Tricia Rose (born October 18, 1962) is an American sociologist and author who pioneered scholarship on

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

. Her studies mainly probe the

intersectionality Intersectionality is an analytical framework for understanding how groups' and individuals' social and political identities result in unique combinations of discrimination and privilege. Examples of these intersecting and overlapping factor ...

of pop music and gender. Now at

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

, she is a professor of

Africana Studies Black studies or Africana studies (with nationally specific terms, such as African American studies and Black Canadian studies), is an interdisciplinary academic field that primarily focuses on the study of the history, culture, and politics of ...

and the director of the

Systemic Racism Institutional racism, also known as systemic racism, is a form of institutional discrimination based on race or ethnic group and can include policies and practices that exist throughout a whole society or organization that result in and suppor ...

and Resilience Project at the John Nicholas Brown Center for Advanced Study. In 2025, Rose launche
Way Outta No Way
a dynamic web-based experience that blends a systems analysis of racism with compelling character-driven stories, supported by rigorous research. It demonstrates the power of Black life and culture to originate rich modes of human resistance and resilience. Rose also co-hosted a podcast, '' The Tight Rope'', with

Cornel West Cornel Ronald West (born June 2, 1953) is an American philosopher, theologian, political activist, politician, social critic, and public intellectual. West was an independent candidate in the 2024 United States presidential election and is an ou ...

Early life and education

Born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, Rose lived in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

until 1970 when, at age seven, her family moved from their

tenement A tenement is a type of building shared by multiple dwellings, typically with flats or apartments on each floor and with shared entrance stairway access. They are common on the British Isles, particularly in Scotland. In the medieval Old Town, E ...

building to Co-op City, a new and large complex of cooperative apartments in the northeast

Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

. Rose earned a Bachelor of Arts in sociology from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

. Earning a PhD degree in American studies, partly under George Lipsitz, from

, Rose became the first person in the United States to write a doctoral dissertation on hip hop.

Academia and authorship

For nine years, Rose taught

Africana studies Black studies or Africana studies (with nationally specific terms, such as African American studies and Black Canadian studies), is an interdisciplinary academic field that primarily focuses on the study of the history, culture, and politics of ...

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

. In 2002, she moved to the

University of California, Santa Cruz The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Cruz, California, United States. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of C ...

, and in July 2003 became chair of its

American Studies American studies or American civilization is an interdisciplinarity, interdisciplinary field of scholarship that examines American literature, History of the United States, history, Society of the United States, society, and Culture of the Unit ...

department. Now at

, Rose is the Chancellor's Professor of Africana Studies. From July 2013, to July 2024 she served as Director of the Center for Study of Race and Ethnicity in America and now directs the Systemic Racism Project based at CSREA. Rose's first book, ''Black Noise'', emerging from her doctoral dissertation on hip hop, sparked academic recognition of this subculture's legacy. ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...

'' placed it among the top 25 books of 1994, and the Before Columbus Foundation, in 1995, gave it an American Book Award.

Books

*author,
Black Noise: Rap Music and Black Culture in Contemporary America
' (

Wesleyan University Press Wesleyan University Press is a university press that is part of Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. The press is currently directed by Suzanna Tamminen, a published poet and essayist. History and overview Founded (in its present form ...

, 1994) *author,
Longing to Tell: Black Women Talk About Sexuality and Intimacy
' ( Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2003) *author,
The Hip Hop Wars: What We Talk About When We Talk About Hip Hop—and Why It Matters
' (

Basic Books Basic Books is a book publisher founded in 1950 and located in New York City, now an imprint of Hachette Book Group. It publishes books in the fields of psychology, philosophy, economics, science, politics, sociology, current affairs, and his ...

, 2008) *author,
Metaracism: How Systemic Racism Devastates Black Lives—and How We Break Free
'
Basic Books
2024) *contributor and, with Andrew Ross, editor,

' (

Routledge Routledge ( ) is a British multinational corporation, multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, academic journals, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanit ...

, 1994)

References

External links

Official website of Tricia Rose

Selected videos

How Structural Racism WorksHip Hop Futures - Talk at Cornell University about the current and future state of hip hop culture
*State of the Black Union 2009: Speaks about issues about the economy, hip-hop, and urban cultur
Part 1Part 2Speaks about hip hop imagery, women and exploitation in an interviewCreating Conversations on Justice
Tricia Rose at TEDxBrownUniversity {{DEFAULTSORT:Rose, Tricia 1962 births Brown University faculty American feminist writers Hip-hop people Living people African-American gender relations Black studies scholars Post–civil rights era in African-American history Yale University alumni American gender studies academics American Book Award winners People from Co-op City, Bronx People from Harlem Brown University alumni American women podcasters American podcasters