Creative moves: Embedding hip-hop cultural practice in Bolivia

Abstract

In this article, I examine Bolivian hip-hoppers’ responses to the precarity of their practice, illustrating how they position themselves in relation to institutions to entrench their labor and art. As I show, their tactical efforts to legitimize their work entail rendering their citizenship contributions legible. For example, the hip-hop organization KAI pursued access to a state-aligned television station to present hip-hop as a resource for Indigenous youth belonging. I also examine breakdancers’ efforts to protect their dance in city law by framing it as an attractive outlet for “at-risk” youth. Throughout this article, I center artists’ active quest for stability amidst uncertainty. I argue that they creatively draw on the mandates and stated values of institutions to advance outwardly mutual interests, albeit to varying effect.