Sounding Race in Rap Songs by Loren Kajikawa - Recensione di Camilla Fascina

On the 30th of June 2015, Michael Render, a.k.a. “Killer Mike,” was invited to talk at “The Tavis Smiley Show,” discussing a number of topics ranging from Nina Simone’s legacy and race relations in America to the public’s acceptance of rap. Killer Mike, apart from being a prolific rapper, is also an influential activist and his music is meant not only for entertainment, but also as a tool of protest. During the interview at “The Tavis Smiley Show,” after sharing his thoughts on the cost of forgiveness as a follow-up consideration after the Charleston Shooting, Killer Mike stated “You can't argue that hip-hop rots away the moral character of kids or rots their brain and still see middle class white kids going to college who are listening to hip-hop.” It is, to some extent, this same spirit that drives Loren Kajikawa to write Sounding Race in Rap Songs, an insightful contribution to the discussion about rap as a corrosive influence and a cause of violence.