Aspects of hip hop discourse : constructing reality, ideology and identity

Abstract

Rap music has been one of the dominant genres on the charts over the last few years, and Hip Hop imagery has become a part of popular culture. It is not unusual for trends, especially in fashion, to be inspired by subcultures, and Hip Hop is no exception. On the frontline of the mainstream exposure are rappers who, mainly through music videos, represent an image directly connected to the subculture’s expressive symbolism as in clothing and vocabulary. It is up the public to interpret the image. This thesis investigates aspects of different types of rap within the framework of critical discourse analysis. Reality construction is discussed in a chapter about gangster rap where some aspects of the violence apparent in the lyrics are located in a certain social setting as well as in African-American oral traditions. Special emphasis has been placed on the lyrics of the rap group The Clipse, who recount the tales of their own past while using a great deal of the imagery that is expected from gangster rappers. In a time where discursive reality construction is as prevalent as it is, some discourses take the form of ideologies. As a subculture, Hip Hop has many levels of dedication, and many of the practitioners in the inner circles have clear views on what the subculture should be. Among the most outspoken of these ideologists are the so-called conscious rappers, whose lyrics are not only socially conscious but in many cases also Meta Hip Hop. Conscious rap is dealt with in a special chapter. Identity constructions are represented in a chapter dedicated in its entirety to the career of Snoop Dogg. During the course of a career that has lasted fifteen years, Calvin Broadus has become the most recognizable person in Hip Hop. The devices he has used, both in his lyrics and visually, to construct the Snoop Dogg persona have drawn on aspects of popular culture such as Blaxploitation movies, pop music and African-American oral traditions like toasts and badman stories.