THE NOTION OF RAP CULTURE
European Masters
of Intercultural Communication (EMICC)
Semiotics of cultures
The Notion of
“Rap Culture”
Sonja Reher (University of Bayreuth / Germany)
Peter Jandok (University of Bayreuth / Germany)
Valentine Rosset (APU / UK)
Sonja Reher (Germany), Peter Jandok (Germany), Valentine Rosset (France)
EMICC; University of Bayreuth (Germany); 2003
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THE NOTION OF RAP CULTURE
Summary
In our comparative study of the social actor of Rap culture in France and Germany
we present results of internet- and library research, as well as group- and individual
thinking in the following structure:
After a short introduction of the three authors and a presentation of the results of
our brainstorming before the beginning, we will outline four definitions of culture
which are explained and applied to first findings of characteristics of Rap culture.
Secondly a description of our social actor will be given in four dimensions: The
first will be the common history, the second the Rap culture as a national scene, the
third the common knowledge and values and the fourth the common activities. This
will be done in a comparative way, usually starting with our findings of French Rap
and afterwards of German Rap.
The data on which our findings are based are a selection of lyrics of French and
German Rap – in conjunction with theoretic concepts. With the help of them the third
main part of this work is presented: The linguistic culture of Rap. There are some
linguistic conventions in Rap culture. Typical linguistic strategies can be found, such
as self-referential speech (e. g. boasting, identification, naming, references of place
and time) and listener-directed speech (e. g. dissing). Stylistic devices are the second
linguistic convention, e. g. the use of metaphors, metonymies, apocopes, aphaeresis,
spelling of words. Examples of Bi- /Multilingualism and diglossic speech will also be
introduced.
If one wants to describe and understand another culture a cultural translation
is necessary. The object of research has to be put into the “words” of somebody else’
culture which certainly is not the same. In this fourth chapter we will thus look closer
at the process of interpreting as well as at the process of appropriating. This means
that the interpreter has to adjust the found and experienced material in a way that
the members of e. g. the researcher’s culture can understand what s/he wants to say.
It will also be pointed out who are the “others” of our social actor, this means a
mirroring object that defines the contrast, such as Pop-music, government or police in
our case.
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In the fifth chapter called McWorld a summary of similarities that are applicable
all over the world will be given.
It has to be pointed out that the brainstorming we did before we started was far
from complete. A great part of the four categories of the social actor was only
vaguely known to all of us (e. g. dress code, cities, status symbols) – but certainly not
in such detail. We definitely did not consider the linguistic part as elaborate and
strongly developed as it is, with its global and local features.
On the one hand we learnt a lot about our social actor of Rap culture. On the
other hand we learnt and practiced a way in which comparative studies can be
approached. These steps on the meta level may help us in the future to open up
unknown subjects in a systematic and academic way.
Sonja Reher (Germany), Peter Jandok (Germany), Valentine Rosset (France)
EMICC; University of Bayreuth (Germany); 2003
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THE NOTION OF RAP CULTURE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SUMMARY................................................................................... 2
INTRODUCTION ......................................................................... 5
1. FOUR DEFINITIONS OF CULTURE (APPLIED TO RAP
CULTURE) ................................................................................... 8
2.
THE SOCIAL ACTOR OF RAP CULTURE ............................... 11
C.
D.
3.
COMMON KNOWLEDGE AND VALUES ....................................................19
France .....................................................................................19
Germany ..................................................................................20
COMMON ACTIVITIES .....................................................................23
LINGUISTIC CULTURE ....................................................... 24
Universals ................................................................................24
Germany ..................................................................................32
4.
CULTURAL TRANSLATION .................................................. 33
France .....................................................................................34
Germany ..................................................................................35
5.
MCWORLD.......................................................................... 36
Local........................................................................................38
REFERENCES ............................................................................ 41
Bibliography .............................................................................41
Webliography: ..........................................................................42
Discography .............................................................................43
Sonja Reher (Germany), Peter Jandok (Germany), Valentine Rosset (France)
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THE NOTION OF RAP CULTURE
Introduction
Before we start the authors would like to introduce themselves:
Peter Jandok is studying Pedagogic, Intercultural Communication
and German as a Foreign Language at the Technical University of
Chemnitz and at the University of Bayreuth. He gathered intercultural
experiences by working and studying mainly in South Africa, Spain,
China and Mexico. His hobbies are reading and partly music.
Valentine Rosset studied four years at Nanterre University/France.
There she studied Foreign Languages (English and Spanish). During
these 4 years, she studied one semester in London and one in
Amsterdam. Now she is registered at the APU/Cambridge to do a
Masters in Intercultural Communication.
Sonja Reher is a student of Intercultural German Studies,
Anglophone Studies and Sociology at Bayreuth University. During her
studies she worked and travelled in China, Ireland and the USA.
When we were asked to describe the notion of a given culture we
decided spontaneously to take a closer look on ‘youth culture’. Soon we
noticed that this group would be far too big. We had to focus on the
category which was easy because all the three of us are interested in
music. As we all knew that Rap is a popular form of music in France as
well as in Germany and because we all share the interest also in this
music we came to the conclusion to investigate more thoroughly the
similarities and differences between Rap in France and Germany.
