PSU Center for Japanese Studies Presents a Free Lecture by
Professor Noriko Manabe, Temple University
Although Japanese female rappers have been performing since the 1990s, they have been far less visible than their counterparts in hip-hop dance or fashion; the largely male rap community has often marginalized them as inauthentic or undedicated. Since the late 2010s, however, a cadre of skilled women rappers has achieved commercial success, telling stories of personal struggle and determination that encourage other women. This talk examines the ways in which Japanese women rappers challenge widely held beliefs regarding gender and sexuality.
Professor Manabe will summarize the history of Japanese female rappers and consider the industry structures and attitudes that have impeded their legitimacy and success. Examining lyrics, music, videos, and interviews by recent rap stars, she will discuss the critical discourse surrounding them.
Noriko Manabe is associate professor of music studies at Temple University. She researches music in social movements, popular music in Japan and the Americas, and the interaction of music and language. Her first monograph, The Revolution Will Not Be Televised: Protest Music after Fukushima (Oxford), won awards from the Association for Asian Studies, British Forum for Ethnomusicology, and Society for Ethnomusicology. Her second monograph, in progress, addresses intertextuality in protest music. She has published articles and chapters on Kuwata Keisuke, Kendrick Lamar, chants of recent US protests, the Japanese antinuclear movement, music addressing the atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Japanese music industry, Japanese rappers, and Japanese hip-hop DJs. She is the editor of 33-1/3 Japan, a book series on Japanese popular music from Bloomsbury Publishing.