Black Fatherhood, Hip Hop, and Inner Life: Reading Rapsody’s “The Man” and Mama Sol and the N.U.T.S.’s “Manhood”

ABSTRACT This article theorizes affect, aesthetics, and black inner life through an analysis of two hip hop music videos: Rapsody’s “The Man” and Mama Sol and The N.U.T.S.’s “Manhood.” The authors deploy Quashie’s notion of “the quiet interior” and Rose’s concept of “(inter)personal justice” to examine the aesthetics through which hip hop fatherhood is forged. Scrutinizing the dynamics of inner life, the article showcases the social construction of fatherhood in complex, urban formations. The authors conclude that these two hip hop videos exemplify the ways in which intimate spaces on public display can create sites of political rupture and cultural recovery.