Is Hip-Hop Ballet the Future?

Written by Rizoh. Posted in Gumbo

Published on April 07, 2008 with 15 Comments">15 Comments

hiphop_ballet.jpg
Michael Eric Dyson speaking to the New York Times about Big Boi’s upcoming hip-hop ballet showcase:

“My gut reaction is ‘bravo,’ ” said Michael Eric Dyson, a professor at Georgetown University and the author of, most recently, “Know What I Mean?,” a critical examination of hip-hop music. He said with a chuckle, “Even if it falls on its face.”

Professor Dyson, echoing several young Atlanta artists who weighed in on the project, sees in “big” an opportunity for hip-hop to re-examine some of its more self-destructive tendencies, including violence and “the blitzkrieg of misogyny that passes for commentary on gender.” If anyone could get hip-hop to open up, he said, it would be one of the adventurous stars of OutKast.

Dyson has a strong point. But is this really a good look for hip-hop?

TRU

Rizoh

Rizoh is the most powerful man in all the lands. He lives in Houston where he earned a BS in Nerf Herding. He's the founder of The Rap Up, the editor of Roc4Life.com, and is in the Grammy-awaiting band Pervertable Disciples.

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  • J to the AAP

    Why wouldn’t it be? Personally I’m not a big fan of ballet but Big Boi’s involvement sparks my interest. It’s certainly a better look for HipHop than another craptastic computer game with Fiddy.

  • J to the AAP

    Why wouldn’t it be? Personally I’m not a big fan of ballet but Big Boi’s involvement sparks my interest. It’s certainly a better look for HipHop than another craptastic computer game with Fiddy.

  • J to the AAP

    Why wouldn’t it be? Personally I’m not a big fan of ballet but Big Boi’s involvement sparks my interest. It’s certainly a better look for HipHop than another craptastic computer game with Fiddy.

  • J to the AAP

    ^These dating site spam whores are getting real annoying over here.

  • J to the AAP

    ^These dating site spam whores are getting real annoying over here.

  • J to the AAP

    ^These dating site spam whores are getting real annoying over here.

  • Walter

    ^Co-sign.

    I’m not gonna front, I’d smash that one on the far right, hahaha…

    As far as the idea of a hip-hop based ballet, they already have hip-hop dance offereed as a class at some high schools and universities, so it’s only a logical progression…

    And as M.E.D. stated, it gives hip-hop a chance to shed that image that is attached to it in regards to the female gender…

  • Walter

    ^Co-sign.

    I’m not gonna front, I’d smash that one on the far right, hahaha…

    As far as the idea of a hip-hop based ballet, they already have hip-hop dance offereed as a class at some high schools and universities, so it’s only a logical progression…

    And as M.E.D. stated, it gives hip-hop a chance to shed that image that is attached to it in regards to the female gender…

  • Walter

    ^Co-sign.

    I’m not gonna front, I’d smash that one on the far right, hahaha…

    As far as the idea of a hip-hop based ballet, they already have hip-hop dance offereed as a class at some high schools and universities, so it’s only a logical progression…

    And as M.E.D. stated, it gives hip-hop a chance to shed that image that is attached to it in regards to the female gender…

  • ian

    It’s a GREAT look for hip hop. The best Hip Hop is about the fresh, always moving fwd and taking disparate elements and making them work together. This sounds like its exactly that.

  • ian

    It’s a GREAT look for hip hop. The best Hip Hop is about the fresh, always moving fwd and taking disparate elements and making them work together. This sounds like its exactly that.

  • ian

    It’s a GREAT look for hip hop. The best Hip Hop is about the fresh, always moving fwd and taking disparate elements and making them work together. This sounds like its exactly that.

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  • sir charles

    Looks interesting

  • sir charles

    Looks interesting

  • sir charles

    Looks interesting

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