Director of the University of Mississippi’s Center for Community Engagement and sociologist Castel Sweet presented at a South Talks event on Wednesday in Barnard Observatory. Sweet’s presentation was titled, “‘Does My Message Define My Role?’ Hip-Hop Artists’ Interpretation of Having a Role in Their Community.”
Sweet said this topic is part of her dissertation research that she started as a graduate student at Louisiana State University. She wanted to talk with hip-hop artists to learn more about their connection and involvement in their local community.Sweet’s presentation featured a powerpoint that went along with her lecture. This presentation included images and quotes from a few of the 25 hip-hop artists she interviewed.
“We know that there’s an inherent relationship between music, musicians and their community and geographical locations,” Sweet said. “But if we think about hip hop artists, there’s a particular connection to place and space that kind of looks at the way that those artists engage a little bit differently than other musical genres.”
In the presentation, Sweet discussed how the hip hop artists she interviewed interacted with their communities in different ways. Sweet included a quote from one of the artists named Simon.
“I think rappers are public speakers. Whether they are negative or they’re positive, they can have that platform because the music has a message whether, you know, getting people hype or not, for getting people in a meditative state, or that is carrying a message,” Simon said. “That’s what music does.”
Sweet said that one of the artists she interviewed was a female rapper whose whole audience and community were strictly online. The rapper’s family and co-workers had no idea that she was a rapper, and she wanted to keep it that way.
Sweet said that some of the artists she interviewed made music so they could get money and then give back to their community after. Others wanted to speak on issues they witnessed. Sweet said four of the 25 artists had created nonprofit organizations to give back to their communities.
“I would like the audience’s main takeaway to be a deeper appreciation of the cultural value of hip-hop music and to consider ways they can value the experience of individuals in the community,” Sweet said.
Sweet has worked for the Diversity and Community Engagement department since August 2021. She said that as the director for the Center for Community Engagement, she is interested in supporting opportunities for individuals to engage with the community in ways that center and value the lived experience of local residents.
Braxton Thomas, a southern studies master’s student, who works closely with Sweet in the Center for Community Engagement, introduced Sweet at the beginning of this event. After the event, Thomas said she really enjoyed the presentation because hip-hop is a big part of her life and culture.
“As someone from the South, as a Black woman in the South it was interesting to hear about artists who come from different communities and how their work contributes to their communities, whether it may impact it positively or negatively, and how they work to incorporate that into their music,” she said.
