Archive | Oltreoceano

11.03.2026

Is Grime Part of Hip Hop? Tracing the Cultural Lineages Between Grime, Hip-Hop, and Black British Music

Grime did not emerge in a vacuum. Born in the estates of London, it carries echoes of hip hop, sound system culture, jungle, and Black British social reality. But where does grime sit within the broader Black Atlantic musical tradition, and can it be considered part of hip hop’s extended family?

by editor@oltreoceano.eu

05.03.2026

Lines on the Map. Redlining and the Financial Architecture of America

Racial inequality in the United States is not accidental. It is designed. Redlining transformed racism into policy, embedding segregation into the financial and urban structure of American cities. Its consequences remain visible today.

by editor@oltreoceano.eu

03.03.2026

Is Being a Hustler Healthy? Survival, Black Excellence and Fear

The myth of the hustle has reshaped how success is measured, turning relentless productivity into a moral imperative. Within this framework, Black excellence risks becoming both a survival strategy and a standard set by systems that were never built to include Blackness.

by Murphy Tomadin, Gabriel Seroussi, Maguette Fall and Naomi Kelechi Di Meo

03.03.2026

Strings of Rebellion. The Untold Black Roots of Country Music

Country music tells a story of home, heritage, and belonging - but not everyone has been allowed inside. Beneath its whitewashed image lies a Black history that continues to surface, from the cotton fields to Beyoncé.

by editor@oltreoceano.eu

06.10.2025

Still a Thrill: Ballroom as Resistance

Ballroom was born in New York’s Black and Latinx LGBTQ+ community in the 1970s, at a time when survival often meant creating your own spaces of care, resilience, and resistance. Houses became chosen families, offering not only creativity and performance, but also protection, guidance, and solidarity.

14.07.2025

Cool Pose: Black Manhood and Vulnerability

Masculinity is a complex issue, shaped by an interplay of historical, cultural and social factors that have created limiting and distorted stereotypes. In popular culture, social expectations have helped to create images that still influence how Black men are perceived, both within their community and in wider society.We decided to publish this intimate and delicate issue to explore the roots of …

12.05.2025

Sonic Diaspora: On Techno's Roots and Evolution

Detroit wasn’t just a city: it was an idea of America. It was the place where technology married utopia, where every single engine produced seemed to move not just four wheels, but an entire social system. When deindustrialization hit and the social system faltered, Detroit did not stop being a symbol. It just changed the kind of symbol it represented: from capital of industry to epicentre of …

21.03.2025

Paris Noir: African American memories in the French capital

For more than a century, many African Americans have traveled to Paris, seeking refuge from the racism in the United States that sought to erase their identity. However, many encountered new forms of discrimination while also finding the opportunity to engage directly with the African diaspora in Europe. This has led to an extraordinary cultural relationship between the French capital and the …

04.02.2025

One Nation Under God. Islam, Identity and Resistance in the Black America

Islam in America has been a significant aspect of the nation's cultural landscape, though misconceptions and criticism have shaped public perception. Islamophobia, fueled by stereotypes and political rhetoric, created a climate of fear and distrust toward Muslim communities. Within the African American community, Islam has played a pivotal role, especially in the mid-20th century, as a form of …

17.10.2024

Elephant in the Room: race and identity in the Trump era

1. Winning Souls: how Trump tries to win the Black vote by Pietro Carignani In the days following the 2016 general election, as international commentators tried to explain Donald Trump's unexpected victory as U.S. president, analytics agencies began dissecting the composition of the vote. Predictably, African Americans were the racialized group that most opposed the New York billionaire's rise: …

02.09.2024

Baadasssss Cinema: The Blaxploitation evolution

1. Sweet baadasssss songs and pppprickly production politics by S. Himasha Weerappulige Bouncy wah wahs, groovy basslines, mellifluous strings.Perfect afros, bell-bottoms, butterfly collars.Bold statements. Ironic social commentaries. Heroic and often controversial antiheroes, all fighting ”the man”. This, but also, much more, was the Blaxploitation genre. A brief cinematic movement tied to the …

19.08.2024

Gang Signs (...of contemporary African American crime)

The collective imagery often links gangs to the Black community, much like the Mafia is associated with Italians. However, this perception does not align with the reality of gang history. The history of gangs is characterised by a complex interplay between criminality and self-organisation from below, reflecting the community's response to the challenges imposed by American society. The emergence …

19.08.2024

George Floyd, 3 years later (a conversation with Alessandro Portelli)

In 2020, the protests over the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer ignited a mobilisation across the United States and beyond. Three years later, we thought we'd revisit the many issues brought to light by that movement. To do so, we interviewed Alessandro Portelli, a former professor of Anglo-American history at La Sapienza University in Rome. Alessandro Portelli is an …

19.08.2024

Soul Food (...of the African-American culinary culture)

Soul food is not merely a collection of dishes, it is a vast and varied culinary tradition that originated on plantations in the Southern United States. Moreover, it constitutes a pivotal element in the formation of the Black community's identity in America. However, this was not always the case. Soul food (...of the African-American culinary culture) represents the history of a community through …

14.08.2024

50 years of Hip Hop (nineteen articles to chronicle a culture)

On August 11, 1973, hip hop was born in New York City, marking the inception of a cultural phenomenon that most spread the music and traditions of the African American community worldwide. To celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of this event, we have assembled a special issue featuring nineteen contributors including journalists, rappers, and devotees of the genre.

11.06.2024

Unfitting Gloves: around the O.J. Simpson Case

1. Warm-up: the greatest show ever Yuri Orlov, one of the world's leading arms traders, flies to Liberia, inflamed by a horrific civil war, to secure a monopoly on the supply of weapons to the government forces of the bloodthirsty dictator Andre Baptiste. He will spend the night in what is formally a two-star hotel, in reality a hovel in one of the world’s poorest slums, in stark contrast to both …

03.04.2024

Rhythms of Liberation: Black Female Emancipation from Gospel to Trap Music

In tracing the journey of Black women in the music industry, it becomes evident that their narrative is one of revolution, innovation, and emancipation. Through the trials and triumphs of their careers, Black women artists have not only paved a path for themselves but have also illuminated a way forward for women of color across the United States. In celebrating the legacy of Black women in …

28.02.2024

Surviving Rikers: a mass incarceration story

Five Mualimm-ak is a Rikers Island survivor. Rikers is the largest and most infamous New York jail. we interviewed him on the bank of the East River in The Bronx, just a few miles away from where he spent most of his adult life. Yet, Rikers is only a piece of a wider puzzle. The U.S. has been holding the record for the highest incarceration rate in the world for several years. The …