Questions for Maya Jupiter

Hi! My name is Noah Krohngold, I'm a first-year student at the University of Washington. It's a pleasure to meet you and I'm excited to learn from your experiences during Monday's lecture.

1) How do you see hip-hop. despite the language barriers between nations and ethnic groups, uniting the voices of minorities around the world? While other genres of music have been historically portrayed as relating to only one ethnicity or culture, hip-hop has had worldwide influence with people from nearly every continent throwing their hat into the ring. Specifically, given the heavy lyrical content of most hip-hop music and the cultural tinges infused in hip-hop songs, how do the language barriers dissolve as a result of music?

2) With race relations becoming increasingly rocky, some may say that representing one's own culture is more important than incorporating elements of other cultures into their art. However, music has a unique position as a universal language which gives it the ability to blend cultures like few other art forms can. Would you agree with this sentiment? Do you think that cultural blending should be encouraged whenever possible, or should people be relying only on their own experiences when producing art?