Another important factor was that Rap groups are often intercultural
themselves and therefore an interesting subject of research.
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As we did not want to go into research immediately we found it
appropriate to do a brainstorming amongst ourselves in order to see
what we already knew about our topic of research. This common
knowledge was about to be proved in a scientific way as the following
step.
We all agreed that many Rap musicians often, at least partly, have
an immigrant background which in some form gives them an own
identity. Therefore we assumed that the lyrics of their music must
reflect this thematically as well as linguistically. In France they mainly
come from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Sub-Saharian Africa and live
in the suburbs of the big cities, such as Paris and Marseilles. A majority
belongs to an underprivileged group. In Germany we imagined that
they are Turkish and from Sub-Saharian Africa as well as from USAmerican origin and live in big cities, too, but not so much in suburbs
because the suburbs do not exist in the same way as they do in France.
We also thought that Rappers often belong to the middle class. The
members
of
the
Rap
communities
have a certain dress code and are often involved in graffiti, breakdance and other artistic activities. Status symbols play an important
role in their lives, such as jewellery, big cars and pretty girls.
Competing amongst the Rap communities seems to be more important
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in Germany than in France. In Germany there would be ‘battles’ where
two competitors Rap against each other in clubs and the audience
decides who is best. Insulting the other – ‘dissing’ – is the linguistic
way to gain respect and prestige in these events which originate from
the USA. During the discussion we found out that Rappers in France
are rather rejected by the society and feel between two cultures. In
Germany our impression was that Rappers more often function as a
bridge, a linking element between two poles, whatever they may be:
foreigners/Germans, rich/poor, young/established.
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1.
Four definitions of culture (applied to
Rap culture)
In order to describe the social actor of Rap culture as well as
possible we firstly suggest to give four definitions of culture that
influence this social actor (http://www.semionet.com). Those definitions of
culture will be outlined and applied to the Rap culture by presenting
examples and findings of our research.
The first definition of culture defines culture as a system of
knowledge and values which is supposed to be more or less
commune to a group of men. Knowledge can be practical (e. g.
spraying, breakdancing), theoretical (e. g. where the idols or enemies
come from and why they are either idols or enemies), tacit and explicit
(e. g. what to sing about in a good song), and specialised or general
(e. g. what kind of beat is preferred by a certain audience; how ‘battles’
are organised). Further aspects of knowledge is knowledge of traditions
and customs (e. g. the country of origin of Rap; what reasons there are
to dress in a special way).
Shared values are the second pillar of the first definition of culture.
They choose between different possibilities in a typical way. This
means e. g. that most of the Rappers prefer to spend their free-time in
connection with a special type of music rather than with books. In
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France they prefer to live in suburbs, than in city centres or villages.
They also prefer clothes of special brands to suit with ties. With the
help of this set of values a social actor is equipped to justify, evaluate
and sanction actions within or outside the group.
The second definition of culture contains culture as a set of
cognitive strategies and solutions for given relevant needs. The
focus of attention here is thus not so much on isolated items of
knowledge and values but on through experiences gathered ways to
handle situations that have to be dealt with and to achieve goals. In
connection with the social actor of the Rap culture this means that
there are strategies to gain respect (e. g. tests of courage; be a friend
of somebody known), be accepted or to be successful (e. g. rhyme in
an prestigious and fully approved way by ‘authorities’ of the in-group).
These strategies have to be learnt.
Culture can also be seen as a plurality of social fields
(http://www.jhu.edu/~istr/conferences/dublin/workingpapers/siisiainen.pdf).
Bourdieu
mentions three forms of capital: economic capital, social capital,
cultural capital. A social actor lives in a ‘social field’’ where these forms
of capital give him access to different sources: economic capital to
“material resources such as money, land, and productive property”;
social capital to “interpersonal relationships”; cultural capital to
“institutions, cultural knowledge, and cultural products of society”
(http://www.taug.no/article/articleview/55/1/11/). These three capitals are partly
independent and a social actor can thus control one capital more than
another one. Applied to Rap culture it is possible that a rise in the
economic capital causes a fall in the social capital where for certain
parts of the Rap society money might not play such an important role
and is associated with capitalism, establishment etc. It is also possible
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that an increase in cultural capital – e. g. access to media – causes an
increase in the social capital as well, because if a Rap band gains
certain success, interpersonal relationships may newly be established. A
highly popular individual or band (social capital) in the ingroup of
Rappers may also fail to increase the economic capital because the
society rejects what is positive in the ingroup and cannot e. g. sell
enough records or get permission to perform in public.
Finally culture can be seen as a historical form with an
evolutionary dynamic. This means that culture is not a stable
concept but a changing and adjusting process. The Rappers participate
and are actively involved in this process and thereby constitute the
culture as well as alter it. Our social actor changes and develops the
Rap culture itself as well as other bordering social actors that react to
the changes. By violent lyrics introduced by one participant of Rap
culture others can try to be even more violent or do just the opposite.
