Black Fatherhood, Hip Hop, and Inner Life: Reading Rapsody’s “The Man” and Mama Sol and the N.U.T.S.’s “Manhood”

ABSTRACT

This article theorizes affect, aesthetics, and black inner life through an analysis of two hip hop music videos: Rapsody’s “The Man” and Mama Sol and The N.U.T.S.’s “Manhood.” The authors deploy Quashie’s notion of “the quiet interior” and Rose’s concept of “(inter)personal justice” to examine the aesthetics through which hip hop fatherhood is forged. Scrutinizing the dynamics of inner life, the article showcases the social construction of fatherhood in complex, urban formations. The authors conclude that these two hip hop videos exemplify the ways in which intimate spaces on public display can create sites of political rupture and cultural recovery.

KEYWORDS:

• (Inter)personal justice
• aesthetics
• affect
• Black fatherhood
• quiet interior
• tidalectics

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Wildselffullness operates in opposition to selflessness; that is, it requires deep introspection. It opens the floodgate of joy, pleasure, spontaneity, emotion, and spirt to reign the self.

2. On the PBS series Backstage Pass, Mama Sol and The N.U.T.S advocated for Flint residents in the aftermath of the Flint Water Crisis – see “Mama Sol and Tha N.U.T.S.”