Daniel Banks Introduces Landmark Anthology, SAY WORD! VOICES FROM HIP HOP THEATER

Hip Hop Initiative presents SAY WORD! VOICES FROM HIP HOP THEATER, edited and with an introduction by Daniel Banks. Publication: June 30, 2011. ISBN: 978-0-472-05132-8. The Paperback version is $24 with promotion code: SAYWORD from http://www.press.umich.edu/

SAY WORD! VOICES FROM HIP HOP THEATER is the first ever critical anthology of Hip Hop Theatre Plays: a vibrant showcase of the global, multi-ethnic grassroots culture that is committed to social justice and self-expression through performance. 

"Hip Hop Theatre is the theatre of now." In this groundbreaking book, editor Daniel Banks collects nine pieces (eight in print and one multi-media piece online) by contemporary artists who confront today's issues, from racial profiling and police brutality, to women's empowerment and the commercial exploitation of Hip Hop, to identity politics.

All aspects of identity - culture, heritage, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, and difference - are addressed in the featured works by Abiola Abrams, Zakiyyah Alexander, Chadwick Boseman, Kristoffer Diaz, Rha Goddess, Antoy Grant, Rachel Havrelock and Yuri Lane, Joe Hernandez-Kolski, Rickerby Hinds, and Ben Snyder.

SAY WORD! VOICES FROM HIP HOP THEATER is a window to this explosive genre. Through this collection of dynamic, emotive, and often radical texts, readers wil see themselves - and perhaps more importantly, will more clearly see the people around them.

Daniel Banks, Ph.D., is Co-Director of DNAWORKS, an arts and service organization dedicated to fostering artistic expression and dialogue focusing on issues of identity, culture, class, and heritage. He created and developed the Hip Hop Theatre Initiative and presents workshops on Hip Hop Theater performances across the globe.