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Raising the Bottom

Bounce Music and Black Queer Performance in Post-Katrina New Orleans
Brief Description
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent mass displacement of black neighbourhoods in New Orleans, black queer performers redefined notions of belonging throughout the city. These unlikely figures, such as artists Big Freedia and Vockah Redu, played a significant role in calling the displaced... Read More
Format: Hardback
$30500

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Drawing on two years of fieldwork in post-Katrina New Orleans, Raising the Bottom is a performance ethnography of the bounce musical genre, tracing what Alix Chapman calls an epistemology of the bottom to understand how black queer performers amplify community power, pleasure, and solidarity.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent mass displacement of black neighbourhoods in New Orleans, black queer performers redefined notions of belonging throughout the city. These unlikely figures, such as artists Big Freedia and Vockah Redu, played a significant role in calling the displaced back home and serving as beacons of hope.

In Raising the Bottom, Alix Chapman engages in performance ethnography, taking to the stage while writing about the lives of these bounce artists and their extended community. He theorises an epistemology of the bottomβ€”a way of knowing, praxis, and aestheticβ€”which contests hierarchies of value that place black and queer bodies at the lowest rungs of the social ladder.

By engaging in this bottom episteme, bounce performers leverage pleasure and coalition to transform collectives not meant to survive crisis and disaster. Raising the Bottom shows how black queer artists address, remix, and redirect stereotypes to amplify community power, pleasure, and solidarity.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781478033707

Publisher: Duke University Press

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 07 April 2026

Country: United States

Imprint: Duke University Press

Illustration: 10 illustrations

Audience: General / adult, Tertiary education

DIMENSIONS

Width: 152.0mm

Height: 229.0mm

Weight: 435g

Pages: 196

About the Author

Alix Chapman is Assistant Professor of African American Studies at Emory University.

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