Disco diasporas: Italian American clubs, DJs and dancers and their connection with the hip hop generation (1970–93)

The article provides a theoretical and methodological framework in beginning to map the meaningful role of Italian diaspora in North American hip hop culture between 1970s and 1990s. In particular, the article addresses the role of Italian American entrepreneurs, DJs and club dancers in building the early New York City hip hop and club scene, along with some of its most distinctive business and cultural traits. After a methodological introduction that discusses the state of the art and the diasporic notion of Italian heritage and ‘Italianness’ in the US context, the article draws upon a transcultural and ‘action-network’ vision of cultural exchange to underpin the fervid network of Italian-related agencies – products and people – which interacted with the hip hop community. Making use of scholarly literature, media sources of the period (magazines, photographs, songs and musical videos), and original interviews with key figures of the NYC club scene, the article reconnects the history of disco culture with that of hip hop, highlighting how Italian American DJs shared mixing techniques, musical tastes and venues with that of the hip hop generation. Secondly, the study provides an unprecedented in-depth history of two key NYC clubs owned by Italian Americans: the Disco Fever , credited as the first ‘hip hop club’ in the Bronx, and the Fun House in Chelsea, where an eminently Italian American dance called ‘kick dancing’ became a direct competitor of breaking. These places and the Italian heritage and business model they stood for provided a cross-racial and gender-inclusive space for the rise of hip hop music, dance and fashion, where different scenes – disco, hip hop, electro and new wave – influenced each other. In so doing, my article sheds new light on the multifaceted crosspollination between people and products of the Italian diaspora and the North American hip hop generation, informing and giving new hints for further research about ‘Italianness’ and ‘hip hopness’ through a genre- and gender-bender perspective.