World-leading research in emcee culture
We are a team of researchers, artists and cultural practitioners committed to improving outcomes for young people.
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We are inviting expressions of interest from primary and secondary school partners to participate in a creative learning pilot.
"Things Done Changed"
European Hip Hop Studies Conference 9.0
Groningen, The Netherlands
18-21 March 2026
The ninth annual European Hip Hop Studies Conference, based in Groningen, the Netherlands, encourages reflections and responses to Hip Hop in these times of crisis. We invite Hip Hop scholars to respond to the present moment of locally experienced but globally interconnected inequalities vis-a-vis Hip Hop as a potentially revolutionary form.
Tuesday 24th March
7:30pm - 10pm
Book Launch: Policing the Beats
POLICING THE BEATS: LAMBROS FATSIS – TALK, DISCUSSION AND VINYL SET
Lambros Fatsis (aka Boulevard Soundsystem) is a lover of Black music(s) who lectures on the history of police racism and the criminalisation of Afro-diasporic music culture at City St. George’s University of London
Lambros will be interviewed by Kim-Marie Spence, a lecturer in cultural industries and cultural policy at Queen’s University Belfast and an associate of the Black Music Research Unit (University of Westminster), with on the Non-West with emphasis including reggae/dancehall and K-pop. Her recent research projects focus on Black Music/ians in Northern Ireland and Streaming in Jamaica.
The Black Box
Hill Street
Belfast
Bigger than Hip Hop:
The Cambridge Companion to Global Rap Book Launch
Is rap the most important popular music genre in the world, right now?
Is the University of Cambridge the best place to do hip hop?
Rap has remapped the way we think about music. For more than fifty years its poetics, performance and political power has resonated across the globe. This Panel Discussion brings together the editors of The Cambridge Companion to Global Rap and a number of its contributors to discuss the global reach and influence of rap music today.
The book offers an array of perspectives, from the fields of philosophy, sociology, linguistics, musicology, psychology, literary studies and education, unpacking how this versatile form of oral communication has permeated nearly every aspect of daily life. Taking a decidedly global perspective, these accounts draw from practice in Australia, China, France, Germany, Jamaica, India and Tanzania; exploring how the form has taken hold in particular contexts, and what this can tell us about the medium itself and the environments in which it has been repurposed.
Chaired by Dr Stephen Wilford, this interactive session will see contributors share stories about their relationship to rap, and address the book’s core themes, before opening out into a Q&A Discussion with the audience. We also provocatively ask two questions: Is rap the most important popular music genre in the world right now? And if so, is Cambridge University the best place to be studying it?
Working with Chaos: Exploring Lived Experience Conference. London (2023)
Dr Lambros Fatsis to deliver the keynote address at the Sound Connections ‘Working with Chaos: Exploring Lived Experience' conference.
This half-day session will help delegates gain a deeper understanding of anti-oppressive practice in music and how to support young people from all walks of life. We will confront issues facing young people, through provocation from experts and with young people themselves.
International Hip Hop Studies Conference
The "It ain't where you're from, it's where you're at" hip hop studies conference brought together over 100 scholars from across the globe, at the University of Cambridge in 2016.
The event featured keynotes by Murray Forman and Tricia Rose and three days of presentations at Wolfson and St. John's Colleges.
The conference was widely reported on in the media, including BBC Radio 4, LBC, The Independent, Daily Mail and Dazed Magazine.