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.

Artist Spotlights

Coming soon! Check back in February!

2025 Hip Hop Studies Summit
Community Exhibition

Open Call for Community Submissions
Hip Hop Studies Summit Virtual Exhibition
February 2025

A Love Letter to Hip Hop
Common affectionately calls Hip Hop the “love of [his] life. Lupe Fiasco declares “Hip Hop saved [his] life.” And even when times get hard, Kendrick Lamar’s anthem reminds us “we gon’ be alright.”

Hip hop is foundational to American culture, and it is foundational in the lives of all who claim to be “hip hop.” For those who are part of the culture, hip hop has been the soundtrack to their lives. From the songs that inspire and motivate us to greatness, to the songs that comfort and heal us in our times of heartache, to the songs that elicit joy and move us in our bodies—hip hop anthems are the backdrop and commemoration of so many of life’s moments.

Between the bars, hip hop gives our minds, bodies, and spirits a place to breathe and to connect. We turn to hip hop to get what we need when we need it—and hip hop is always waiting. We invite you to consider how hip hop shows up for you in your life—as a space of motivation, of heartache, of joy, of ambition, of romance, of comfort, of reflection, of healing, of inspiration, of celebration, of mourning, of friendship, of community, of identity.

Gallery

2024 Hip Hop Studies Summit

Program Guide (PDF)

2022 Hip Hop Studies Summit

Program Guide (PDF)