Papers by Todd Craig
Hip Hop at Europe's Edge, 2017
Changing English, 2017
Abstract When thinking about elements of hip-hop culture, it becomes important to include cultura... more Abstract When thinking about elements of hip-hop culture, it becomes important to include cultural brokers and key practitioners in the conversation, so that the culture does not become divorced from the conversations about it. In order to talk about MC/emcee culture, one should include an emcee that is known and respected for the craft. This interview is conducted with veteran Sharif Lacey aka Reef the Lost Cauze.
Changing English, 2017
Abstract When thinking about elements of hip-hop culture, it is important to include cultural bro... more Abstract When thinking about elements of hip-hop culture, it is important to include cultural brokers and key practitioners in the conversation, so that the culture does not become divorced from the conversations about it. To talk about hip-hop DJ culture, one should include a verified hip-hop DJ who is established in the culture. This interview is conducted with Krystal ‘DJ Shorty Wop’ Baez.
Changing English, 2017
Abstract When thinking about elements of hip-hop culture, it becomes important to include cultura... more Abstract When thinking about elements of hip-hop culture, it becomes important to include cultural brokers and key practitioners in the conversation, so that the culture does not become divorced from the conversations about it. To talk about graffiti culture, one should include a graffiti artist. This interview is conducted with artist and veteran graffiti writer Maria ‘TOOFLY’ Castillo.
Changing English, 2017
Abstract This article seeks to introduce and situate a seldom-explored subject: the role and cont... more Abstract This article seeks to introduce and situate a seldom-explored subject: the role and contribution of women hip-hop deejays in the testosterone-filled genre called hip-hop. Grounding the analysis in the interviews of six women deejays – Spinderella, Kuttin Kandi, Pam the Funkstress, Reborn, Shorty Wop and Natasha Diggs – ‘Sista Girl Rock’ works to privilege the words and ideas of these visionary cultural practitioners, sponsors, sound theorists and rhetorical innovators as foundational knowledge, the primary text; the knowledge these women and (re)present becomes paramount in (re)envisioning the ways we view participants of hip-hop culture as the purveyors of knowledge. From this source, we connect various locations of scholarship that can be related to the way(s) these women operate, flourish and maintain as twenty-first-century multimodal thinkers and scholars in a mostly male-dominated industry.
Radical Teacher, 2013
A challenge in teaching English composition is helping students envision plagiarism as “borrowing... more A challenge in teaching English composition is helping students envision plagiarism as “borrowing” – showing love to author(s) and/or text(s) that further their argument(s), versus “stealing” – biting someone’s style and words. Alastair Pennycook (1996) and Sarah Wakefield (2006) have contributed pieces to the elaborate plagiarism/citation puzzle, while Houston Baker situated the hip-hop DJ in seminal text Black Studies, Rap and the Academy (1993). Merging these moments introduces critical questions: Did Diddy invent “the remix” or become the illest beat-biter ever? How did DJ/Producers Pete Rock and Large Professor pay homage to previous musical genres to further hip-hop remix production without just taking 4-8 bar samples, copying sources and claiming unethical ownership? And how can this discussion provide students a window into citation conversations? This article will remix these “texts” to introduce the idea of DJ Rhetoric to discuss plagiarism. Through the lens of the hip-hop...
Composition Studies, 2021
Changing English
Prompted by a moment in the classroom in which the DJ becomes integral for the writing instructor... more Prompted by a moment in the classroom in which the DJ becomes integral for the writing instructor, this article looks at how the hip-hop DJ and hip-hop DJ/Producer become the intrinsic examples for first-year college writing students to think about how they conduct revision in their writing. After a review of two seminal hip-hop books and other scholarly sources that situate the viability of hip-hop discourse in the classroom, this article frames the hip-hop DJ as critical to the progression of the hip-hop producer and uses the hip-hop DJ/Producer as the catalyst for revision by looking at the original version and remix of two classic hip-hop songs. The unique collaborative investment between the hip-hop DJ/Producer and emcee/MC in creating ‘the remix’ presents an intriguing conundrum for the ways we might envision teaching practices in composition studies. Central to this moment is the way hip-hop flips the script on racist ideologies constructed as anti-hip-hop sentiments in academic spaces and allows students to absorb the idea of revision in writing studies. Finally, interviews from three hip-hop DJ/Producers help to demonstrate how the hip-hop DJ sits at the centre of this disrupt.