The competing element is almost institutionalised by the already
mentioned battles with their dissing in which one has to react quickly to
the lyrics sung by the other one before. This shows a dynamic process
that does not exist as such but is being created by the members of a
given culture. Another example may be that in the beginning of Rap in
France the songs were sung in English. Soon this changed to French
and now French Rap is almost exclusively sung in French.
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2.
The social actor of Rap culture
There are four aspects of our chosen social actor that we want to
describe in this chapter:
Starting with the common history of our social actor we present
the background of Rap culture participants in France and Germany.
Following the history, Rap culture as a national scene will be
introduced. Another important aspect of the social actor certainly are
the differences in France and Germany of common knowledge and
values. Finally the common activities are being pointed out. The
common language and communicative means will be dealt with in a
separate chapter (chapter 3). By presenting all these features we
intend to describe the social actor as precisely and accurately as
possible. Our findings are based on thorough internet and literature
research. The categories will be introduced in a comparing way. At the
end of every aspect the similarities and differences will be discussed.
a. Common history
Origins
It is widely agreed on that the roots of Rap culture can be traced
back to the Afro-American vernacular culture and rhetoric (e.g.
Bolte 1995; http://www.fu-berlin.de/phin/phin19/p19t1.htm).
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Rap, scratching, sampling, graffiti, and break dance are all part of Hip
Hop (Mikos 2000, p. 106ff.). It began during the seventies in New
York’s South Bronx as a reaction to social and economic changes. In
Hip Hop the youth found an alternative identity which on the one hand
related them to the destroyed traditions of Black communities and on
the other hand distanced them from black middle class values. The
second centre of Rap and Hip Hop culture developed in the ghettos of
Los Angeles. Ghettos like Watts and Compton shared a long tradition of
gangs from the twenties on. Between 1970 and 1972 the new “CripGangs” (“Continuous Revolution In Progress”) kept alive the avantgarde and fearless aura of the “Black Panthers”. As a counter
movement and for self-defence the independent gangs founded the
“Bloods”. The Crips and the Bloods dominated the crack market in the
ghettos and being a dealer was the first opportunity to escape the
vicious circle of bad education, unemployment and poverty. This was
the background for the start of Rap culture in the ghettos. Being a
successful Rapper was the second way to escape from the ghetto.
“NWA” (“Niggers With Attitude”) are one example for Los Angeles’
“Gangsta Rap” singing about the reality of ghetto life including drug
dealing, murder and rapes. The American public was outraged when
NWA called for police murder in their song Tha Police. Rap was no
longer perceived as the expression of ghetto life but was seen as the
very reason for violence in the ghettos.
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Some researchers tried to re-construct the development of Rap
topics and genres (e.g. Grimm 1998; Karrer 1995; Stapleton 1998;
Potter 1995). They start with party/fun Rap which is connected to block
parties, dj-ing, break-dance etc. This is about having a good time. The
next genre they find is message Rap. Here the focus is “on black
people’s social problems and protesting against social injustice”
(Androutsopoulos & Scholz 2002, p. 9). The last genre is the gangsta
Rap that has already been described above. This is the “material”
European Rappers could use and transform for their own purposes.
France
The majority of French Rappers are from the second generation of
immigrants. They are the children of Black and Arab immigrants and
grew up between two cultures: the one of their origins and the French
one. (http://www.ac-amiens.fr/lycee60/calvin/c1999/rap/hist_rap.htm). Most Rappers
feel that they do not belong to any of them. They are generally
excluded from the society and through Rap music, and aim at rebelling
against inequality. French Rap embraces all the ethnic communities
who live in France (Boucher 1999, p. 196). The Rap community is
multicultural: For instance, the band “Alliance Ethnik” gathers people
from Italian, Congolese, Kabyle and Jewish extractions.
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Germany
The high percentage of foreign origin members of our social actor in
Germany is not such an important feature compared with French
Rappers, but still characteristic: In Germany about 60%, and in France
about 92%. Because Rap in Germany only became famous in the early
90’s, Rappers mostly belong to the third generation of immigrants,
mainly from Turkish and Afro-American origin.
Source: Androutsopoulos, Jannis & Arno Scholz (2002)
The Turkish, amongst others, were asked to come and work for
German companies in the early 60’s when Germany desperately needed
workforce. The German government expected them to go back after a
certain time but a part of them stayed on. Because they were seen as
guests (Gastarbeiter) the German administration did not make any
effort to integrate them into the society. A sort of sub-society emerged
in big cities such as Berlin, Frankfurt or Stuttgart.
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Afro-American Rappers mainly origin from relationships of at least one
parent from the American GI’s that were stationed in different parts of
Germany after World War II. As an example of their productivity and
influence on German Rap one may refer to the “Brothers and Sisters
Keepers” that consists of 53 exclusively Afro-American singers, Rappers
and
producers,
men
as
well
as
women
(http://www.brothers-
keepers.de/brothers_keepers/bro.nsf/menu/lyrics_adriano).
They still feel between two chairs and Rap is their form to articulate
their feelings (http://www.goethe.de/z/50/alltag/meinung/ausl10.htm).
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b. Rap culture as a national scene
France
The national scene is mainly present in the suburbs of big cities: in the
streets, associations, pubs, concert halls … (http://davidnavas.free.fr/rap.html).
