Jubilation! Listening Room Series

The Beat Goes On: Hip Hop, The New Griot Tradition

Born in the Bronx during the 1970s, Hip Hop emerged as a powerful cultural movement that gave voice to communities confronting poverty, discrimination, and social change. Drawing upon centuries of African and African American traditions—including storytelling, spoken word, rhythmic speech, improvisation, dance, and communal creativity—Hip Hop transformed local expression into a global phenomenon. More than a musical genre, Hip Hop encompasses MCing, DJing, breakdancing, graffiti art, fashion, entrepreneurship, and activism. This Listening Room explores Hip Hop as the latest chapter in a long continuum of cultural resilience, innovation, and self-definition, demonstrating how today’s artists continue the work of the griots, spiritual singers, blues musicians, jazz innovators, and soul performers who came before them.

Facilitator: Jecorey Arthur, educator, musician, and organizer from the West End of Louisville, Kentucky, dedicated to creating people power and possibility. Jecorey is currently a faculty member in the Music Department at Simmons College of Kentucky. As a musician, Arthur is a multidisciplinary percussionist, vocalist, and composer who pioneered integrating hip-hop into the American orchestral canon. He brought classical music to atypical community venues and integrated hip-hop into symphony halls, performing with dozens of orchestras across North America.