Martin E. Connor

A musician & writer with a B.A. and an M.F.A. in music from Duke University and Brandeis University (respectively,) Martin Connor's writing works to shine a light on the specifically-musical gifts of rappers and hip hop producers. His academic research centers specifically around rap’s vocal melodies, and has appeared at the Harvard Hip Hop Music Archive, The University of Cambridge’s "Popular Music Journal," and at the University of Colorado’s rap-focused humanities lab. He’s a contributing writer for HipHopDX, Complex, and Pigeons and Planes, and has had multiple articles from his website go viral on BET, The Source, XXL, and MTV. His recent book, The Artistry Of Rap Music (2017, McFarland Publishing House) is an in-depth music theory analysis of 130 songs by 60 rappers which charts rap’s evolution as a music from 1979 until today. It was a follow-up to his 2014 contribution to the McFarland anthology Eminem & Rap, Poetry, Race, which research informs the weekly rap lessons that he teaches online through the music school LessonFace. In June 2018, he released "The Yeezus Book" with SXSW-featured commentators Chris Lambert & Travis Bean. This newest title examined the 2013 Kanye West album "Yeezus" from a panoramic musical, cultural, and literary perspective.

He currently lives in Philadelphia, PA, where he is working on a new book, "Check Out My Melody," that will make his technical research more accessible to a much larger trade audience. He welcomes all inquiries and comments at mepc36@gmail.com.