Abstract

Policing hip hop:
Police and Other Agents of Control in Montreal Night Clubs
Anthony Mclachlan
Hip hop has been a part of urban spaces in the Global North and abroad for quite some time. It began in the predominantly Black South Bronx in 1973. Since then, it has spread across the United States and is arguably the most commercially successful genre of music currently existing. Through the four elements of hip hop – graffiti, breakdancing, DJing, and rapping – Black American youth conveyed their life experience to a broader public. Almost immediately after that was a response by law enforcement to contain this Black expressive artform. This research examines how hip hop is policed in Montreal nightclubs. Focusing on the actions of the police, club bouncers, and other club staff, it reveals the various methods and logics that shape the nightclub environment on hip hop nights, as well as the differences between the policing of Black and white hip hop nights. The findings suggest that anti- blackness in Montreal and Quebec forges imagined associations between Black hip hop artists and fans and street gangs, suturing a perceived relationship between Black hip hop and criminality that invites and justifies excessive policing and a confined public experience for Black Montrealers.