March 23, 2021 from 3 p.m.-5 p.m.

Hip Hop is a musical genre and culture that emerged in the mid-1970s in New York City and rapidly expanded into a global phenomenon, developing both as an increasingly interdisciplinary artform, and as a cultural practice and discourse that intersects with sociology, political science, English, urban affairs, anthropology, history, marketing, Africana studies, visual arts, dance, technology, and much more. The extraordinary range of interdisciplinarity in Hip Hop has attracted attention in academia since the late 1980s, and this engagement continues to grow. 

Through conversation with A.D. Carson, Virginia Tech faculty members, and Virginia Tech students, we will explore possible futures for Hip Hop in the academy, based on Carson's experiences as a professor of Hip Hop in the music department at the University of Virginia, and on the experiences of the VTDITC Hip Hop Studies community.


This event is presented with the support of VTDITC and the Bruce C. Carver Multicultural Arts Award.

In image of a vinyl record with the words Digging in the Crates Hip Hop Studies at Virginia Tech University Libraries underneath

Founded in 2016, Digging in the Crates: Hip Hop Studies at Virginia Tech, or #VTDITC, exists to foster community-based learning among hip hop artists, fans, practitioners, and scholars digitally and globally. We aim to model that students, faculty, and staff’s personal interests are worthy of academic study and publication as well as further institutionalize Hip Hop Studies’ presence on Virginia Tech’s campus.