Based on empirical research in the Seychelles islands (Indian Ocean), performed at the request of the Seychelles Ministry of culture, this article explores how the triangular relationship between the researcher, “interlocutors” (musicians and others), and government results in a particular form of knowledge production, one with restrictions, but also involving access otherwise unavailable to a foreign researcher. The author addresses the political economy of social science research in Seychelles and presents two case studies: (1) a course taught at the National Conservatoire of Performing Arts; and (2) the author’s involvement in an Intangible Cultural Heritage/UNESCO project. She discusses authorities and forces from the perspectives of values, and claims to an ethical stance taken in research, concluding that a comprehensive understanding of the actors, stakeholders and forces that influence the sustainability of music is imperative for (applied) ethnomusicologists working with the aim of assisting endangered music forms and traditions. A better grasp of the roles of ideas, beliefs and values inherent to musical practices and policy-making processes also contributes to a better understanding of music and culture, as well as the formulation of public policies.

The Hamburg HipHop Academy is a city-supported institution, which uses hip-hop to socially integrate youths with migration backgrounds into the German nation-state. To progress upwards in the Academy’s hierarchical structure, youths build relationships with power-holders and peers, prove mastery of organizational norms, and conform their performance styles to the institution’s expectations. The Academy’s top-level Ensemble members act as cultural ambassadors for Germany through international exchanges. This article reveals how migrant hip-hoppers navigate the organizational politics of a German institution to become part of a “community of practice.” Effective self-advocates master the organization’s political structure through a process of micro-political integration. They learn a “shared repertoire” of actions, but these norms can inhibit youths’ opportunities to progress equally within the system and to express themselves fully. In order for a government-sponsored institution to help migrant youths integrate, all youths must be able to contribute to organizational and artistic decision-making processes.

In this paper we analyse an epic song, performed by Ulita Koskova in 1966 in Kolva in the Komi ASSR, and recorded by the Hungarian-Australian researcher Erik Vászolyi, and discuss its background and wider historical context. We look at different ways how such material can contribute to data-driven and sociolinguistically oriented research, specifically in connection to contemporary documentary linguistics, and point to directions for further research.