There are also subcategories within the Rap culture: There are
Rappers (like “Mc Solaar”) who write very good texts from a linguistic
point of view and commercial Rappers, like “Alliance Ethnik”, whose
lyrics
are
linguistically
not
very
interesting
(www.ph-
ludwigsburg.de/franzoesisch/overmann/baf4/rap/1.htm).
Another division can be made between what is called commercial
Rap and underground Rap (http://rapconnexion.free.fr/histoire.php). On the
one hand, a "show-biz" Rap has gradually appeared for a few years. By
the media and the politicians this kind of Rap is considered to be
positive. On the other hand, a movement called "underground Rap" has
emerged. The Rappers who are part of this movement want to keep
their liberty of creation and auto-produce themselves (Boucher 1999,
pp. 71-72).
Another distinction can be made between soft, positive, funky
Rap (“MC Solaar”, “IAM”, “Alliance Ethnik”, “Ménélik”, “Réciprok”, “Doc
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Gyneco”) and hardcore Rap (“NTM”, “Assassin”). There are more
hard-core Rappers than soft Rappers in France (Boucher 1999, p. 70).
The band “NTM” has been in jail because their texts attacked the police
directly. These hardcore bands denounce inequality and fight against
racism. Their lyrics are sometimes very violent. They denounce the
institutions and the media and represent a very violent music that
comes
from
the
United
States:
gangsta
Rap
(http://rapconnexion.free.fr/histoire.php). The “soft” Rappers, on the contrary,
are promoted by the TV and the radio.
“Manau”, celtic group
French Rap can differ from one region to another. Some Rap bands
include local linguistic and musical characteristics (celtic Rap, “les
Fabulous Trobadors” in Toulouse, “Massilia Sound System” and “IAM”
in Marseilles) (http://www.ac-amiens.fr/lycee60/calvin/c1999/rap/hist_rap.htm).
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Germany
In contrast to the French community that grew up and acts in the
suburbs of big cities, the German scene can be found in Stuttgart (e. g.
“Freundeskreis”, “Afrob”, “Fanta´s”), Hamburg (e. g. “Absolute
Beginner”, “Sammy Deluxe”), Berlin and Cologne (http://www.detlevmahnert.de/deutscher-rap.htm). It seems that the German Rap scene can be
split into a mainstream and an underground part. The mainstream
branch is commercial Rap and the underground branch is mainly
hardcore. Because there seem to be more and more right wing Rappers
a differentiation between Neue Deutsche Reimkultur (new German
Rhymeculture – hinting to ‘Reinkultur’ = clean culture) and Oriental Hip
Hop unfortunately takes place (http://d-a-s-h.org/dossier/05/04_battle.html). This
differentiation could rise because a self-image of being outcast was
maintained in the early days of Rap in Germany. Rappers with foreign
origin referred to themselves in the same way as right wing
sympathizers would call them. The German Rap band “Freundeskreis”
says:
„An all meine Niggas Kanaken Malagas Polaken
Meine Mullahs Mafiosis und Franzaken
An meine Paellas PKK's Schlitzaugen Hakennasen
Kameltreiber Ziegenhirten Knoblauchfresser Paprikas
Meine Terroristen Kriminelle Drogendealer
Parasiten Asylbetrüger Hütchenspieler
Blutsauger Taugenichtse Tagelöhner Rumstreuner
Meine Zulukaffa und meine Zigeuner
Lasst mich nicht allein“
[To all my niggers, kanaks … please don’t let my alone.]
As in France few women can be found in German Rap bands or as
solo Rappers. One of the most famous ones are “Aziza A.” or
“Schwester S.”. They often want to break with their parents’ old
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fashioned points of view which are an important topic in their songs
including
emancipation,
independence,
career,
virginity
before
marriage, equality to men. Aziza A. sings in her song „Es ist Zeit”
(1997):
„In den zwei Kulturen, in denen ich aufgewachsen bin,
ziehen meine Schwestern meist den kürzeren“.
[„In the two cultures where I grew up, my sisters do often
get a raw deal.]
c. Common knowledge and values
France
Rap is a discourse about the existing society but tends to become a
discourse for a better society. The lyrics deal with money; for instance,
the Rappers dream of luxurious cars:
« Ca tourne et la chance part, j'rêve que d'barres et d'BM,
j'suis un d'ce mômes qu'on recense pas... » (Lunatic)
[Everything is OK and luck starts, I only dream of BMW, I
am one of these kids who are rejected.]
They also deal with women. The Rappers are seen as machos;
women are seen as objects. Another topic is delinquency :
« Si je dois buter, tuer pour l'fric, si je dois tirer, flinguer
pour ma clique, s'il faut choisir entre toi et moi : tu sais
c'que j'peux t'faire, Le flingue à gauche, l'oseille à droite.
Un conseil, espèce de fils de..., paye et baisse les yeux !
Moi j'suis le black mafiosi... » (Oxmo Puccino)
[If I have to kill to get money, if I have to choose
between you and me, you know what I can do, the gun
on the left, cash on the right. One piece of advice, son of
a bitch…, pay and lower the eyes! I am the black
Mafiosi…]
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« Mon papa à moi est un gangster, il fait partie du
Ministère Amer... » (Stomy Bugsy).