This article seeks to introduce and situate a seldom-explored subject: the role and contribution ... more This article seeks to introduce and situate a seldom-explored subject: the role and contribution of women hip-hop deejays in the testosterone-filled genre called hip-hop. Grounding the analysis in the interviews of six women deejays – Spinderella, Kuttin Kandi, Pam the Funkstress, Reborn, Shorty Wop and Natasha Diggs – ‘Sista Girl Rock’ works to privilege the words and ideas of these visionary cultural practitioners, sponsors, sound theorists and rhetorical innovators as foundational knowledge, the primary text; the knowledge these women and (re)present becomes paramount in (re)envisioning the ways we view participants of hip-hop culture as the purveyors of knowledge. From this source, we connect various locations of scholarship that can be related to the way(s) these women operate, flourish and maintain as twenty-first-century multimodal thinkers and scholars in a mostly male-dominated industry.
Prompted by a moment in the classroom in which the DJ becomes integral for the writing instructor... more Prompted by a moment in the classroom in which the DJ becomes integral for the writing instructor, this article looks at how the hip-hop DJ and hip-hop DJ/Producer become the intrinsic examples for first-year college writing students to think about how they conduct revision in their writing. After a review of two seminal hip-hop books and other scholarly sources that situate the viability of
hip-hop discourse in the classroom, this article frames the hip-hop DJ as critical to the progression of the hip-hop producer and uses the hip-hop DJ/Producer as the catalyst for revision by looking at the original version and remix of two classic hip-hop songs. The unique collaborative investment between the hip-hop DJ/Producer and emcee/MC in creating ‘the remix’ presents an intriguing conundrum for the ways we might envision teaching practices in composition studies. Central to this moment is the way hip-hop flips the script on racist ideologies constructed as anti-hip-hop sentiments in academic spaces and allows students to absorb the idea of revision in writing studies. Finally, interviews from three
hip-hop DJ/Producers help to demonstrate how the hip-hop DJ sits at the centre of this disrupt.
Articles, Commentaries & Syllabi by Todd Craig
Looking For The Enemy: The Eternal Internal Gender Wars of our Sisters. 2nd edition, 2015
Methods and Methodologies for Research in Digital Writing and Rhetoric Volume 1, 2022
This book chapter thinks about digital research methods by putting a series of people in conversa... more This book chapter thinks about digital research methods by putting a series of people in conversation with one another around writing, rhetoric, hip hop and digital research methodology. Embodying DJ practices, this book chapter plays cuts from King Johnson, Virgil Abloh, Griselda, Flores and Rosa, James Spady and hiphopography.
Sounding Out!, 2019
As we begin to see the burgeoning of sound studies as a viable means of allowing students to thin... more As we begin to see the burgeoning of sound studies as a viable means of allowing students to think through various ways to envision composing “texts,” one of the most viable 21st century examples to privilege is the hip-hop DJ. The DJ has consistently served as griot, composer, curator and sonic tastemaker (Banks, 2011; Craig, 2015; Jennings and Petchauer, 2017). Thus, “Heavy Airplay, All Day…” aims to center DJ pedagogy in the classroom by documenting “The Playlist Project.”
“Heavy Airplay, All Day…” will investigate the first unit of a first-year writing class, which culminated into a major writing project called “The Playlist Project.” As the instructor used the hip-hop DJ as primary example of a 21st century writing practitioner, this article will detail the instructor’s efforts to center the start of a first-year writing class in sonic curation, and not text-based writing. Students were asked to curate their own playlists, which served as mixtapes that either “described the writer as a person” or “depicted the soundtrack to the writer’s perfect day.” The instructor also curated a playlist/mixtape (a mixtape tribute to Prodigy of Mobb Deep) to model the ways in which students could execute the assignment. Part of the conversation that gets overlooked when talking about the practices of the DJ is how curation serves as composing via arrangement, assortment and selection. While students are not necessarily DJs, the author/instructor/DJ explores working with students to gain a collective understanding of how a Playlist Project could look for their final sonic projects.
Changing English: Studies in Culture and Education, 2017
When thinking about elements of hip-hop culture, it becomes important to include cultural brokers... more When thinking about elements of hip-hop culture, it becomes important to include cultural brokers and key practitioners in the conversation, so that the culture does not become divorced from the conversations about it. In order to talk about MC/emcee culture, one should include an emcee that is known and respected for the craft. This interview is conducted with veteran Sharif Lacey aka Reef the Lost Cauze.
