joycelyn wilson

Beyond Genre: Exploring Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter and Tina Turner's Influence

admin — Thu, 02 May 2024 13:20:41 +0000

Beyond Genre: Exploring Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter and Tina Turner's Influence admin Thu, 05/02/2024 - 09:20

Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter album has captivated global audiences with its bold fusion of country and pop influences, solidifying her status as a musical icon. This departure from her previous work has sparked intrigue into the album's diverse inspirations. Among those dissecting the cultural significance of Beyoncé's latest venture is Joycelyn Wilson, assistant professor of hip-hop studies and digital media at Georgia Tech.

At the core of Cowboy Carter is an exploration of genre boundaries, seamlessly blending elements of country music into Beyoncé's signature sound. From the twang of the steel guitar to the storytelling of classic country ballads, Beyoncé's foray into country-pop represents a reimagining of American musical traditions.

“She's very much Southern in her Texas roots, and she's playing with that heritage in a way that is opening up the way in which we even think about who can do country — but also reclaiming African American culture and community's role in creating and helping country music become what it is,” Wilson says.

The influence of Tina Turner also looms large over the Cowboy Carter landscape, underscoring the impact of the rock and roll pioneer and the ways in which she was able to push the boundaries of musical hybridity, Wilson added. Celebrated for her electrifying performances and genre-bending approach, Turner's legacy continues to inspire artists across generations. Beyoncé's incorporation of elements like powerful stage presence and innovative genre fusion reflects Turner's influence, demonstrating how her pioneering spirit resonates in contemporary music.

Through Wilson's exploration, there emerges a deeper understanding of the layers embedded within Beyoncé's latest work. From themes of empowerment to narratives of resilience, Wilson illuminates how Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter album has resonated with audiences worldwide.

Summary sentence

In her analysis, Joycelyn Wilson explores Beyoncé's 'Cowboy Carter' album, influenced by icons like Tina Turner, representing a bold departure into country-pop fusion, while delving into its cultural resonance and musical evolution.

Summary

Joycelyn Wilson, assistant professor of Hip-Hop Studies and Digital Media at Georgia Tech, provides thought-provoking insights into the parallels between Beyoncé's “Cowboy Carter” album and Tina Turner's enduring influence. Through an exploration of country aesthetics and Turner's legendary career, Wilson sheds light on the intersections of genre, identity, and artistic innovation. This deep dive reveals the rich cultural resonance and musical evolution shaped by these iconic artists.

Dateline

Thu, 05/02/2024 - 12:00

sar30@gatech.edu

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Georgia Tech Hip Hop Scholar Featured in Google Arts & Culture’s Atlanta Page

admin — Mon, 05 Jun 2023 20:57:12 +0000

Georgia Tech Hip Hop Scholar Featured in Google Arts & Culture’s Atlanta Page admin Mon, 06/05/2023 - 16:57

Georgia Tech’s Joycelyn Wilson is featured in Google’s new curated Atlanta arts and culture page, which debuts today (June 8). Wilson, an assistant professor of hip hop studies and digital media in the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts’ School of Literature, Media, and Communication, wrote the essay on Atlanta’s role in the rise of hip hop. The essay anchors the hip-hop section of the new website. Her HipHop2020 Innovation archive is also featured.

“This is an exciting opportunity to showcase the rich history of hip hop in the city of Atlanta and how culture works as an art and a technology,” said Wilson. “It’s also a wonderful way to highlight how my colleagues and I in Georgia Tech’s School of Literature, Media, and Communications are using culture as a lens to teach humanities-infused science, technology, engineering, art, and math.”

Learn more about the HipHop2020 Innovation Archive

Wilson’s scholarship focuses on social justice-oriented humanities instruction in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics), hip hop, African-American music and performance, and African-American education in the South. Her scholarship also focuses on the culture, race, and technology of her native Atlanta and pop culture topics.

She is known for her use of hip hop and pop culture in her computational media and humanities classes at Georgia Tech, a technique she was among the first to use while teaching in Los Angeles public schools.

In her essay for Google, Wilson traces the rise of hip hop in Atlanta and how the city and the genre have influenced one another.

“Atlanta, as a metaphor for opportunity, has come to represent Black excellence — a dynamic of realized racial and economic progress that other populations, minorities, and corporations have benefited from,” Wilson writes in the essay. “Pairing Atlanta’ with hip hop complicates this dynamic because hip hop culture is no longer a part of the popular mainstream. It is the mainstream.”

In addition to her section-anchoring essay, the site features two stories on the HipHop2020 Innovation Archive, a collection of thousands of albums, posters, flyers, autographs, and other memorabilia collected by Michael Webster — an early hip hop DJ in Atlanta — and curated by Wilson and her Four Four Beats Lab.

One story features details on the Michael Webster Collection, which forms the bulk of the HipHop2020 Innovation Archive. The other photo story tells the story of how Wilson’s Four Four Beat Labs acquired the archive.

Google’s new site features 30 Atlanta cultural institutions, 130 stories, and more than 4,800 artifacts and artworks.

Atlanta is the fourth U.S. city to be featured in Google Arts & Culture after the Kansas City metropolitan area, Milwaukee, and Charlotte, N.C.

“We are thrilled to showcase Atlanta’s rich culture and historic art scene for everyone to explore and enjoy online at Google Arts & Culture,” said Hetal Joshi Gordon, director, global client lead, and site lead for Google’s Atlanta Office. “From the city’s historic museums to global cuisine and innovative spirit, Atlanta is unique and joyful.”

The School of Literature, Media, and Communication is a unit of the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts.

Summary sentence

Joycelyn Wilson's essay on hip hop anchor's the genre's section of the site, which also includes two stories about her HipHop2020 Innovation Archive.

Summary

Joycelyn Wilson's essay on hip hop anchor's the genre's section of the site, which also includes two stories about her HipHop2020 Innovation Archive.

Dateline

Tue, 06/08/2021 - 12:00

Contact

Michael Pearson
michael.pearson@iac.gatech.edu

Associated importer

Keywords

hip hop

joycelyn wilson

An Age of Empowerment: Meet Joycelyn Wilson

admin — Mon, 05 Jun 2023 20:57:12 +0000

An Age of Empowerment: Meet Joycelyn Wilson admin Mon, 06/05/2023 - 16:57

Joycelyn Wilson didn’t just grow up around music, she grew up around the lyrics. She wanted to know what artists were singing and why.

“I remember sitting and writing the lyrics,” she said. “They spoke to me. Music has been a learning space for me for a long time. It’s just in me.”

Wilson’s research examines hip-hop and what it says about the world we live in. A pioneer of hip-hop education as a practice, she uses it to address issues of civic engagement, race, and politics and to inspire future leaders in science, technology, engineering, and math.

A graduate of Atlanta’s Mays High School, Wilson is assistant professor of black media studies and an educational anthropologist in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication. One of her most popular classes uses the music of Outkast, Kendrick Lamar, and other artists as texts to explore larger issues.

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Summary sentence

Wilson’s research examines hip-hop and what it says about the world we live in.

Summary

Dateline

Tue, 02/26/2019 - 12:00

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Kristen Bailey

Institute Communications

Associated importer

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Beyond Genre: Exploring Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter and Tina Turner's Influence

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Georgia Tech Hip Hop Scholar Featured in Google Arts & Culture’s Atlanta Page

Learn more about the HipHop2020 Innovation Archive

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An Age of Empowerment: Meet Joycelyn Wilson

Read the full story

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