A New Way of Being Italian Through the Lens of Hip Hop

Despite Italy’s rich history of cultural diversity, dominant social and political

discourses continue to perpetuate the country’s self-perception as a culturally,

racially, and religiously homogenous nation. In this context, Italian youth of migrant

background are caught in an in-between position where they are not immigrants

(being born and/or raised in Italy), but they are nonetheless excluded from complete

belonging. This is particularly apparent in the case of Italian youth of African descent

who are also subjected to both systemic and everyday racialisation.

In this talk, Margherita Angelucci presents findings from her doctoral research

suggesting that cultural practices like Hip Hop music offer alternative forms of

belonging and identification that allow Afroitalian youth to articulate complex

transcultural identities spanning beyond the dichotomy Italian / immigrant.

Through practical examples from songs, music videos and lyrics, we will see how

Afroitalian rappers are introducing new cultural and linguistic elements in Italian

music, standing as evidence of the increasing transculturality in contemporary Italy.

The event will be ONLINE at this link:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84102140645