The Conversation, Author at HipHopCanada.com

In this November 2019 photo, patrons smoke marijuana at a state-licensed but federally illegal marijuana establishment in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

The World

What the United States can learn from Canada’s cannabis clarity

The inherent contradictions of American cannabis laws seem to appear in the news almost every week. At the state level, for example, Virginia recently...

The ConversationApril 30, 2021

Features

For Black cowboys – from inner-city Philly to small-town Texas – horses and riding are a way of life

Photographer Ron Tarver grew up in Fort Gibson, a small town in Oklahoma where horses, cattle and Wrangler jeans were embedded into the rhythms...

The ConversationApril 26, 2021

Nike ad in New York in 2018, showing former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick after his 2016 kneeling protest. Could a corporation sell an act like Kaepernick's 'kneel' as an NFT? (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Features

NFT performance art: Corporations could capitalize on protest

Russian artist Petr Davydtchenko made what what he claims was the first performance art NFT in February. According to an article in The Art...

The ConversationApril 25, 2021

Since so much our social lives are lived online, maybe it makes sense for our art collections to reside online, too. (Ihor Melnyk via Getty Images)

Features

Why would anyone buy crypto art – let alone spend millions on what’s essentially a link to a JPEG file?

As an academic researcher, developer of artistic technology and amateur artist, I was quite skeptical about crypto art when I first read about it...

The ConversationApril 24, 2021

People cheer after a guilty verdict was announced at the trial of former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin for the 2020 death of George Floyd. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Features

George Floyd’s legacy: Derek Chauvin guilty verdicts could spell the end of police immunity

The police killing of George Floyd begs for effective remedies that respond both to past harms while also preventing future harm. Former Minneapolis police...

The ConversationApril 23, 2021

The photo is a screenshot of a police bodycam at the scene of the George Floyd homicide in Minneapolis.

Features

The other George Floyd story: How media freedom led to conviction in his killer’s trial

When 17-year-old Darnella Frazier started recording video of Minneapolis policeman Derek Chauvin murdering George Floyd, she initiated a series of historic events that led...

The ConversationApril 22, 2021

Features

How Black poets and writers gave a voice to ‘Affrilachia’

Appalachia, in the popular imagination, stubbornly remains poor and white. Open a dictionary and you’ll see Appalachian described as a “native or inhabitant of...

The ConversationApril 19, 2021

MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name) by Lil Nas X

Features

Lil Nas X’s dance with the devil evokes tradition of resisting, mocking religious demonization

Musician Lil Nas X’s video for his new single “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” is a defiant expression of queer sexuality. Filled with...

The ConversationApril 13, 2021

Features

Hip-hop professor looks to open doors with world’s first peer-reviewed rap album

As a rap artist who is also a professor of hip-hop, I always make it a point to have my songs reviewed by other...

The ConversationMarch 28, 2021

A NFT is a digital file with verified identity and ownership. (Shutterstock)

Features

What are NFTs and why are people paying millions for them?

Last week, Christie’s sold a digital collage of images called “Everydays: The First 5000 Days” for US$69.3 million dollars. This week, Elon Musk said...

The ConversationMarch 26, 2021

Features

Why being stuck at home – and unable to hang out in cafes and bars – drains our creativity

While the pandemic has caused thousands of small businesses to temporarily close or shutter for good, the disappearance of the corner coffee shop means...

The ConversationFebruary 22, 2021