Open mic

Abstract

■ How do the meanings of a Hip Hop venue change over the aspiring rapper’s career? This article draws on four years of ongoing ethnographic fieldwork with inner-city men who rap at Project Blowed, a Hip Hop ‘open mic’ in South Central Los Angeles. While rappers initially view Project Blowed as a place to hone their performance skills and earn the respect of their peers, they hope to move beyond it and make money in the music industry. ‘OGs’, senior rappers, who continue to participate in this scene mentor younger rappers, but may also become examples of the dead-end careers that up-and-coming rappers hope to avoid. This article explores how participants’ perceptions of this venue are linked to their changing perceptions of others in the scene.