Sonic Sovereignty : Hip Hop, Indigeneity, and Shifting Popular Music Mainstreams

**What does sovereignty sound like?** __Sonic Sovereignty__ explores how contemporary Indigenous musicians champion self-determination through musical expression in Canada and the United States. The framework of “sonic sovereignty” connects self-definition, collective determination, and Indigenous land rematriation to the immediate and long-lasting effects of expressive culture. Przybylski covers online and offline media spaces, following musicians and producers as they, and their music, circulate across broadcast and online networks. Przybylski documents and reflects on shifts in both the music industry and political landscape in the last fifteen years: just as the ways in which people listen to, consume, and interact with popular music have radically changed, large public conversations have flourished around contemporary Indigenous culture, settler responsibility, Indigenous leadership, and decolonial futures. __Sonic Sovereignty__ encourages us to experiment with the temporal possibilities of listening by detailing moments when a sample, lyric, or musical reference moves a listener out of time. Przybylski maintains that hip hop and many North American Indigenous practices, all drawn from storytelling, welcome nonlinear listening. The musical readings presented in this book thus explore how musicians use tools to help listeners embrace rupture, and how out-of-time listening creates decolonial possibilities. What does sovereignty sound like? Sonic Sovereignty considers how contemporary Indigenous musicians champion self-determination through musical expression in Canada and the United States. The framework of "sonic sovereignty" connects self-definition, collective determination, and Indigenous land rematriation to the immediate and long-lasting effects of expressive culture. Liz Przybylski covers online and offline media spaces, following musicians and producers as they, and their music, circulate across broadcast and online networks. Przybylski documents and reflects on shifts in both the music industry and political landscape over the course of a decade: as the ways in which people listen to, consume, and interact with popular music have radically changed, extensive public conversations have flourished around contemporary Indigenous culture, settler responsibility, Indigenous leadership, and decolonial futures. Sonic Sovereignty encourages us to experiment with temporal possibilities of listening by detailing moments when a sample, lyric, or musical reference moves a listener out of normative time. Nonlinear storytelling practices from hip hop music and other North American Indigenous sonic practices inform these generative listenings. The musical readings presented in this book thus explore how musicians use tools to help listeners embrace rupture, and how out-of-time listening creates decolonial possibilities. Contents Introduction: Flow, Break, Backspin, Repeat 1. Hip Hop and Contemporary Urban Indigeneity 2. The Remaking of a Hip Hop Mainstream through Online and Broadcast Media 3. Radio Silence: Changing Mediascapes 4. This Music Is Not for You: Humor, Rage, and Hip Hop 5. Decolonial Listening? Acknowledgments Notes Index About the Author