What is the Clout Economy?

Many of those who read the Chicago Reader article have been asking me about my work on Chicago's Drill scene.  Although I started this work as a research endeavor meant to speak primarily to academics about Hip-Hop culture and the ways in which its rap artists innovate with technological tools, the amount of non-researchers who have inquired about this work make me believe that it is so much bigger than that.  However, it appears to me now that youth participation in Black technoculture is a thing in and of itself to be researched and that Drillers were just simply a case to lead me to this point.  That said, I have decided to publish a small portion (attached below) of a work in progress and define  a concept I have created called the "Clout Economy." In speaking about the Hip-Hop genius of Black youth and the unique arena for their digital practices, I believe this term will not only be necessary for my own work moving forward but could also serve as a guide for anyone seeking to give a label to things rooted in Black youth culture's marketplace of attention.  Please keep in mind that it is a work in progress but feel free to cite this work in conversations or writings about the practices of Black cultural practices on social media. Feel free to contact me at naledge@u.northwestern.edu if you would like to share your thoughts about this definition and/or speak more about this idea offline. (Note: I will likely post more updates about this concept this as the idea becomes more refined.)

Peace.

​-Naledge

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