Deathlife: Hip Hop and Thanatological Narrations of Blackness

In Deathlife, Anthony B. Pinn explores how hip-hop uses Blackness as a framework to define and guide the relationship between life and death in the United States, challenging white supremacist definitions of Blackness and anti-Blackness.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 240 pages
Publication date: 12 January 2024
Publisher: Duke University Press

In his book "Deathlife: Hip Hop and the Politics of Blackness," Anthony B. Pinn delves into the intricate relationship between life and death in the United States, utilizing hip hop as a lens for analysis. Pinn posits that white supremacy and white privilege are founded upon the ability to differentiate between death and life. This distinction is created and upheld through the construction of Blackness as a symbol of death. Pinn draws upon Afropessimism and Black moralism to theorize "deathlife" as a technology of whiteness that projects whites' fears and anxieties about their own mortality onto the Black other. By examining the music of artists such as Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar, Tyler, the Creator, and others, Pinn showcases how hip hop establishes a seamless interconnection and dependence between death and life, rendering them indistinguishable. Through this exploration, Pinn demonstrates that hip hop offers an alternative perspective to "deathlife," challenging the white supremacist definitions of Blackness and anti-Blackness more broadly.

In his book "Deathlife: Hip Hop and the Politics of Blackness," Anthony B. Pinn delves into the intricate relationship between life and death in the United States, utilizing hip hop as a lens for analysis. Pinn posits that white supremacy and white privilege are founded upon the ability to differentiate between death and life. This distinction is created and upheld through the construction of Blackness as a symbol of death. Pinn draws upon Afropessimism and Black moralism to theorize "deathlife" as a technology of whiteness that projects whites' fears and anxieties about their own mortality onto the Black other. By examining the music of artists such as Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar, Tyler, the Creator, and others, Pinn showcases how hip hop establishes a seamless interconnection and dependence between death and life, rendering them indistinguishable. Through this exploration, Pinn demonstrates that hip hop offers an alternative perspective to "deathlife," challenging the white supremacist definitions of Blackness and anti-Blackness more broadly.

Weight: 364g
Dimension: 150 x 229 x 17 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781478025412