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-HopӰԭs Music, 1975Ӱԭ1991"
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 PressӰԭ 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 HavenӰԭan R&B revue performance ensembleӰԭand 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 (2013Ӱԭ2014)
Dissertation Fellowship, The Graduate Center, CUNY (2012Ӱԭ2013)
Brady Education Foundation Grant (2012Ӱԭ2014)
Doctoral Research Grant, The Graduate Center, CUNY (2008 and 2010)
Presidential MAGNET Fellowship (The Graduate Center, CUNY, 2006Ӱԭ2011
Josef Turnau Memorial Prize (Hunter College, CUNY, 2006)
Macaulay Honors University Scholars Program (CUNY, 2002Ӱԭ2006)
Publications
ӰԭFrom Circuits to Aesthetics: The Samplers and Beat Making Styles of Hip-HopӰԭs Golden Era,Ӱԭ written with Will Fulton, in Themes in American Literature and Culture: Aesthetics and Hip-Hop, ed. Rob Turner. Cambridge University Press, 2025.
ӰԭGuy (1988) by Guy,Ӱԭ in 33 1/3: The B-Sides, eds. D. Gilson & Will Stockton. New York: Bloomsbury Press. .
"Noise Reconsidered: Public EnemyӰԭs 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.Ӱԭs" 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.
"PrinceӰԭs Last Decade," written with Will Fulton, American Music Review, (Fall 2016).
"From Starlight to Thriller: The Poetics of Michael JacksonӰԭs Defining Recording," American Music Review, vol. 40, no. 1, Spring 2011: 8Ӱԭ9, 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 Fernández Olmos and Leah Squires. Brooklyn, NY: Brooklyn College MMUF Program, 2007: 37Ӱԭ43.
Academic Presentations
ӰԭThe Music and the Machines: The SP-1200, the MPC, and the Evolution of Hip Hop Beat Making,Ӱԭ 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.
ӰԭThe MPC at 30: The Magic and Myth of Hip HopӰԭs Beat Machine, Ӱԭ Lecture-Demonstration with Will Fulton, Show & Prove Hip Hop Studies Conference, University of California, Riverside, December 7Ӱԭ9, 2018.
ӰԭThe Myth and the Magic of the MPC: 30 Years of Hip Hop Beat Making,Ӱԭ Lecture-Demonstration with Will Fulton, Society for American Music Conference, Kansas City, Missouri, February 28ӰԭMarch 4, 2018.
ӰԭThe Thing About the New Jack Swing: The Shift in R&B's Engagement With Hip-Hop Aesthetics,Ӱԭ Society for American Music Conference, Elizabeth Town College, Boston, Massachusetts, March 9Ӱԭ13, 2016. Served as panel chair.
ӰԭBeat Education: Hip-Hop Technology Course at the University of New Haven,Ӱԭ Words, Beats, & Life Annual Teach-In: ӰԭRemixing the Art of Social Change, Washington D.C., November 12Ӱԭ14, 2015.
ӰԭTeaching Hip-Hop Beat Making: Hip-Hop Tech at the University of New Haven,Ӱԭ 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.
ӰԭA Sonic Historiography of Early Sample-Based Hip-Hop Recordings,Ӱԭ Society for Ethnomusicology Conference, University of Pittsburgh, November 13Ӱԭ16, 2014. Served as panel chair.
ӰԭӰԭBring That Beat BackӰԭ: The Development of Beat Making Techniques from Turntables to the Sampler,Ӱԭ Lecture-Demonstration with Will Fulton, Society for American Music 2014 Conference, Elizabeth Town College, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, March 6Ӱԭ9, 2014.
ӰԭRockinӰԭ Without a Band: Hip-Hop MusicӰԭs Technological History,Ӱԭ The 8th Art of Record Production Conference, Université Laval, Québec,July 12Ӱԭ14, 2013.
ӰԭHow Do You Get to Summer Jam?: A Prospective Musicianship for the Craft of Beat Making,Ӱԭ Show & Prove Hip Hop Studies Conference, New York University, March 30ӰԭApril 1, 2012.
ӰԭRumble in the Concrete Jungle: Beat Battles in NYC and Their Impact on Hip-Hop Production,Ӱԭ International Association for the Study of Popular Music Ӱԭ U.S. Branch 2012 Conference, New York University, March 22¬Ӱԭ25, 2012.
ӰԭProject Stretch: Technology, CUNY and the Public School Connection,Ӱԭ 10th Annual CUNY IT Conference, John Jay College, CUNY, December 1Ӱԭ2, 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 Ӱԭ Deconstructing American Music: Michael, Prince, and Madonna (Honors)
- MIND 4461 Ӱԭ Music Industry Internship
- MIND 4591 Ӱԭ Music Industry Entrepreneurship Capstone
- MUSC 1111 Ӱԭ Introduction to Music
- MUSC 1112 Ӱԭ Music and Global Cultures
- MUSC 1056 Ӱԭ Groove Haven R&B Ensemble
- MUSC 2211 Ӱԭ History of Rock
- MUSC 2212 Ӱԭ Hip-Hop: Culture, History, and Music
- MUSC 2213 Ӱԭ Jazz and American Culture
- MUSC 2214 Ӱԭ R&B: The Soul of American Music
- MUSC 2215 Ӱԭ Caribbean and Latin American Music
- MUSC 4416 Ӱԭ Advanced Performance/Research
- MUSC 4451 Ӱԭ Race, Ethnicity & Music: Black Music in the Americas (Honors)
- MUSC 4454 Ӱԭ Hip-Hop Technology and Production