Race vs. Ethnicity: A cross-cultural comparison of storytelling in This is America and This is Nigeria
Abstract This paper investigated how hip-hop music leverages communication strategies such as narratives to raise awareness to social issues. Using ...
Abstract
This paper investigated how hip-hop music leverages communication strategies such as narratives to raise awareness to social issues. Using Critical Race Theory and Hip-hop genre studies as theoretical foundations, the authors applied thematic analysis techniques to examine the music videos This is America and This is Nigeria. Emergent themes addressed artists’ frustrations over mass killings in the U.S. and Nigeria. Findings revealed racial inequality as a prominent element in This is America, whereas ethno-religious issues were projected in the themes of This is Nigeria. The findings indicated that national, cultural, and racial context are pivotal to the interpretation and understanding of narratives, particularly when multiple narratives protest similar issues.
Key Words: Hip-Hop, Critical Race Theory, Storytelling, Race, Ethnicity
JCMR Journal of Communication and Media Research, Vol. 13, No. 1, April 2021, pp. 1 – 12
© Association of Media and Communication Researchers of Nigeria (AMCRON).
About the authors
* Doris Acheme is a doctoral student and graduate teaching assistant at the Department of Communication, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, U.S.A. Her area of research interest is in intercultural and intergroup communication.
** Kyle Alan Hammonds is a doctoral student and graduate teaching assistant at the Department of Communication, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, U.S.A. His research is broadly in cultural studies, with emphases in popular culture and cross-cultural communication.
Authors’ Note: The authors would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their consideration and response to this manuscript as well as Dr. Meta G. Carstarphen for her inspiration, support, and feedback
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Article Citation
Acheme, D. & Hammonds, K. A. (2021). Race vs. Ethnicity: A cross-cultural comparison of storytelling in This is America and This is Nigeria. Journal of Communication and Media Research, 13 (1): 1 – 12.