On Wanting to be a rapper (Issues in Race/Society, 2014)
Why do so many of my friends want to be rappers, and why ain't that cool? In general, that was the question that guided my honors thesis research as a part of the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College at the University of Mississippi. I wrote and defended the thesis—aptly titled, "Crank Dat Soulja Boy: Understanding Black Male Hip-Hop Aspirations in Rural Mississippi"—in 2011.
In 2014, after returning to the field for interviews and observations, I published that study in Issues in Race and Society: An International Global Journal. Here's a link to the full article.