[My dad is a gangster, he is part of the Ministry "Amer"]
Another important value for French Rappers is religion, especially
Islamic religion (http://membres.lycos.fr/theplanetrap/autre.htm). The lyrics also
deal with racism (http://www.granika.org/rap_et_racisme.html). Last but not
least, French Rappers talk about inequalities :
«Pourquoi fortune et infortune, pourquoi suis-je né les
poches vides, pourquoi les siennes sont-elles pleines de
thune, Pourquoi j'ai vu mon père en cyclo partir
travailler, Juste avant le sien en trois pièces gris et
BMW» (“IAM”, Nés sous la même étoile, 1997).
[Why luck and misfortune, why was I born poor, why is
he rich, why did I see my father go to work, just before
his in three grey pieces and BMW]
French Rappers, by their lyrics, want to make people aware of the
difficulties that the young people living in the suburbs face (Boucher
1999, pp. 162-163).
Germany
Out of the given figure (page 16) it can easily be seen that selfpresentation and differentiation to somebody/something else is the
most important aspect of German Rap. The reason for this might be
that the concept of Battles is rather popular amongst Rappers. Two
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Rappers compete on a stage, rapping about one another which
includes insulting, naming, etc. and at the same time praising
him/herself (boasting; see also chapter 3).
The second most important topic is social critique which is by far the
most important topic in France. They often sing about political subjects
of Germany as well as the US-American foreign policy, national identity,
critique on capitalism or the newly arising German self-confidence.
From: „Brother Keepers“, Song: „Letzte Warnung”
Denk' ich an Deutschland in der Nacht bin ich um meinen
Schlaf gebracht - mein Bruder Adriano wurde umgebracht
Hautfarbe schwarz. Blutrot. Schweigen ist Gold
Gedanken sind tiefblau. Ein Bürger hat Angst vor seinem
Volk.
Ein Wintermärchen aus Deutschland. Blauer Samt.
Als Kind schon erkannt: ich bin hier fremd im eigenen Land
Operation Artikel 3 - da habt ihr gelacht!
[If I think of Germany I cannot sleep – my brother was killed … A
winter fairytale from Germany. Blue velvet. When I was a child I
already noticed: I’m a foreigner in my own country. …]
The category contemplation refers to lyrics that simply express
thoughts that come to the Rapper’s mind including melancholic
statements.
Scene is a minor topic in Germany. It means that e. g. Rap bands
speak about their relationship to Rappers from other cities or countries,
their music labels or their devotion to Rap, break-dance or graffiti.
Smudo, the singer of one of the first commercial and popular Rap
bands “Die Fantastischen Vier” connects some categories by saying:
“Black Rappers like Public Enemy or ICE T provoke. We want to have a
good time and party with a meaning.“
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(2002)
Source: Androutsopoulos, Jannis & Arno Scholz
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d. Common activities
France and Germany
The attributes that go with French Rap are dance, appearance
(fashion) and graffiti (http://davidnavas.free.fr/rap.html). During the Free-
style sessions, the Rapper compete with each other:
« Au cours de moments d’improvisation intenses, lors de free-styles, des
posses, des crews s’affrontent, se testent, se mesurent » (Boucher 1999, p.
272). [Crews compete with one another, test and confront one another
during intensive moments of improvisation, free-styles and posses.]
Fashion is very important in the Rap culture. The way of dressing of
the Rappers is very codified. They usually wear sportswear (Carhart,
Nike, Rebook, Adidas, Lacoste), glasses and trendy bags.
The same applies to German Rap. These similarities will be discussed
in chapter 6 (McWorld).
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3.
Linguistic culture
As already mentioned in 2. a (common history) the linguistic origin
of Rap culture is the Afro-American vernacular tradition. US-American
Rap developed its linguistic characteristics from e.g. playing the
dozens, the sermon style or call and response patterns. Verbal battles
with interactive features between the “players” and their audience are
typical for the traditional Afro-American rhetoric. Playing the dozens is
one example. In this game the participants have “... to taunt another
person by taunting, kidding, "jiving", teasing or insulting their family...”.
It “is more than a game of fun - it is a battle for respect”
(http://www.online-magazine.com/snaps.htm).
Universals
Rap is produced freestyle and based on improvisation but there are
also lyrics that are the product of long work. Therefore it is not fair to
discuss Rap exclusively in the context of “street language”. One
example for this is the French Rapper “MC Solaar”. The former minister
of Culture, Mr Toubon, considered “Mc Solaar” as somebody who
defends French language. “Mc Solaar” plays a lot with the language,
uses metaphors, metonymies and so on. The lyrics of his songs are
even
analysed
in
high
schools
and
universities
(http://www.ph-
ludwigsburg.de/franzoesisch/overmann/baf4/4g.htm).
There are certain universal “ingredients” for the composition of Rap
lyrics. Some of them can be seen as linguistic strategies or speech
acts to formulate the specific topics of Rap, others can be described as
stylistic devices (Androutsopoulos & Scholz 2002). In this chapter
seven speech act patterns will be introduced and illustrated with lyrics
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from either France or Germany. Afterwards the dominating stylistic
devices will be explained.
