Wayfaring voices : discursions into black vocal style in a Norwegian context

Abstract

This thesis will explore how notions of “black” vocal style are at play in the context of Norwegian popular music. I will briefly outline the phenomenon of white appropriation of black signifiers in American popular culture, and consider some central tenets of the theorization of black style. I will then approach the interrelated (and often tacit) assumptions surrounding questions of blackness, whiteness, “Norwegianness”, appropriation, legitimacy, and vocal authenticity by interpreting interview material, musical texts, and public discourse.

Throughout the thesis I will set forth the argument that vocal style signifies socially; that performing voices articulate cultural concerns through musical detail. I will propose the possibility of discussing vocal style in terms of their “black”, “white” or “Norwegian” characteristics, and explore how the negotiations over these terms may tell us something about the discursive construction of social realities. By presenting, and interpreting, subjective views of what a “black” or a “Norwegian” vocal style sounds like, I will attempt not only to describe music, but also to explore some of the specificities and boundaries of a Norwegian context – and a Norwegian identity.