In the Media
Patrick Rivers, associate professor of music, discusses Hip-Hop music and its connection to Africa.
Patrick Rivers, Ph.D.
Music Department
College of Arts and Sciences
Dr. Rivers will be on sabbatical during the 2024-25 academic year.
Education
Ph.D., Graduate Center, CUNY, Ethnomusicology (2014), Interdisciplinary Certificate in Africana Studies - Dissertation: "The Mad Science of Hip-Hop: History, Technology, and Poetics of Hip-Hop杏吧原版檚 Music, 1975杏吧原版1991"
B.A., Hunter College/Macaulay Honors College, CUNY, Music (2006)
Research and Teaching Interests
Patrick Rivers is an ethnomusicologist and Associate Professor of music at the University of New Haven. He researches and teaches the processes of recorded music and the impact of recordings on aesthetics and consumption. Patrick has published articles and chapters on hip-hop and R&B music in American Music Review, the St. James Encyclopedia of Hip Hop Culture, the Oxford Handbook of Hip Hop Music Studies, 33 1/3: The B-Sides, and Cambridge University Press杏吧原版 Themes in American Literature and Culture. He is the co-author of the 33 1/3 series book Uptown Saturday Night and is progressing on his book project The Mad Science of Hip-Hop.
See MorePatrick teaches courses on Black American popular music, global music cultures, and Caribbean and Latin American music. He was a recipient of the William L. Bucknall Excellence in Teaching Award for his engaging, effective pedagogy, particularly his practiced-based courses Hip-Hop Technology and Production, Groove Haven杏吧原版攁n R&B revue performance ensemble杏吧原版攁nd Deconstructing American Music, a research course in which students produce a video documentary about an American music subject. Patrick has lectured and demonstrated DJing and beat-making at academic conferences (Society of Ethnomusicology, Society of American Music, and others), universities (Amherst College, St. John's University, and others), and The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
In the Greater New Haven area, Patrick guest teaches at schools, DJs in the community, and runs CURATE/CREATE, a free music program at the New Haven Free Public Library.
Academic Honors and Awards
Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation Career Enhancement Fellowship (2017)
Nominated: Barry S. Brook Dissertation Award (2015)
Mellon Mays Foundation Dissertation Completion Grant (2013杏吧原版2014)
Dissertation Fellowship, The Graduate Center, CUNY (2012杏吧原版2013)
Brady Education Foundation Grant (2012杏吧原版2014)
Doctoral Research Grant, The Graduate Center, CUNY (2008 and 2010)
Presidential MAGNET Fellowship (The Graduate Center, CUNY, 2006杏吧原版2011
Josef Turnau Memorial Prize (Hunter College, CUNY, 2006)
Macaulay Honors University Scholars Program (CUNY, 2002杏吧原版2006)
Publications
杏吧原版淔rom Circuits to Aesthetics: The Samplers and Beat Making Styles of Hip-Hop杏吧原版檚 Golden Era,杏吧原版 written with Will Fulton, in Themes in American Literature and Culture: Aesthetics and Hip-Hop, ed. Rob Turner. Cambridge University Press, 2025.
杏吧原版Guy (1988) by Guy,杏吧原版 in 33 1/3: The B-Sides, eds. D. Gilson & Will Stockton. New York: Bloomsbury Press. .
"Noise Reconsidered: Public Enemy杏吧原版檚 Bomb Squad as Hip-Hop Outlier," written with Will Fulton, in The Oxford Handbook of Hip Hop Studies, edited by Justin Burton and Jason Oakes. New York: Oxford University Press, 2018.
"Electro Hop," "DJing," ""King Tim III (Personality Jock),"" "New Jack Swing," and "Ultramagnetic M.C.杏吧原版檚" entries in the St. James Encyclopedia of Hip Hop Culture, 1st Edition, edited by Thomas Riggs. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, a Cengage Company, 2018.
Uptown Saturday Night, written with Will Fulton. 33 1/3 Series. New York: Bloomsbury Press, 2017.
"Prince杏吧原版檚 Last Decade," written with Will Fulton, American Music Review, (Fall 2016).
"From Starlight to Thriller: The Poetics of Michael Jackson杏吧原版檚 Defining Recording," American Music Review, vol. 40, no. 1, Spring 2011: 8杏吧原版9, 15.
"The Relativity of Mariah," a review of E=MC2, performed by Mariah Carey, in the CUNY Graduate Center Advocate, May 2008: 20.
"Still a Thriller, 25 Years Later," a review of Thriller 25, performed by Michael Jackson, in the CUNY Graduate Center Advocate, March 2008: 16.