By using self-referential speech Rappers “describe their own
verbal performance” (Androutsopoulos & Scholz 2002, p. 16). In the
following example Ferris MC explains his performance as a kind of sport
and sexual interaction:
„Im Zeichen des Freaks teilt Ferris, was er liebt per
Freakflow, / wenn der Vorhang fällt, beginnt die
Freakshow, / alle Babsis schreien: "Oh, oh!", alle Freaks
schreien: "Bo bo!" / Das Monster in mir wake you up wham - before I go go! / Manchmal werd' ich nicht high,
wieviel Wheed ich auch missbrauch', / dann fühl' ich mich
wie Michael Douglas in "Falling down", / meine Lunge
schwarz vom Harz, mein Blut zu unrein / für Führerschein,
I m a rolling stoned, deshalb nie allein, / Einsamkeit? Mir 'n
Fremdwort, ich treib' Rap-Extremsport, / meine Frauen, die
Tracks, treiben's mit mir an jedem Ort...“ (Ferris MC 1998:
Im Zeichen des Freaks; http://www.ultimate-lyrics.de)
[... the monster that is inside me will wake you up ... then
I feel like Michael Douglas in “falling down“ …]
The listener-directed speech describes the lyric’s effect on the
audience, in the French example the audience is supposed to feel the
physical pain of a knife:
« ... non, je ne m'arrête pas / simplement deux mesures /
pour reprendre mon souffle / alors accroche toi / car la
suite te tranchera / comme une navaja. »
(Sens unik 1991: Le Vième sens)
[“... no, I'm not stopping / just for two beats / to catch my
breath again / so get down on it / because what you are
about to hear will cut you / like a knife [Spanish].”
(Translation by Androutsopoulos & Scholz 2002, p. 17)]
Dissing and boasting are two closely related speech act patterns.
Dissing is the downgrading and offending of others, mainly other
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Rappers. In the following example the band “Rödelheim Hartreim
Projekt” (Frankfurt area) is dissing the Stuttgart based “Die
Fantastischen Vier”:
Sie nennen sich fantastisch, ich wundere mich,
was sich die Jungs dabei denken, sie sind spastisch,
Hör mal auf, laß mich, drastisch sagen wir, wie es ist,
mit List werdet ihr abgedisst, angepisst, bis ihr wißt:
wer, wie, was, der, die, das
Projekt aus Rödelheim kommt kraß
(Rödelheim Hartreim Projekt 1994: Reime.
www.rhp.de/data/lyrics)
[they call themselves fantastic, I wonder
how the guys see themselves, they're spastic ...
(Translation by Androutsopoulos & Scholz 2002, p. 42)]
Boasting on the contrary refers to the self-appraisal of the Rappers
who emphasise their discoursive and whatever qualities and skills. The
“Rödelheim Hartreim Projekt” for examples demands a medal for the
“finest poetry” and the most successful dissing of other Rappers:
Und wenn du meinst daß du ‘n Mittel gegen mich hast Alter es gibt keins
feinste Poesie in Hessen und trotzdem wollt ihr stressen
mich testen Euch mit mir messen sadoma ehrlich wessen
pillenfressende in West wohnende Mutter hat ‘n Sohn
der dumm genug ist mich zu dissen frißt du Testosteron- ......
Ich hab‘ so viele Sorten MC’S gedisst ich sollt‘ ‘n Orden dafür kriegen
das Bundesverdienstkreuz für ‘s Rapdepp verbiegen
das fliegende Mikro am goldenen Band
für den meistgehaßten MC im ganzen Land...
(Rödelheim Hartreim Projekt 1996: Mein Style. www.rhp.de/data/lyrics)
[They are talking about themselves and how they have dissed many
Rapers so that they should be officially praised.]
In the above example a reference to playing the dozens can be
found as the mother of the fictive opponent is humiliated. The close
relationship of dissing and boasting is illustrated by the example; the
Rappers are boasting by summarising their success in dissing.
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Especially in the intros of lyrics place and time references can be
found. Using these references the lyrics are contextualised in a very
realistic way. “Fabe” from France for example uses time references to
indicate that he has not moved on in life:
... j'avais dix ans c'était en 81, / on est en 98 fréro, / j'ai
pas changé d'numéro ... (Fabe 1998, Quand je serai
grand... ; in phin ex. 32)
[“I was ten years old in 81 / now we're in 98 brother, / my
house number hasn't changed”]
Another linguistic characteristic of Rap is the identification or the
naming of the Rapper or his group members. In the first German
example the Rapper Torch identifies himself at the beginning of his part
as many Rappers do:
„Jetzt ist die Zeit, hier ist der Ort / Heute ist die Nacht,
Torchmann hat das Wort.“ (Brothers Keepers 2001:
Adriano (Letzte Warnung); http://www.brotherskeepers.de/brothers_keepers/bro.nsf/menu/lyrics_adriano)
[Now is the time, this is the place/ Tonight, Torchman is
speaking.
