Dark Matter in Breaking Cyphers

The Life of Africanist Aesthetics in Global Hip Hop

Imani Kai Johnson author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Oxford University Press Inc

Published:13th Apr '23

Should be back in stock very soon

This paperback is available in another edition too:

Dark Matter in Breaking Cyphers cover

The dance circle (called the cypher) is a common signifier of breaking culture, known more for its spectacular moves than as a ritual practice with foundations in Africanist aesthetics. Yet those foundations—evident in expressive qualities like call and response, the aural kinesthetic, the imperative to be original, and more—are essential to cyphering's enduring presence on the global stage. What can cyphers activate beyond the spectacle? What lessons do cyphers offer about moving through and navigating the social world? And what possibilities for the future do they animate? With an interdisciplinary reach and a riff on physics, author Imani Kai Johnson centers the voices of practitioners in a study of breaking events in cities across the US, Canada, and parts of Europe. Dark Matter in Breaking Cyphers: the Life of Africanist Aesthetics in Global Hip Hop draws on over a decade of research and provides a detailed look into the vitality of Africanist aesthetics and the epistemological possibilities of the ritual circle.

In critically celebrating the immeasurable mass of hip-hop dance, Imani Kai Johnson significantly advances the thought and practice of Blackness as global field and global force. Dark Matter in Breaking Cyphers is a beautiful necessity. * Fred Moten, New York University *
Professor Imani K. Johnson provides a ringside seat and exceedingly informed analysis in Dark Matter. Her writing is a Hip Hop 'show and prove' performance of meaning and pervasiveness, grounded in contemporary reiterations of Africanist aesthetics within global Black lives. * Yvonne Daniel, Smith College *

  • Winner of Winner, DSA de la Torre Bueno Prize.

ISBN: 9780190856700

Dimensions: 157mm x 232mm x 18mm

Weight: 345g

256 pages