"Must Be Hip to Feel the Hop: The Development of Hip Hop Rhythms," in Peace in Diversity, Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship 4th Annual New York Regional Conference, edited by Margarite Fern谩ndez Olmos and Leah Squires. Brooklyn, NY: Brooklyn College MMUF Program, 2007: 37杏吧原版43.
Academic Presentations
杏吧原版淭he Music and the Machines: The SP-1200, the MPC, and the Evolution of Hip Hop Beat Making,杏吧原版 Lecture-Demonstration co-presented with Will Fulton, American Musicological Society/Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum Lecture Series, Cleveland, Ohio, November 13, 2019.
杏吧原版淭he MPC at 30: The Magic and Myth of Hip Hop杏吧原版檚 Beat Machine, 杏吧原版 Lecture-Demonstration with Will Fulton, Show & Prove Hip Hop Studies Conference, University of California, Riverside, December 7杏吧原版9, 2018.
杏吧原版淭he Myth and the Magic of the MPC: 30 Years of Hip Hop Beat Making,杏吧原版 Lecture-Demonstration with Will Fulton, Society for American Music Conference, Kansas City, Missouri, February 28杏吧原版揗arch 4, 2018.
杏吧原版淭he Thing About the New Jack Swing: The Shift in R&B's Engagement With Hip-Hop Aesthetics,杏吧原版 Society for American Music Conference, Elizabeth Town College, Boston, Massachusetts, March 9杏吧原版13, 2016. Served as panel chair.
杏吧原版淏eat Education: Hip-Hop Technology Course at the University of New Haven,杏吧原版 Words, Beats, & Life Annual Teach-In: 杏吧原版淩emixing the Art of Social Change, Washington D.C., November 12杏吧原版14, 2015.
杏吧原版淭eaching Hip-Hop Beat Making: Hip-Hop Tech at the University of New Haven,杏吧原版 Paper-Demonstration with University of New Haven students Eric Robertson and Garrett Kuppelmeyer, Association for Popular Music Education, Sessions NYC, New York City, April 10, 2015.
杏吧原版淎 Sonic Historiography of Early Sample-Based Hip-Hop Recordings,杏吧原版 Society for Ethnomusicology Conference, University of Pittsburgh, November 13杏吧原版16, 2014. Served as panel chair.
杏吧原版溞影稍鏈Bring That Beat Back杏吧原版: The Development of Beat Making Techniques from Turntables to the Sampler,杏吧原版 Lecture-Demonstration with Will Fulton, Society for American Music 2014 Conference, Elizabeth Town College, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, March 6杏吧原版9, 2014.
杏吧原版淩ockin杏吧原版 Without a Band: Hip-Hop Music杏吧原版檚 Technological History,杏吧原版 The 8th Art of Record Production Conference, Universit茅 Laval, Qu茅bec,July 12杏吧原版14, 2013.
杏吧原版淗ow Do You Get to Summer Jam?: A Prospective Musicianship for the Craft of Beat Making,杏吧原版 Show & Prove Hip Hop Studies Conference, New York University, March 30杏吧原版揂pril 1, 2012.
杏吧原版淩umble in the Concrete Jungle: Beat Battles in NYC and Their Impact on Hip-Hop Production,杏吧原版 International Association for the Study of Popular Music 杏吧原版 U.S. Branch 2012 Conference, New York University, March 22卢杏吧原版25, 2012.
杏吧原版淧roject Stretch: Technology, CUNY and the Public School Connection,杏吧原版 10th Annual CUNY IT Conference, John Jay College, CUNY, December 1杏吧原版2, 2011.
Professional Affiliations
Member of the Society for Ethnomusicology
Member of the Society for American Music
Member of the Music Production Research
Courses Taught
- HNRS 4454 杏吧原版 Deconstructing American Music: Michael, Prince, and Madonna (Honors)
- MIND 4461 杏吧原版 Music Industry Internship
- MIND 4591 杏吧原版 Music Industry Entrepreneurship Capstone
- MUSC 1111 杏吧原版 Introduction to Music
- MUSC 1112 杏吧原版 Music and Global Cultures
- MUSC 1056 杏吧原版 Groove Haven R&B Ensemble
- MUSC 2211 杏吧原版 History of Rock
- MUSC 2212 杏吧原版 Hip-Hop: Culture, History, and Music
- MUSC 2213 杏吧原版 Jazz and American Culture
- MUSC 2214 杏吧原版 R&B: The Soul of American Music
- MUSC 2215 杏吧原版 Caribbean and Latin American Music
- MUSC 4416 杏吧原版 Advanced Performance/Research
- MUSC 4451 杏吧原版 Race, Ethnicity & Music: Black Music in the Americas (Honors)
- MUSC 4454 杏吧原版 Hip-Hop Technology and Production