J. Griffith Rollefson is Associate Professor in Popular Music Studies in the Department of Music at University College Cork, National University of Ireland. Originally from San Francisco, Rollefson has been researching the subject matter of the intersection of postcolonialism and hip hop for a long time. After spending time in Berlin, Paris, and London researching this material, we finally get the results of his hard work in Flip the Script: European Hip Hop and the Politics of Postcoloniality.

Flip the Script is an interesting book on many levels, but first and foremost, as an American, I find the book incredibly helpful in just shifting perspective and forcing readers to understand how hip hop is being used to deal with complex issues across the ocean. Towards the beginning of the book, Rollefson looks at groups in Paris and Berlin, and discusses how through hip hop, artists are using an artform developed in America and most commonly assumed as an African American style of music to deal with issues such as free speech, police brutality, immigration, and racial identity. Hip hop fans in America are surely familiar with all of this through their own experiences and listening to the music, but there are additional layers to consider when you visit cities in countries with different governments, histories, and immigration patterns, who then turn to hip hop as tool to deal with these issues. This could be as simple as just giving a voice to the Black German population, a smaller group that is not often acknowledged, or it could be the careful and dangerous distinction in France between artistic expression and felonious behavior. As the book progresses, Rollefson takes on a couple of specific and fascinating case studies. One is the case of M.I.A., who Rollefson examines as her first album rolls out. There are so many factors rising out of postcolonialism and the conversation between cultures that are key to propelling her to stardom, it’s important to take this step back and examine them thoroughly now, since we’ve got a Sri Lankan-born, London-based artist using hip hop and dancehall to discuss issues of terrorism, colonialism, and capitalism, all while maintaining an international pop sensibility. The other case study of note is Juice Aleem, another London-based artist, who Rollefson argues uses his music to create a metaphysical discussion between the colonial past and the future to come. It’s a style of music and lyricism that is deceptively simple, but loaded with hidden meanings and references waiting to be unpacked.

All of this discussion is incredibly interesting and gives lots of food for thought to readers, especially those of us who don’t always get to see the world with these perspectives. None of this would matter, though, if Rollefson wasn’t able to effectively communicate any of this. Fortunately, Rollefson is able to take this rigorous academic and theoretical work, using tools laid out by cultural theorists such as Edward Said and Amiri Baraka, and translate all of his analysis and observations in a way that the general reading audience can easily understand.

Flip the Script is a must-read for hip hop fans that are seeking to broaden their horizons and understand how hip hop is being made and consumed in Europe. Rollefson takes into consideration different scenes, different countries, and different artists, and puts them in discussion to create a narrative that brings to light all of the complex factors of how hip hop functions in postcolonial Europe. It’s a complex subject, but Rollefson has crafted a book that is very readable, and helps build a base knowledge that will leave you hungry to learn more.