Abstract: This article is dedicated to the philosophical-aesthetic foundations of African-American hip-hop music of the late XX century. Developed by the African philosopher Leopold Senghor, the author of the theory of negritude, concept of Negro-African aesthetics laid the foundations for the formation of philosophical-political comprehension and development of the principles of African-American culture in the second half of the XX century in works of the founders of “Black Arts” movement. This research examines the main theses of the aesthetic theory of L. Senghor; traces his impact upon cultural-political movement “Black Art”; reveals which position of his aesthetic theory and cultural-political movement “Black Arts” affected hip-hop music. The author refers to the concept of “vibe” for understanding the influence of Negro-African aesthetics upon the development of hip-hop music. The impact of aesthetic theory of Leopold Senghor upon the theoretical positions of cultural-political movement “Black Arts” is demonstrated. The author also compares the characteristics of the Negro-African aesthetics and the concepts used to describe hip-hop music, and determines correlation between them. The conclusion is made that the research assessment of hip-hop music and comparative analysis of African-American hip-hop with the examples of global hip-hop should pay attention to the philosophical-aesthetic foundations of African-American hip-hop and their relation to Negro-African aesthetics, which differs fundamentally from the European aesthetic tradition.

Abstract: This article is dedicated to the examination of the New Black Aesthetic trend and determination of its basic peculiarities. It originated in 1960’s in the United States as a response of the Afro-American population to the autocratic discourse of the white culture. Having emerged as a part of the “Nation of Islam” movement, the New Black Aesthetic rapidly transformed into the independent art movement, becoming comprehensible through the specific set of categories. The starting point of conceptualization of the aesthetical practice in terms of the considered trend lies in persuasion that the result of art must be the transformation of social life. It reconciles the New Black Aesthetic with the philosophical positions of pragmatism and neo-pragmatism. The article also separately examines the problematic of subversive relation to the New Black Aesthetic from within the Afro-American community, concentrated in the concept of “cultural mulatto”. The author refers to the framework of multimodal materials of the indicated aesthetical trend, using the visual-semiotic, content, and historical-comparativist analysis.  The author introduced into the discourse of Russian aesthetic research the description of one of the most significant aesthetic projects of the XX century – New Black Aesthetic (NBA), as well as characterizes the political and historical context of its establishment, key peculiarities, and impact upon the contemporary cultural movements.

Abstract: The subject of this research is the Russian religious hip-hop, while the object is its aesthetic peculiarities. Analyzing the materials from the interviews with hip-hop artists, song lyrics, and visual imagery of video recordings, the author determines the aesthetic borrowings and specificities of such music genre. The article refers to the key terms of postmodernist aesthetics, focusing on the cultural borrowings, metaphors, and cliché in the narrative and visual content of the analyzed hip-hop material. As the theoretical framework is used the neo-pragmatist approach of Richard Shusterman. Main conclusion consists in the following: borrowing the established images of hip-hop culture and religious narratives, the Russian religious hip-hop adds its original aesthetic peculiarities, but only in the sound effects, as for example, noise of bells. Although, there is a world entrenched tradition of hip-hop studies. This article is the first to introduce examination of the Russian religious hip-hop and its aesthetic features. In addition, special interest presents the selected by the author methodology for analyzing the visual imagery.