www.youtube.com/@qcoleartwork

Quinton Cole, also known as Q. Cole, is an Atlanta-based multidisciplinary artist and Morehouse College graduate whose work explores culture, memory, and imagination. Working primarily in painting and mixed media, he revisits familiar narratives through a contemporary Black lens, using symbolism and abstraction to spark reflection and conversation.

Influenced by sports, music, and community spaces, Cole draws from personal experience and shared history to create work that feels both personal and wide-reaching. His layered surfaces and intentional imperfections reflect the way memories live with us, emotional, evolving, and real.

Gallery

Q. Cole, “Biggie x New Brooklyn,” 2019. Acrylic on canvas. 46 x 36 inches.
Q. Cole, “Black Noah,” 2025. Acrylic on canvas. 60 x 48 inches.
Q. Cole, “The Woo,” 2021. Acrylic on canvas. 24 x 24 inches.
Q. Cole, “Punk'd,” 2021. Acrylic on canvas. 24 x 30 inches.

Mary Harris

@artmusicmaryjane
http://www.artmusicmaryjane.com

Mary Harris is an African American, Los Angeles-based multimedia artist and creative entrepreneur originally from New Jersey. Specializing in portrait painting and abstract expressionism, she blends emotional truth with vibrant storytelling to capture the essence of her surroundings and the communities she serves.

Recognized early in her career, Harris had work displayed in the New Jersey State Capitol at age 17. As a third-generation painter, her art is deeply informed by family legacy, lived experience, and the unique visual perception shaped by her dyslexia.

Beyond her personal practice, Harris curates exhibitions, mentors emerging artists, and fosters community engagement through her company, Mary Harris Originals Inc. Her work honors legacy while pushing the art world toward deeper inclusion, authenticity, and cultural resonance.

I see light as a parallel to human experience, always shifting, expanding, and transforming as we do. Painting allows me to uncover these moments held in time, creating a record of memories, relationships, and emotions that can be passed onto future generations. My love for art began with my mother, Barbara A. Harris, who taught me at three years old to express myself through color. That early encouragement shaped everything I am today as an artist.

As a third-generation painter with a dyslexic mind, I perceive patterns, rhythms, and emotional connections that others may overlook. Through portraiture, I paint those who deserve recognition, people who inspire me, move me, or whose stories ask to be told. Whether I am creating a quick sketch or a detailed work, I cherish the intimacy that unfolds between artist and subject.

I feel a spiritual connection to what I paint. In the studio, I become a conduit for truth, vulnerability, and presence. My goal is to create work that honors humanity in all its complexity, its joy, struggle, beauty, and evolution. Portraits lie at the center of my practice, yet I can bring any vision to life for those who commission my work.

Gallery

Mary Harris, “Bet on Yourself,” 2022. Acrylic and Spray Paint on Canvas. 20 × 21 inches.
Mary Harris, “1500 or Nothing,” 2023. Acrylic and Oil on Canvas. 48 × 48 inches.
Mary Harris, “The Get Up,” 2025. Acrylic on Canvas. 20 × 16 inches.
Mary Harris, “Purple Rain,” 2025. Acrylic and Oil on Canvas. 24 × 30 inches.

Isis Dua

@isisdua.gallery
https://handofisis.com

Isis Dua is a Los Angeles-based artist whose works examine ancestral memory, cultural preservation, and the relationship between spiritual protection and lived experience. Her practice focuses on creating intentional figurative imagery rooted in African and American traditions, exploring how identity, heritage, and spirituality shape both personal and collective experience.

Her compositions are visually direct and symbolically rich, utilizing bold color and form with culturally specific iconography to highlight histories often displaced or overlooked. Her work is deeply informed by African and Indigenous American traditions, drawing from ancient technologies, nature-based practices, and intergenerational storytelling. Through these visual structures, she invites viewers into a dialogue about empowerment, cultural memory, and the importance of protecting sacred knowledge.

Her murals and artworks have been exhibited throughout Los Angeles and across the country, with installations in community spaces, galleries, and public environments. Isis primarily works with acrylic, mixed-media collage, and sculptural materials such as paper mâché and plaster, creating pieces that bridge past and future while imagining pathways toward collective healing and empowerment.

Gallery

Isis Dua, "Sankofa," 2025. Acrylic on canvas. 30 x 40 inches.
Isis Dua, "Cherie Noir," 2025. Acrylic on canvas. 47 x 36 inches.
Isis Dua, "Olduvai Theory," 2025. Acrylic on canvas. 30 x 40 inches.
Isis Dua, "Four You by You," 2025. Acrylic on canvas. 30 x 24 Inches.

Jonah Elijah

@jonah.elijah
https://www.jonahelijah.com

Jonah Elijah received his BA in Studio Art from the University of Texas at San Antonio in 2017 and his MFA from Claremont Graduate University in 2020. His studio practice has evolved through residencies such as the Virginia Center for Creative Arts, where he created the Virginia Series in response to the center’s historic land in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Amherst. At VCCA in France, he developed his Reflexion Series, using multiple handheld mirrors to paint individual portraits of family and friends from his daily life. Further inviting viewers into his personal narrative, Elijah continues to explore memory and identity highlighting the joy within Black culture.

