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: The article is devoted to the prerequisites of the hip-hop culture in terms of the late capitalism culture of the XXth century. The author of the article describes the formation of the main elements of the hip-hop culture against the backgrund of popular protest movements of yong people during the 1960 - 1980's in the after-war West. Western countries faced the disappointment of the wide strata of youth in political and economic valus. As a protest against the established regime, they created their own cultural movements. The methodology of this research is based on the historical comparative approach. Analysing social, economic, and political factors that have influenced the development of the hip-hop culture, the author of the article appeals to the historical roogs of hip-hop as a musical movement. Based on different examples, the author analyses particularities of the hip-hop aesthetics in dancing (break dancing), art (graffiti) and practice of using rhythmisized recitative (emceeing). At the present time the academic community does not offer a single approach to studying the hip-hop culture. The need to fill in this gap creates the rationale of the present research in particular and hip-hop researches in general. The author describes social, economic and political processes that have influenced the hip-hop culture. Focusing on the main milestones thereof, the author defines key changes that have accompanied the hip-hop culture from the moment it was created as a cultural movement and up to the present. 

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.