Feenin: R&B Music and the Materiality of BlackFem Voices and Technology

Alexander Ghedi Weheliye's book Feenin explores how R&B music has remained central to Black life since the late 1970s, countering narratives of its decline and death. It discusses the postdisco evolution of house music in Chicago and techno in Detroit, Prince and David Bowie's appropriations of Blackness and Euro-whiteness, the BlackFem voice as a repository of Black knowledge, and the ways vocal distortion technologies demonstrate Black music's relevance to discussions of humanism and posthumanism.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 304 pages
Publication date: 03 November 2023
Publisher: Duke University Press

In his book "Feenin", Alexander Ghedi Weheliye delves into the enduring significance of R&B music in Black life since the late 1970s. He challenges prevalent narratives of the genre's decline and demise by examining various musical production and reproduction technologies, such as auto-tune and the materiality of the Black Fem singing voice. Weheliye demonstrates how R&B continues to serve as a vibrant platform for expressing Black thought and experiences, as well as a primary archive of the contemporary moment. He explores topics such as the postdisco evolution of house music in Chicago and techno in Detroit, the appropriation of Blackness and Euro-whiteness in the 1980s through figures like Prince and David Bowie, the role of the Black Fem voice as a repository of Black knowledge, the strategies employed by contemporary R&B musicians to raise awareness about Black Lives Matter, and the ways vocal distortion technologies like the vocoder underscore the relevance of Black music to discussions of humanism and posthumanism. Ultimately, "Feenin" represents Weheliye's expansive and thought-provoking exploration of R&B as a lens through which to examine issues of Blackness, technology, history, humanity, community, diaspora, and nationhood.

In his book "Feenin", Alexander Ghedi Weheliye delves into the enduring significance of R&B music in Black life since the late 1970s. He challenges prevalent narratives of the genre's decline and demise by examining various musical production and reproduction technologies, such as auto-tune and the materiality of the Black Fem singing voice. Weheliye demonstrates how R&B continues to serve as a vibrant platform for expressing Black thought and experiences, as well as a primary archive of the contemporary moment. He explores topics such as the postdisco evolution of house music in Chicago and techno in Detroit, the appropriation of Blackness and Euro-whiteness in the 1980s through figures like Prince and David Bowie, the role of the Black Fem voice as a repository of Black knowledge, the strategies employed by contemporary R&B musicians to raise awareness about Black Lives Matter, and the ways vocal distortion technologies like the vocoder underscore the relevance of Black music to discussions of humanism and posthumanism. Ultimately, "Feenin" represents Weheliye's expansive and thought-provoking exploration of R&B as a lens through which to examine issues of Blackness, technology, history, humanity, community, diaspora, and nationhood.

Weight: 450g
Dimension: 150 x 229 x 22 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781478025214