Changing English: Studies in Culture and Education, 2017
When thinking about elements of hip-hop culture, it becomes important to include cultural brokers... more When thinking about elements of hip-hop culture, it becomes important to include cultural brokers and key practitioners in the conversation, so that the culture does not become divorced from the conversations about it. To talk about graffiti culture, one should include a graffiti artist. This interview is conducted with artist and veteran graffiti writer Maria ‘TOOFLY’ Castillo.
Changing English: Studies in Culture and Education, 2017
When thinking about elements of hip-hop culture, it is important to include cultural brokers and ... more When thinking about elements of hip-hop culture, it is important to include cultural brokers and key practitioners in the conversation, so that the culture does not become divorced from the conversations about it. To talk about hip-hop DJ culture, one should include a verified hip-hop DJ who is established in the culture. This interview is conducted with Krystal ‘DJ Shorty Wop’ Baez.
Changing English: Studies in Culture and Education, 2017
Editorial/Introduction for the special issue of Changing English: Studies in Culture and Educatio... more Editorial/Introduction for the special issue of Changing English: Studies in Culture and Education entitled "Straight Outta English"
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Papers by Todd Craig
hip-hop discourse in the classroom, this article frames the hip-hop DJ as critical to the progression of the hip-hop producer and uses the hip-hop DJ/Producer as the catalyst for revision by looking at the original version and remix of two classic hip-hop songs. The unique collaborative investment between the hip-hop DJ/Producer and emcee/MC in creating ‘the remix’ presents an intriguing conundrum for the ways we might envision teaching practices in composition studies. Central to this moment is the way hip-hop flips the script on racist ideologies constructed as anti-hip-hop sentiments in academic spaces and allows students to absorb the idea of revision in writing studies. Finally, interviews from three
hip-hop DJ/Producers help to demonstrate how the hip-hop DJ sits at the centre of this disrupt.
Articles, Commentaries & Syllabi by Todd Craig
“Heavy Airplay, All Day…” will investigate the first unit of a first-year writing class, which culminated into a major writing project called “The Playlist Project.” As the instructor used the hip-hop DJ as primary example of a 21st century writing practitioner, this article will detail the instructor’s efforts to center the start of a first-year writing class in sonic curation, and not text-based writing. Students were asked to curate their own playlists, which served as mixtapes that either “described the writer as a person” or “depicted the soundtrack to the writer’s perfect day.” The instructor also curated a playlist/mixtape (a mixtape tribute to Prodigy of Mobb Deep) to model the ways in which students could execute the assignment. Part of the conversation that gets overlooked when talking about the practices of the DJ is how curation serves as composing via arrangement, assortment and selection. While students are not necessarily DJs, the author/instructor/DJ explores working with students to gain a collective understanding of how a Playlist Project could look for their final sonic projects.
hip-hop discourse in the classroom, this article frames the hip-hop DJ as critical to the progression of the hip-hop producer and uses the hip-hop DJ/Producer as the catalyst for revision by looking at the original version and remix of two classic hip-hop songs. The unique collaborative investment between the hip-hop DJ/Producer and emcee/MC in creating ‘the remix’ presents an intriguing conundrum for the ways we might envision teaching practices in composition studies. Central to this moment is the way hip-hop flips the script on racist ideologies constructed as anti-hip-hop sentiments in academic spaces and allows students to absorb the idea of revision in writing studies. Finally, interviews from three
hip-hop DJ/Producers help to demonstrate how the hip-hop DJ sits at the centre of this disrupt.
“Heavy Airplay, All Day…” will investigate the first unit of a first-year writing class, which culminated into a major writing project called “The Playlist Project.” As the instructor used the hip-hop DJ as primary example of a 21st century writing practitioner, this article will detail the instructor’s efforts to center the start of a first-year writing class in sonic curation, and not text-based writing. Students were asked to curate their own playlists, which served as mixtapes that either “described the writer as a person” or “depicted the soundtrack to the writer’s perfect day.” The instructor also curated a playlist/mixtape (a mixtape tribute to Prodigy of Mobb Deep) to model the ways in which students could execute the assignment. Part of the conversation that gets overlooked when talking about the practices of the DJ is how curation serves as composing via arrangement, assortment and selection. While students are not necessarily DJs, the author/instructor/DJ explores working with students to gain a collective understanding of how a Playlist Project could look for their final sonic projects.