Naming can also be used for turn-taking between verses of different
Rappers. A third function is authenticity. In the example below the
Rapper gives his name in the middle of his part to prove that he
personally experiences his topic:
„... Gestatten sie mein Name ist Frederik Hahn / ich wurde
hier geboren, doch wahrscheinlich sieht man's mir nicht an,
...“ (Advanced Chemistry 1992:
Fremd Im Eigenen Land;
;http://www.kronawithleitner.at/lyrics/showtext.php/id/553)
[Please allow me to introduce myself: my name is Frederik
Hahn / I was born her, but you probably can’t see it, ...]
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Finally Rappers are representing a certain local Rap culture
including their group, town or neighbourhood. Doing this they underline
what they stand for in the Hip Hop culture.
« ... aujourd'hui moi je représente pour le Fonk... » [today
I represent for the funk ; Translation by Androutsopoulos
& Scholz 2002, p. 19]
« ... je représente pour le tié-quar et mes potes... » [I
represent for the neighbourhood and all my buddies ;
p.19] ;
« ... je représente bien la FF...« (= Fonky Family) [I do
represent FF ; p. 19]
Apart from the speech act patterns a lot of stylistic devices can be
found in Rap lyrics. The Rappers use many metaphors. A metaphor is
“a figure of speech in which one thing is compared to another — either
directly
or
by
(http://www2.plymouth.ac.uk/gateway_to_study/EngLang/meton.htm).
implication”
For
instance,
“airbags” is used to describe the breasts of a woman and “bounty” to
name a Black person who wants to look like a White person.
Androutsopoulos & Scholz (2002, p. 26) explain that common
metaphors of Rap discourse are a violent force or a powerful drug.
They give a German example:
„... der sizilianer / hart wie stein und nicht wie Rama /
vernichte firmenfeinde wie ein flugzeug über Yokohama /
wie Shakespeare bring ich drama / Lupara bianca (1) ich
entführ dich wie (tanka) / erpress scheiche spreng dich wie
deiche / hinterlasse leichen wie Sarotti ohnegleichen (2) /
bring dich zum schwitzen wie tropisches klima / und alles
nur aus liebe zur Firma (3)“
[Die Firma 1998: Aktionäre; 1 Italian; a kind of gun; 2
Sarotti ohnegleichen = advertisement slogan for sarotti
toffees; 3 the band's name]
[“... the sicilian / hard as stone not as "rama" / destroy the
firma's enemies like a plane over yokohama / like
shakespeare I bring drama / lupara bianca (1), I kidnap
you like (tanka) / blackmail sheiks, blow you like a damm /
leave corpses behind like sarotti ohnegleichen (2) / I make
you sweat like tropical climate / and all that just out of love
for(Germany),
the "firma"(3)”]
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French Rappers also use a lot of metonymies, which means “a
figure of speech in which an attribute or a suggestive word is
substituted for the name of something. It is often used in imaginative
writing such as fiction and poetry to clarify and enhance an image”
(http://www2.plymouth.ac.uk/gateway_to_study/EngLang/meton.htm).
For
example,
the word « casquette » (cap) is used by the young of the suburbs to
refer to an inspector and “bleu” (blue) to a policeman, as the policemen
are dressed in blue in France. The apocope means the deletion of
syllables at the end of a word. For instance, « bénéfice » (profit)
becomes « bénèf », or « catastrophe » (disaster) becomes « cata ».
The aphaeresis refers to the deletion of the first part of a word : «
caille » for « racaille » (rabble) or « rien » for « algérien » (Algerian).
Rappers also use rhymes:
la paix de l'âme, le respect de l'homme.
Mais cette notion d'humanisme n'existe plus quand ils
passent l'uniforme,
préférant au fond la forme, peur du hors normes.
(Vos papiers, contrôle d`identité », NTM)
[The peace of mind, the respect for the man. But this
notion of humanism does not exist any more when they
wear the uniform, preferring the appearance, afraid of
different standards.]
Another very frequent device is the spelling of words: “Ich bin das
S das C das H das W das E, S, T, E, R, S und steh wie P” (Schwester S:
Mutter; P refers to the name of another Rapper). Also acronyms are
common in songs and group names e.g. “N.W.A” (“Niggers With
Attitude”). The German group “Die Fantastischen Vier” even made a
whole song out of them:
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„... RAF, LSD und FKK / DVU, AKW und KKK / RHP, USW,
LMAA / PLZ, UPS und DPD / BMX, BPM und XTC / EMI,
CBS und BMG / ADAC, DLRG – ojemine...“ (Die
Fantastischen 4 1999: Mfg; http://www.ultimatelyrics.de).
The speech act patterns and stylistic devices described above are
mostly universal characteristics of Rap culture. By using metaphors or
comparisons the Rappers connect the universals of Rap culture with
local issues as e.g. specific personalities, events, brand names. This will
be further explained in the chapter 5.
Not only conventions or stylistic devices are important aspects of the
linguistic culture. We haven’t discussed yet which languages are being
used. Is our linguistic culture monolingual, bilingual or multilingual? Are
there any characteristics for a diglossic speech community? Rap culture
is multilingual as such as there is the English origin and the
transformation in the European countries. Rap in Europe did not only
stick to English as the only language, and the mother tongue seems to
be important in Rap culture. Bilingual and bicultural artists have in most
cases three languages that are important for their creativity: the
dominant language of the society they live in, the language from their
migration background and English.
