New Orleans, Katrina, and Bounce: A Conversation with Big Freedia

Harvard Radcliffe Institute and the Harvard University Department of Music welcome the Queen of Bounce, Big Freedia, for a conversation about music, community, and strength in the face of climate change.

This program is the second in a pair of webinars to explore the impact and aftermath of Hurricane Katrina on the musical traditions of New Orleans. In the 20th anniversary year of the storm’s devastating landfall in southeast Louisiana, leading performers, artists, and scholars will share their perspectives on art, music, and justice in the context of climate change. How have the performers’ music, practice, and community changed over the last two decades? Can future climate crises be occasions for artistic growth, reimagined community, spurs to social action, and new forms of solidarity? What lessons can New Orleans and its ever-evolving music teach the world about resilience and renewal?

I joined this conversation with Big Freedia, moderated by Loren Kajikawa (The George Washington University), a scholar of rap and hip-hop, as well as race, gender, and politics. WATCH HERE.

Bounce Back: 5 Queer Bounce Artists to Twerk To

“Twerking” is now part of the national vocabulary, but is largely misunderstood, especially its distinctly queer iterations. In this University of California Press Blog contribution, I discuss the origins of New Orleans bounce and suggest a playlist. READ HERE.

Hip Hop at 50: New Perspectives, Alternative Genealogies

On September 14, 2023 I had the distinct privilege of participating in a roundtable discussion reflecting on the place, power, and politics of hip hop at the University of Minnesota. Fellow panelists included Dr. Imani Kai Johnson (author of Dark Matter in Breaking Cyphers: The Life of Africanist Aesthetics in Global Hip Hop), Dr. Jessica N. Pabón-Colón (author of Graffiti Grrlz: Performing Feminism in the Hip Hop Diaspora), and Dr. Shanté Paradigm Smalls (author of Hip Hop Heresies: Queer Aesthetics in New York City). Dr. Elliott H. Powell (author of Sounds from the Other Side: Afro-South Asian Collaborations in Black Popular Music) convened and moderated the panel, which was presented in partnership by the Institute for Advanced Study and the Department of American Studies, with co-sponsorship from the Departments of Theatre Arts & Dance, Cultural Studies & Comparative Literature, African American & African Studies, and the School of Music. WATCH HERE.

ABC News Live, “Hip-Hop at 50: LGBTQ+ rappers on bringing queer joy into the world of hip-hop.”

I was recently featured as an expert commenter on a segment of ABC News exploring how queer artists are finding success in the music industry. Features interviews with artists Saucy Santana, Snow Tha Product, Big Freedia, and Katey Red. WATCH HERE.

New Books in Music Podcast, “Queer Voices in Hip Hop: Cultures, Communities, and Contemporary Performance.”

Kristen Turner interviewed me for the New Books in Music podcast, part of the New Books Network. LISTEN HERE.

“Q&A with Queer Voices in Hip Hop Author Lauron J. Kehrer”

A guest author post about my book, Queer Voices in Hip Hop: Cultures, Communities, and Contemporary Performance at the University of Michigan Press Blog. READ HERE

“Lauron J. Kehrer Interview”

Todd L. Burns interviewed me for Music Journalism Insider. You can read the interview, in which I discuss my book, my background, and some of my mentors, for a short time before it goes behind paywall. READ HERE

“Beyoncé? Nicki Minaj? Lil Nas X?? A Conversation with Dr. Lauron Kehrer.” Relative Pitch podcast S02E07

I very much enjoyed being a featured guest on the Relative Pitch podcast with my former student Michael Brown and his co-hosts Anthony Morris and Lorin Green. This episode was released on October 13, 2021. LISTEN HERE.

“Lauron Kehrer and Elliott H. Powell on Queer Hip-Hop and More.” Popular Music Books in Process Series, October 20, 2020.

Dr. Elliott H. Powell joins me in a discussion of my then book in progress, Queer Voices in Hip-Hop: Cultures, Communities, and Contemporary Performance. In this book, I argue that openly queer and trans rappers are neither anomalies nor newly emerging phenomena but musicians within a long-standing black queer musical lineage. In our conversation, we discuss this work-in-progress, as well as the ways in which this project overlaps with other current and forthcoming work in hip-hop studies, including Powell’s book, Sounds from the Other Side: Afro-South Asian Collaborations in Black Popular Music (University of Minnesota Press 2020). We are particularly interested in how queer (and queering) frameworks can offer alternative understandings of race and popular music. WATCH HERE.

“How to Go Clubbing.” With Good Reason

I was a featured guest on this episode of the radio show, With Good Reason, produced by Virginia Humanities in Charlottesville, VA. In my segment, I discuss how hip hop by both straight and LGBTQ artists can help us better understand race, gender, and sexuality today. First aired February 8, 2019. LISTEN HERE.

“Beyond Beyoncé: Interview with Dr. Lauron Kehrer, Hip-Hop Scholar.” No Labels, Included

I was a featured guest on the radio show No Labels, Included on WAYO 104.3FM based in Rochester, NY. In this episode, I discuss my dissertation work, Beyoncé conversations in pop culture and academia, bounce music, and highlighting queer identity in hip hop. This episode was recorded live on June 29, 2017. LISTEN HERE.