64 | What is Aesthetics? Part 2 How Does it Feel to be a Problem Hip Hop Nation?w/ Dr Michael Thomas

In this episode, we are joined by Michael Thomas to talk about Black aesthetics and hip hop in particular. We work through what it means for hip hop to be a 'problem space' that reconstructs the cultural contradictions and political messaging of a racist society in a way that is not essentializing and that aspires to address social problems without producing easy answers. Main themes include hip hop's form, vibe, and story-telling capacity across generations.
⬇️ 𝙂𝙚𝙩 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚:
𝙋𝙖𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙤𝙣: / leftofphilosophy
𝙏𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧: / leftofphil
𝙒𝙚𝙗𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙚: www.leftofphil...
📚𝙍𝙚𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙨:
Michael Thomas, "Singing Experience in Section.80", in Kendrick Lamar and the Making of Black Meaning, eds. Christopher M. Driscoll, Monica R. Miller, and Anthony B. Pinn (New York: Routledge, 2019)
Paul C. Taylor, "Black Reconstruction in Aesthetics", Debates in Aesthetics 15.2 (2020): 9-47
Lissa Skitolsky, Hip-Hop as Philosophical Text and Testimony: Can I Get a Witness? (Lanham: Lexington Books, 2020)
The five of us put together a playlist for this episode!
Big K.R.I.T. feat. Devin The Dude, Curren$y, and Killa Kyleon, “Moon & Stars”
Gary Clark Jr., “This Land”
GZA feat. Method Man, “Shadowboxin’”
Kanye West, “Blood on the Leaves”
Little Simz, “Venom”
Lupe Fiasco, “WAV Files”
Makaveli, “To Live And Die in L.A.”
Mobb Deep, “Shook Ones, Pt. II”
Nas, “N.Y. State of Mind”
Nicki Minaj, “All Things Go”
Nicki Minaj, “Here I Am”
Saba feat. Day Wave, “2012”
Vince Staples, “Like It Is”
Young Money, “Lookin Ass”
🎶𝙈𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙘: "Vintage Memories" by Schematist | schematist.bandcamp.com
🎧𝙁𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙙𝙘𝙖𝙨𝙩:
𝘼𝙥𝙥𝙡𝙚: apple.co/3SOfGZ2
𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙮: spoti.fi/3HJEiLQ
🎙𝘼𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙋𝙤𝙙𝙘𝙖𝙨𝙩:
What’s Left of Philosophy is a podcast where four leftist friends get together to talk about concepts, thinkers, and texts from the history of philosophy and political theory.
Sometimes we talk about how good and useful certain ideas are for left theory and practice. Sometimes we mercilessly dunk on bourgeois idealism dressed up as radical thought. Sometimes we’re joined by extremely cool guests. We love concepts and long for an emancipated existence!
Episodes come out every two weeks on all major platforms. Most episodes are freely available for everyone, but supporters on Patreon get access to exclusive episodes and bonus content.