The Rural Roots of Southern Hip-Hop

Jerome Williams, a.k.a. Top Notch the Villain,
Mississippi Delta hip-hop artist
Ali Colleen Neff, UNC-CH graduate student
and Mississippi Delta folklore specialist
"Let the World Listen Right: Function and Folklore in the Rural Roots of Southern Hip-Hop"
November 21, 2005
2:00 pm -- please note unusual time
569 Hamilton
UNC Campus
Free and open to the public

While the blues, gospel music and vernacular oratory have been studied extensively in the Mississippi Delta, a new form of oral expression is on the rise in this culturally rich region. New rhythmic and lyrical styles draw from a deep well of African American folk tradition while simultaneously representing innovative oral technique. In his freestyle, Top Notch the Villain samples from myriad traditional oral forms including country preaching, the dozens, boasts and poetry. He also employs stylistic techniques used in the folk music forms popular in the Delta, from gospel to the blues. As a hip-hop artist, Top Notch has woven these forms with elements of popular music in order to create an important new style?one which holds a great deal of currency among African American youth in this region. The unique freestyle of this area as exemplified by Top Notch?s work serves many of the same functions that traditional folkloric forms have served in the past: to educate, sharpen verbal skills, provide a social space, perpetuate culture and entertain. The technical somplexity work also reflects the emphasis placed on mastery of language in the Mississippi Delta.

Audio and video clips of Delta freestyle performances in context will be presented and discussed by Ali Colleen Neff, and Top Notch will perform a few pieces, speak about his art and culture and field questions about his freestyle.