The SMT Hip-Hop/Rap Interest Group is pleased to present a keynote talk by Ben Duinker, a postdoc researcher at McGill University and the ACTOR (Analysis, Creation, and Teaching of Orchestration) Project. In this talk, Duinker critically reflects on his own past work in rap and hip-hop analysis and outlines several current projects seeking to avoid perpetuating music theory’s Eurological framing of this musical genre. These offerings are situated around Philip Ewell’s diagnosis of such framing in hip-hop theory scholarship, as discussed in his 2023 monograph On Music Theory: And Making Music More Welcoming for Everyone.

The keynote is followed by a brief Q&A and group discussion prompted by several short readings that will be circulated earlier in the fall. Through this discussion we aim to explore how to create spaces where scholars and practitioners can thrive, interact, and benefit from inclusive and welcoming inquiry into rap and hip-hop music. We will close with a brief business meeting in which we finalize our proposal for an annual award (“mixtape”) honoring exemplary hip-hop/rap scholarship and/or creative work.