Lauron J. Kehrer

Lauron J. Kehrer is an Associate Professor of Music at Smith College, specializing in musicology and ethnomusicology. Their research explores intersections of race, gender, and sexuality in American popular music, particularly hip hop. They teach courses on popular music and have published extensively in journals such as American Music, Journal of the Society for American Music, and Popular Culture Studies Journal.

Their groundbreaking work includes the 2022 book Queer Voices in Hip Hop: Cultures, Communities, and Contemporary Performance (University of Michigan Press), which examines contributions of Black queer and trans artists to hip hop. Current projects involve co-editing the volume “Better Be Good to Me”: American Popular Songs as Domestic Violence Narratives (under contract with University of Michigan Press).

• 2024 Marcia Herndon Article Award

Kehrer serves as President of the U.S. Branch of the International Association for the Study of Popular Music, demonstrating leadership in their field. Their scholarship bridges critical theory with contemporary cultural analysis, focusing on marginalized identities in music performance and community-building.