Kim Dankoor is a Hip Hop researcher, media expert, and interviewer who regularly appears in Dutch and U.S. media to discuss her research and to provide scholarly commentary on developments in Hip Hop and popular culture. She frequently switches roles between interviewee and interviewer to talk to artists, music industry professionals, policymakers, and academics in critical conversations about music, politics, and society. Her research primarily focuses on U.S. Southern rap. And while visa regulations may take her out of Atlanta from time to time, you can never take Atlanta out of her.

More information about Kim Dankoor

Fields of interest

• Popular Culture
• Media Studies
• Hip Hop Studies
• Hip Hop feminism
• Social Psychology

Research

Popular U.S. commercial rap music videos are widely understood to (re)produce cultural narratives of gender. Kim’s PhD research examined how U.S. and Dutch adolescents and emerging adults perceive ideals of gender-appropriate behavior, physical appearance, and mate desirability in commercial rap. Grounded in Social Comparison Theory and Self-Discrepancy Theory, the research further explored whether and how young people compare themselves with these mediated ideals and how such comparisons shape their self-images. Kim also investigated the ways in which strip club dancers in the U.S. South may function as informal “street A&Rs,” acting as promoters and clout boosters within the Southern commercial rap industry.

For her postdoctoral research, Kim will focus on Hip Hop feminism as a strand of Black feminism in the European context. She aims to examine feminist themes in women’s rap alongside their impact on listeners and fans. In addition, she will study music-making processes among European women (t)rappers.

Curriculum vitae

Prior to joining Leiden University in 2025, Kim Dankoor was a PhD candidate at Utrecht University and taught at several institutions, including Erasmus University, the University of the Arts Amsterdam, the University of the Arts Tilburg, and the Reinwardt Academy. She was also a visiting scholar at Georgia State University and delivered guest lectures in the United States, including at Morehouse College, Clark Atlanta University, and Agnes Scott College.   

Selected publications

Dankoor, K., Stephens, D. & Bogt, T.T. (2023). Drip Too Hard? Commercial Rap Music and Perceived Masculinity Ideals and Actual Self-Evaluations among Black U.S. and Dutch Adolescent Men. Sexuality & Culture, 27, 57–77. https:⁠/⁠/doi.org/10.1007/s12119-022-10003-9

Contribution: Amsterdam Museum Journal 2024, 3, Polylogue, reproduction in music. http:⁠/⁠/doi.org/10.61299/zn096VHs

Dankoor, K. E., Stephens, D. P., & Ter Bogt, T. F. M. (2025). “Girl, I think my butt gettin’ big”: The importance of “thickness” in music videos for Dutch Black and White women’s body image. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 72(3), 272-285. https:⁠/⁠/doi.org/10.1037/cou0000788

Dankoor, K. E., Stephens, D. P., & Ter Bogt, T. F. M. (2025). Am I feelin' myself? A focus group study of African American college students' attitudes toward gender ideals in commercial rap music videos and their relevance for self-images. Current Psychology. https:⁠/⁠/doi.org/10.1007/s12144-025-08039-9. 

Publications