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Description
Explores how Islam is produced in American hip-hop culture by both Muslims and non-Muslims
Islam has been a part of hip-hop culture since it sprang from New York’s street culture in the 1970s. Today hip-hop has evolved into a global artform with a diversity of Muslim Islamic discourses expressed. Using tools from the field of social semiotics, this book examines how Islamic themes feature in US hip-hop culture, maintaining a particular awareness that both Muslims as well as non-Muslims participate in their production.
Anders Ackfeldt analyses a collection of lyrics, sounds and images to show how Islamic themes are featured in US hip-hop culture. Furthering our understanding of the semiotic associations and functions of Islamic themes, the text demonstrates that Muslims as well as non-Muslims have used these themes in their artistic productions throughout the history of African American music-making. Examining the use of Islamic semiotic resources in gospel, blues and jazz through to hip-hop, Ackfeldt reveals a historical continuity running through US musical culture – and one which is also often connected to African American religious initiatives and African American empowerment politics.
ISBN
9781399537551
Publication Date
2025
Publisher
Edinburgh University Press, AKU-ISMC and AKMP
City
Edinburgh
Keywords
hip-hop, Islam, muslims, non-muslims, semiotics, United States
Disciplines
African American Studies | American Popular Culture | Audio Arts and Acoustics | Critical and Cultural Studies | Ethnomusicology | Islamic Studies | Race and Ethnicity | Social and Cultural Anthropology | Sociology of Religion
Recommended Citation
Ackfeldt, Anders (2025), Islamic Themes in US Hip-Hop Culture. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, AKU-ISMC and AKMP.
Included in
African American Studies Commons, American Popular Culture Commons, Audio Arts and Acoustics Commons, Critical and Cultural Studies Commons, Ethnomusicology Commons, Islamic Studies Commons, Race and Ethnicity Commons, Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons, Sociology of Religion Commons
