FOREWORD
The fourth issue of BHHS, in addition to being dedicated to the main topic of hip hop, is addressed and expanded with an analysis of alternative rock. In fact, urban culture, mentioned in the subtitle of BHSS, allows us to include a wide spectrum of analyses of popular music, a part of recent music history, open to interdisciplinary studies.
Through the papers on hip hop, we have the opportunity to (re)discover the history of hip hop from its very beginnings until today. With an interdisciplinary approach, hip hop as a subculture is analyzed from a historical, social, and political point of view (Aleksandar Koviloski). The history of hip hop is enhanced with a parallel analysis of the roots of hip hop in the US and regional hip hop through the topics of graffiti, breakdance, and backpacking (Dragan Đorđević). An analysis of the film 8 Mile is also provided, and hip hop is already included in the analyses of new currents of IT related to AI (Stefan Markovski). At the local level, there is a paper on Arena Records, Macedonian independent hip hop publishing house (Dejan Metodijeski), and the first lectures on Macedonian hip hop culture at the academic level (Slavcho Koviloski).
This issue includes the results of multi-year scientific analyses of the alternative rock on the Balkan territory (Gergana Rajžekova and Julijana Papazova). Bulgarian alternative rock is presented through the relationship of clubs, audiences, and managers, and Yugoslavian alternative rock is presented through the topic of the meaning of the term "alternative" and the music scenes. At the very end, there is a review for the 2023 Sveti Nikole Hip Hop Fest (Aleksandar Petrovski).
The Editors