al•go•rhy•thm: How Black Gender-Marginalized DJs Urge Us to Reimagine Remix Theory & Culture

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Abstract/Contents

Abstract: When one hears the word “DJ”, typically the only role that comes to mind is that of playing music at a party. This thesis fundamentally challenges that reductive perception by describing the intensive, expansive, and critical cultural work that happens behind the scenes as well as live on the dance floor. Furthermore, the unique positionality of influential Black gender-marginalized DJs across the United States is revealed through an instrumental case study approach that utilizes narrative inquiry, autoethnography, and DJ Scholarship. At the intersection of Remix Theory, Hip-Hop Feminism, and Performance Theory, this paper finds that DJs operate eerily similar to a computer operating system psychologically - where intergenerational knowledge accumulation, the art of selection, performance pattern recognition, and adaptability to new sound technology contribute greatly to their developed skill set and progressive social influence. The complimenting creative project, Pink Party Festival, is a live event that demonstrates the DJ’s meticulous curation and community-building methodology at work with the explicit intention to honor the impact Black gender-marginalized music artists have made on Hip-Hop and DJ culture.

Type of resource	mixed material, text, sound recording
Date modified	December 5, 2022
Publication date	June 9, 2022

Author	Williams, Arielle Allegra

Subject	Remix Theory
Subject	Remix Culture
Subject	Sampling
Subject	African Americans in popular culture
Subject	Black Feminist Thought
Subject	Hip-hop feminism
Subject	Performance Theory
Subject	Hip-hop (Music)
Subject	Hip-hop culture
Subject	Sound > Recording and reproducing > Digital techniques
Subject	Black Gender-Marginalized
Subject	Audio essay
Subject	Music festivals
Genre	Mixed materials
Genre	Sound
Genre	Text
Genre	Sound recording
Genre	Thesis

DOI	https://doi.org/10.25740/vm252sf8971
Location	https://purl.stanford.edu/vm252sf8971

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License: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 4.0 International license (CC BY-NC).

Preferred citation: Williams, A. (2022). al•go•rhy•thm: How Black Gender-Marginalized DJs Urge Us to Reimagine Remix Theory & Culture. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at https://purl.stanford.edu/vm252sf8971

Undergraduate Honors Theses in African and African American Studies, Stanford University

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