"Build: The Power of Hip Hop Diplomacy in a Divided World" by Mark Katz

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Since 2001, the U.S. Department of State has been sending Hip Hop artists abroad to perform and teach as cultural ambassadors. There are good reasons for this: Hip Hop is a globally known and beloved product of American culture. It is also a powerful means of creating community through artistic collaboration, fostering what Hip Hop artists call building.  In BUILD: The Power of Hip Hop Diplomacy in a Divided World, Mark Katz reveals the power of art to bridge cultural divides, facilitate understanding, and express and heal trauma. Yet power is never single-edged, and the story of Hip Hop diplomacy is deeply fraught. Drawing from nearly 150 interviews with artists, diplomats, and others in more than 30 countries, BUILD explores the inescapable tensions and ambiguities in the relationship between art and the state, revealing the ethical complexities that lurk behind what might seem like mere goodwill tours.  Katz writes a timely study of U.S. diplomacy, arguing that Hip Hop, at its best, can promote positive, productive international relations between people and nations. A U.S.-born art form that has become a voice of struggle and celebration worldwide, Hip Hop has the power to build global community when it is so desperately needed.

Azerbaijan to Zimbabwe

Countries visited in researching BUILD Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Colombia, Croatia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, El Salvador, England, Honduras, India, Indonesia,Madagascar, Montenegro, Morocco, Myanmar, Senegal, Serbia, Tanzania, Thailand, Tunisia, Uganda, USA, Uzbekistan + Zimbabwe

Selected Interviews DJ 2-Tone Jones ADUM7 Akim Funk Buddha Harry Allen DJ A-Minor Suzi Analogue DJ B*Money DJ Mista B Black Zang Toni Blackman Junious Brickhouse Charles Burchell Jaci Caprice CHINO BYI Deena Clemente Big Tara Def-i Diamond D D.S. Sense Pierce Freelon Elliot Gann Javier Garcia Dumi Right Baba Israel J-Live Mahogany Jones B-boy Kareem Mark Kaweesi Tsiry “Panda” Kely B-girl Key Kiche Legend Klevah Zephyr Ann Doles Konshens the MC Kuttin Kandi Madlines Maxi Krexy Medusa the Gangsta Goddess DJ Supaflava Plot Mhako Nick Neutronz Omar Offendum One Be Lo Popmaster Fabel B-Boy Frankie Pinqy Ring Will Power Stringz B-boy Samuka Soultana T.R.U.T.H Rocc Williams

About the Author:

Mark Katz is Professor of Music at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is the author of Capturing Sound: How Technology has Changed Music and Groove Music: The Art and Culture of the Hip-Hop DJ. He is co-editor of Music, Sound, and Technology in America: A Documentary History. In 2013 he developed the U.S. Department of State-funded cultural diplomacy program Next Level, serving as its director until 2018. In 2015 Katz was recognized by the Hip-Hop Education Center in its inaugural awards ceremony, and in 2016 he was awarded the Dent Medal by the Royal Musical Association for his contributions to music scholarship. Mark Katz is donating royalties from his book to Hip Hop community organizations around the World. Visit: https://music.unc.edu/people/musicfaculty/mark-katz Next Level nextlevel-usa.org   ‌  ‌