I'm trying to get in on it, and I'm really struggling.

I am actually battling to contribute an argument here, because some of the issues thrown up in this thread have made me feel quite ambivalent about my own position.

1. I got into Hip-Hop long before I entered the academy. I was into breakin' in 84, but my real engagement with "big-picture" Hip Hop was in '89, when I was introduced to Public Enemy, Big Daddy Kane, NWA and BDP, AFTER I was introduced to hip-house music (*chuckle*).

2. At university, I studied journalism and media studies in undergrad, completed a Masters, and I now lecture radio production at university (ASIDE: Believe me, there are countless debates about whether journalism even has a place in the academy).

3. For a long time I have wanted to write something about Hip Hop in an academic space, but it's just never been realised. I'm still trying, but largely what I have written about Hip Hop has been published in popular media.

4. Anyway, I've never felt that engaging with academic texts has really enhanced my appreciation for Hip Hop, or how I consume it. It's like two different worlds for me - academia and Hip Hop. They don't easily co-exist for me. And really, I don't feel like I know Hip Hop any better (with the exception of some good historical texts which have provided me with interesting perspectives on HH's devt), as a result of Hip Hop-related academic work.

I guess what I'm saying is totally anecdotal and related from the personal, but it does refer to a struggle within - a struggle to say something about Hip Hop in a space that I think is important, but may not necessarily be important to other people who are into / who do this thing called Hip Hop.

G'