Cheryl Lynette Keyes

Cheryl L. Keyes is the author of Rap Music and Street Consciousness (University of Illinois Press), which received a CHOICE award for outstanding academic book titles. She has written numerous journal articles, essays, and reviews on hip-hop/rap and African American popular music. Amongst her most recent essay is “Long Live Hip-Hop: Hamilton and the Death (and Rebirth) of Hip-Hop” in the edited volume Dueling Grounds: Revolution and Revelation in the Musical Hamilton. Professor Keyes served on the Executive Committee for the Smithsonian Folkways Recordings and the National Museum of African American History and Culture’s project, Smithsonian Anthology of Hip-Hop and Rap, and “stewarded the selection of nine CDs consisting of 129 tracks and a 300-page book” along with additional writing for the Anthology. On other fronts, Dr. Keyes has been featured in public facing platforms as a critic and cultural consultant for the television mini-series documentary, Death Row Chronicles (BET) and f...