Elijah’s work transcends time. Within his narratives, the past, present, and future tend to blur into identity through mediums of portraiture, language, and mass media. Elijah fuses personal memories with broader mythologies, religion, and history to probe the complexities and humanity of Black Americans.

Gallery

Jonah Elijah, “Say It Loud,” 2025. Oil on wood panel. 24 x 24 inches.
Jonah Elijah, “The Intelligence Test 01,” 2025. Oil on paper. 20 x 30 inches.
Jonah Elijah, “Black Power,” 2025. Oil on paper. 12 x 18 inches.
Jonah Elijah, “What’s Going On,” 2025. Oil on wood panel. 24 x 24 inches.

Made By Trigger

@madebytrigger
https://madebytrigger.com

Tramaine “Made By Trigger” Nixon is a self-taught mixed media and collage artist based in Nashville, Tennessee. A graduate of Middle Tennessee State University, Nixon began creating art in 2017 and has since developed a bold visual style rooted in music, Black culture, and contemporary iconography. Her work is constructed through layered imagery sourced from magazines, books, and digital media, then sealed in resin to create a glossy dimensional finish.

Music plays a central role in Nixon’s practice. Rather than working from a fixed subject list she allows her listening habits and emotional connection to artists to guide each body of work resulting in pieces that feel both personal and culturally reflective. Her collages often spotlight musicians and cultural figures who have shaped the soundtrack of her life.

Nixon’s work has been recognized by major brands and platforms including commissions from Hennessy and MTV, reposts from REVOLT, and acknowledgment from filmmaker Spike Lee. With multiple solo exhibitions to her name, she continues to explore visual storytelling through music-driven narratives.

Music is the foundation of my creative practice. Before I ever identified as an artist, I was someone deeply moved by song lyrics and the way music carries memory and emotion over time. That connection is what continues to guide my work today. Musicians serve as both subject and inspiration allowing me to translate sound, feeling, and cultural influence into visual form.

As a child, my bedroom walls were covered with images of my favorite artists’ quotes and visuals that made me feel understood. My collages are an extension of that space, an effort to recreate the environment my younger self found comfort in. Each piece is layered intentionally encouraging viewers to slow down and engage with the details, rather than consume the work at a glance.

I’m naturally introverted and often more comfortable observing than speaking, but my artwork is deliberately bold and commanding. While I may prefer the background, my work occupies space to unapologetically reflect the music, culture, and visual language that have shaped my identity.

Gallery

Made By Trigger, “Kelis,” 2025. Mixed Media and Resin on Wood. 40 x 30 inches.
Made By Trigger, “Doechii,” 2025. Mixed Media and Resin on Wood. 40 x 30 inches.
Made By Trigger, “Smino,” 2024. Mixed Media and Resin on Wood. 40 x 30 inches.
Made By Trigger, “Tyler the Creator,” 2022. Mixed Media and Resin on Wood. 40 x 30 inches.

Robert L. Newman III

@robnewmaniii
https://www.rxbart.com

Robert L. Newman III is a multifaceted talent – an accomplished Wall Street professional turned artist and influential community figure. After obtaining a degree from Morehouse College in 2014, Newman spent an initial eight-year stint as a financial/business analyst on Wall Street. Newman transitioned to embrace his passion for the arts full-time in the summer of 2022. Now, as an Artist and Entrepreneur based in Harlem, New York, his expressionist portraits have gained recognition both nationally and internationally, exploring narratives concerning the Black community.

While working in the corporate world, Newman served as the inaugural Equity, Inclusion & Diversity Program Manager at Neuberger Berman. In his role he helped to raise the firm’s overall diversity and inclusion score, raise $1m+ for the NAACP’s Legal Defense Fund, and draft the firm’s current vendor diversity program. His artistic endeavors and community service are complemented by his role in advancing the Morehouse NYC Alumni Association's objectives and fostering connections among alumni and the local community.

Sketching and painting have always been my first loves, but as I grow as an artist I’ve grown more interested in fashion, photography, curation, and writing. A lot of my work is still influenced by my grandmother. Her doll shop was situated in the historic Greenwood District of Tulsa Oklahoma also known as Black Wall Street. She was extremely active in the civil rights movement and continues to advocate for the black community in education, policy reform, and economic development. She was my first teacher. Since then, I’ve had the opportunity to study at Morehouse College, a historically black college in Atlanta GA, and the alma mater of Martin Luther King. Because of this, my work is in constant conversation with my community. I seek to create work that represents my peers and neighbors in the way that I see them. I hope that through this process of storytelling, I will be able to facilitate healing and growth for black Americans who have lived with the generational trauma of slavery and oppression.

Gallery

Robert L. Newman III, "Letters From a Young Poet,” 2023. Acrylic, ink, gold leaf and collage on canvas. 36 x 48 inches.
Robert L. Newman III, "Waiting on the Back Pew...,” 2021. Acrylic and ink on canvas. 20 x 16 inches.
Robert L. Newman III, "My Favorite Hue No. 1," 2019. Acrylic, ink, gold leaf and Collage on canvas. 40 x 30 inches.

2024 Hip Hop Studies Summit

Program Guide (PDF)

2022 Hip Hop Studies Summit

Program Guide (PDF)