Tricia Rose, professor of Africana Studies and director of the Center for Race and Ethnicity at Brown University, and author of The Hip Hop Wars: What We Talk About When We Talk About Hip Hop-And Why It Matters, and Mohamed El Filali,  executive director of The Islamic Center of Passaic County in Paterson, NJ, discuss the complex reactions when we think and talk about the religion and ethnicity of the Boston bombing suspects.

Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained" has sparked conversation and controversy over its use of violence, portayal of slavery, and more. Tricia Rose, professor of Africana Studies at Brown University and author of The Hip Hop Wars: What We Talk About When We Talk About Hip Hop-And Why It Matters, discusses the film with Dana Stevens, Slate's film critic and co-host of Slate's Culture Gabfest, now airing on WNYC. Plus: how "Lincoln" and "Django" treat slavery differently.

Tricia Rose, professor of Africana Studies at Brown University and author of The Hip Hop Wars: What We Talk About When We Talk About Hip Hop-And Why It Matters and Jeff Yang, contributor to It's A Free Country and the WSJ's Speakeasy blog and the editor of Shattered: The Asian American Comics Anthology (The New Press, 2012), talk about the differences between 2008 and 2012.

30 Issues in 30 Days is our election year series on the important issues facing the country this election year. Today: Race as a factor in the election. Visit the 30 Issue home page for all the conversations.

Tricia Rose,  professor of Africana Studies at Brown University and author of The Hip Hop Wars: What We Talk About When We Talk About Hip Hop-And Why It Matters, discusses race in America 20 years after the L.A. violence stemming from the Rodney King verdict. Gary Phillips, writer, activist, South Central native, contributor to Dr. Pop, and author of several books, including Violent Spring, his mystery novel set in the aftermath of '92, joins the conversation.

As half of golden age rap group, Gang Starr, Guru was a minimalist rapper whose laid back vocal belied a motivated, socially conscious outlook that inspired a decade of hip-hop. Guru, whose real name was Keith Elam, died Monday at the age of 43, after a drawn-out battle with cancer.

People from all over the world are remembering Senator Ted Kennedy, who died early this morning. We're joined by former Senator Harris Wofford (D-Pa), who worked closely with Kennedy over many, many years in the Senate, as well as Tricia Rose, professor and Chair of Africana Studies at Brown University.

As the NAACP centennial celebration gets underway in midtown, Tricia Rose, professor of Africana Studies at Brown University, looks at its relevance to the "hip hop generation." She is the author of The Hip Hop Wars: What We Talk About When We Talk About Hip Hop-And Why It Matters.

Throughout his career, Michael Jackson had a complex relationship with race. Tricia Rose, professor of Africana Studies at Brown University and author of The Hip Hop Wars: What We Talk About When We Talk About Hip Hop-And Why It Matters, reflects on Jackson's legacy, both musical and social.

Tricia Rose, professor of Africana Studies at Brown University and author of The Hip Hop Wars: What We Talk About When We Talk About Hip Hop-And Why It Matters, discusses how Barack and Michelle Obama have changed the image of smart cool and Jeffrey Henig, professor of political ...

Tricia Rose, professor of Africana Studies at Brown University and author of The Hip Hop Wars: What We Talk About When We Talk About Hip Hop-And Why It Matters, argues that any discussion about hip hop is also a discussion about race.

Sun Ra was from Alabama - or from Saturn - depending on who you ask. He’s not the only musician to ride on the Mothership Connection. As professor Tricia Rose points out, the Afro-futurist urge to escape Earth continues to this day. Produced by Studio 360's ...

Tricia Rose, professor of Africana Studies at Brown University and author of The Hip Hop Wars: What We Talk About When We Talk About Hip Hop-And Why It Matters, argues that any discussion about hip hop is also a discussion about race.

Tricia Rose, professor of Africana Studies at Brown University and the author of the forthcoming The Hip Hop Wars: What We Talk About When We Talk About Hip Hop--and Why it Matters (Basic Civitas Books, December 1, 2008), looks at SNL's decision to use a non-black actor to play Barack ...

Listeners give their one-minute readings on any ethnic group other than their own in honor of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Interspersed with highlights from
Embracing the Radical Martin Luther King, Jr.: Prophetic or Passé?
Hear selections from yesterday's live event at Brooklyn Museum ...

Angry battles of words — or beefs — have kept rap fans intrigued from the early days of hip-hop to this year’s conflict between The Game and 50-Cent. Three writers and fans explain how the beefs got started: William Eric Perkins in Philadelphia, Tricia Rose in Santa ...