Biography

Wynton is a doctoral student in Contemporary History enrolled at the NOVA School of Social Sciences and Humanities with a background in music composition. His thesis focuses on how trap music can be interpreted as a reflection of a youth culture and temporal experience shaped by neoliberalism, the forces of the 2008 economic crash and the resultant years of recession and crisis.

He graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelors in Music with a major in Composition from Boston Conservatory where he was awarded the Roger Sessions Memorial Composition Award. He earned a Masters in Music with a major in Composition from The Royal College of Music in London.

Research fields

• Cultural history
• Popular music studies
• Cultural studies

Selected publications

• Wynton Kelly Stone Guess, “The new faith of Kendrick Lamar: Dramatic unity in ‘Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City,” PopMatters , 8 February 2016, https://www.popmatters.com/the-new-faith-of-kendrick-lamar-dramatic-unity-in-good-kid-m-a-a-d-city-2495454626.html.
• Wynton Guess, “The Best Kanye Review: Life Of Pablo,” RAP Rehab , 22 February 2016, https://raprehab.com/kanye-west-review-life-of-pablo-hype-or-hit/.

Main projects

• “Making Up Trap, A History of Trap Music, Youth Culture and the 2008 crisis” — PhD thesis to be presented to the NOVA School of Social Sciences and Humanities, supervised by José Neves (IHC — NOVA FCSH). 2020-