Josh Barbre’s Hip Hop Odyssey By Charlie Snyder, Arizona Arts

Josh Barbre, a PhD student in musicology at the University of Arizona School of Music, completed a nine-month research residency in France last summer as a Fulbright Fellow. 

“It is truly an honor for one of our School of Music doctoral students to be selected for the Fulbright Scholar Program,” said School of Music Director Lori J. Wiest. “Josh is the first student to earn this distinction in 14 years. This speaks to the outstanding and creative work of Josh Barbre’s scholarship and intriguing research area, one that is a leading current area of interest in the field of music. 

“We are so proud of Josh and are appreciative of his vision and the support of his faculty mentors and community members who have been engaged with him throughout his continued research.”

• U of A Fulbright Week, March 31-April 4
• Joshua’s Journey to France
• Fulbright U.S. Student Program

Challenging Traditional Narratives

A former Medici Scholar and JustArts Fellow, Barbre spent nine months as a Fulbright Fellow at the prestigious École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris, where he explored the intersection of Hip Hop breaking, music and Olympic culture ahead of the sport’s debut at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

While abroad, he gained rare access to the Olympic Archives in Lausanne, Switzerland. His journey also brought him to the U.S. Embassy in Paris, where he met Ambassador Denise Bauer and attended workshops exploring cultural diplomacy through sports and music.

Barbre’s academic and personal passion for Hip Hop and its place within the Olympics stems from his deep belief in challenging traditional narratives about music, sport, and representation.

With the University of Arizona’s Fulbright Week approaching later this month (March 31 – April 4) and the next window for Fulbright applications opening in April, let’s look at Josh Barbre’s journey from Medici Scholar to JustArts Fellow to a Fulbright Fellow.  

The Josh Odyssey

• Earned his master’s degree in ethnomusicology at the School of Music in 2018. 
• Named 2021 Educator of the Year as a St. Louis public school teacher.
• Spent six weeks in Paris as part of his Medici Scholarship.
• Organized Hip Hop events with local artists, as part of the JustArts Fellows cohort.
• Spent nine months in Paris, studying with Fulbright France from 2023-2024.
• Earned an Inclusive Excellence Award from Arizona Arts for his positive impact.

The Medici Scholarship in Paris was foundational, allowing him to spend six weeks in Paris conducting pre-dissertation research, comparing underground breaking to Olympic breaking. Paris has one of the largest breaking communities in the world, and you can even study Hip Hop formally—like ballet or tap—at professional schools. That initial research directly informed his Fulbright proposal to examine how Olympic and Hip Hop cultures intersect.

“I wanted to see how both cultures, Olympic culture and Hip Hop culture might rub off on each other,” he said. I used a lot of that information to apply to the Fulbright.”

Music in the Olympic Games

But everything changed in October 2023, when the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Committee announced breaking wouldn’t continue after Paris 2024. That decision shifted Barbre’s focus to the broader implications of music in the Olympics. He is currently investigating the gendered use of music within Olympic sports.

There’s a history of music being feminized in Olympic sports. For example, in figure skating, synchronized swimming, and rhythmic gymnastics, music plays a critical role, but these are traditionally women-dominated sports. Breaking disrupts that narrative. It’s a combat sport performed to music and judged head-to-head, where men put their bodies on display in ways that challenge Olympic norms.

“What interests me is …  there has been over 100 years of an association with sport that has gendered music feminine.”

Breaking also stands out as the only Olympic sport where athletes compete to music chosen by DJs on the spot, creating a dynamic and improvisational element unlike anything else.

But there’s also a financial aspect: in most Olympic sports with music, athletes must pay for music licensing. Breaking is unique because the DJ selects the music, so the Olympic Committee absorbs those costs. This creates tension because it breaks the status quo—both culturally and financially.

Barbre is ok with a little tension. He describes himself as stubborn, so it’s no surprise that he doesn’t hesitate to pivot and change the focus of his dissertation.

History of the Turntable

When he first arrived on campus at the University of Arizona to study for his master’s, he was really into electronic music. 

“My first initial approach was to look at this group of Japanese music culture called PicoPico, in which they all make music based off the sound cards from Super Nintendo. I was super interested in that. I thought it was absolutely fascinating to see how they would do that.”

But when his request to study Hip Hop turntables as his required non-Western instrument was denied, he moved away from electronic Japanese PicoPico music.

“I immediately flipped my whole thesis to the history of the turntable within Tucson.” 

He got into DJ’ing and the entire scene. 

“That was my introduction. I started really enjoying everything it had to offer … so that’s where the love came from. And it came from Hip Hop. The acceptance that I got from the Hip Hop community. It became a home. I was listening to it and seeing all the things about it that should be studied, then I began trying to find ways to get it studied. . 

At this time, he earned his place in the inaugural cohort of the JustArts Fellows. Adopting the Hip Hop mindset, “Each One, Teach One,” he focused community learning for his fellowship project. He hosted workshops on graffiti, turntablism, and mural-making, and over 200 students from 60 majors participated.

Hip Hop Production

In August 2023, the global music world marked the 50th anniversary of Hip Hop. And even though the University of Arizona was the first university in the country to offer a minor in Hip Hop studies, it doesn’t yet offer any Hip Hop music classes. But that might be changing soon.

Thanks in large part to Josh’s advocacy, the School of Music is pursuing a new course: Hip Hop Production. Director Wiest explains that Josh’s work inspired the school to pursue submitting a course proposal. 

“Josh’s expertise and focus in this area was core to the course proposal and development as we submitted it for approval,” she said. “It has been approved as a Gen Ed offering. Pending funding to hire a faculty member or instructor, we plan to offer the course during the 2025-26 academic year.”

Hidden Track: Josh Barbre’s Top 20 Hip Hop Albums

1. Madvillainy (2004) … MF DOOM
2. Paid in Full (1987) … Eric B and Rakim 
3. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998) … Lauryn Hill
4. The Low End Theory (1991) … A Tribe Called Quest 
5. Enter the Wu-Tang (1993) … Wu Tang Clan 
6. Damn (2017) … Kendrick Lamar 
7. It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988) … Public Enemy 
8. Stankonia (2000) … Outkast 
9. Ready to Die (1994) … The Notorious B.I.G. 
10. Illmatic (1994) … Nas 
11. The Marshall Mathers LP (2000) … Eminem
12. All Eyez on Me (1996) … Tupac 
13. Paul’s Boutique (1989) … Beastie Boys
14. The Chronic (1992) … Dr. Dre 
15. Run-DMC (1984) … Run-DMC 
16. Straight Outta Compton (1988) … N.W.A.  
17. The College Dropout (2004) … Kanye West 
18. Capital Punishment (1998) … Big Pun
19. Run The Jewels 2 (2014) … Run the Jewels
20. Country Grammar (2000) … Nelly

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