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France
Multilingualism is a characteristic of the French Rap. Most of the
young who use this “new” language are the children of immigrants. As
a consequence, the fact that they mix words coming from many
different languages, like Arabic, Gipsy, Anglo-American slang,
popular
French
and
old
French
slang
(http://www.lien-
social.com/archives/dossiers2002/603a610/608-1.htm) but also from Berber, African,
Creole
(http://www.nouvelobs.com/hs-lesados/instruire/art8.html)
is
not
so
surprising.
French Rapper use verlan. To verlan a word means to play with its
syllables by reversing them in order to form a new term. In the lyrics «
la nouvelle danse, la danse de Treuilmon » (AZROCK DC, in Boucher
1999, p. 175), « Treuilmon » is the verlan of Montreuil. Verlan is not a
universal or Rap culture but seems to be a French phenomenon. They
use this way of speaking to fight against then norms of French society.
They feel excluded from this society, so they want people to be
excluded from their group, by using a coded language. They want to
form an in-group.
According to Charles Ferguson, diglossic communities possess a
High variety Language that is very prestigious and a Low variety
Language with no formal or “official status” (http://www.semionet.com).
There is a High variety language and a Low variety language within the
social actor of Rap culture:
« la majorité des Rappeurs utilise dans leurs "lyrics", en plus de la
langue française commune, un langage propre qui appartient au quartier
dans lequel ils évoluent. » (Boucher 1999, p. 174) [The majority of
Rappers use in their "lyrics", besides the common French language,
their own language which belongs to the district in which they evolve.]
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Germany
Een, twej, een twej, drej.
Sech mol "Hey" sech mol "Hoo".
Dat is Fettes Brot op platt inne Disco.
Jo ick buen de Jung achtern Plattenspeeler
Un so deel ick op as Stoertebeker sine Likkedeeler.
Dor is for jeden wat dorbi wat ik speel.
Bi uns in heet dat nich "Disco" sondern "Dans op de Deel".
Ick krakehl veel Platt in dat Mikrofon
Buest nich unt 'n Norden is dat schwer to verstohn.
Wohn' anne Waterkant dohn wi all un da schnackt man nu ma so,
Hoer mal 'n beeten to. Hummel Hummel "Mors! Mors!".
Ick buen ruut - de Schippmeester buen as de annern Nordisch by Nature.
(Fettes Brot 1995: Nordish by Nature; http://www.ultimatelyrics.de/texte/text_f/fettesbrot_nordishbynature.txt)
In
German Rap multilingualism can be found in the context of third
generation migration as described above for French Rap. A second area
is the use of dialects and the regional battle. The Hamburg and
Schleswig-Holstein based band “Fettes Brot” is a good example for the
use of dialect and other languages to express a regional identity. In
their song Nordish by Nature they use standard German, the dialect
Plattdütsch and Danish to describe their “Nordic identity”. The English
phrase “I am out”, in standard German “Ich bin raus” in this song
transform to “Ick buen root”.
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4.
Cultural translation
The issue of cultural translation is the crucial part of intra- and
intercultural encounters. It can be seen as a practice that structures
and follows the perception. Cultural translation is the process of
interpreting the knowledge and values of the “other” on the basis of
the interpreter’s own values and knowledge. Interpreter can be e. g.
researchers who are analysing their data; if you take an ethnologist it
means the translation between “academic” and “native” culture.
Additionally cultural translation is the process of appropriating the
“other” or parts of the “other” in relation to the interpreters culture. To
apply the concept of cultural translation to Rap culture we raise the
following question: Which cultures are perceived and commented on as
the cultural “others” by Rap culture?
In chapter 2.b (Rap culture as a national scene) we introduced
different categories to distinguish Rap culture. If we describe each of
them as a single social actor we can give the second category as one
cultural “other”: commercial Rap versus underground Rap, party Rap
versus gangsta Rap. If we talk about one Rap culture including all
these forms we can call it extremely self-referential. In chapter 3 we
explained how the speech act patterns of dissing and “boasting” are
used as strategies of interpretation and appropriation in Rap culture.
Only “message Rap” seems to have more cultural “others” outside Rap
culture. Now we want to focus on those cultural “others” who are not
part of our broad concept of Rap culture.
One cultural other for Rap culture is Pop culture. The classical
topics in Pop culture (love, romance, nature...) are for Rap culture
superficial and no expression of their feelings and approach to life.
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“Aziza A.” claims that she internally cannot feel Pop music: „Ich höre
Pop, ich mag Pop. Ich tanze dazu. Aber HipHop, das geht an mein
Innerstes. Das fühle ich. Da geht es um mich“ [I listen to Pop, I like
Pop. I dance to Pop. But HipHop goes to my core. I feel it. That has got
something to do with me.] (“Aziza A” said this at a panel on Hip Hop in
Berlin 14.10.1996; quoted in Mayer & Terkessidis, p. 44).
France
The message that most French Rappers want to emphasize through
their lyrics is a criticism of the different powers existing in France:
money, Justice, the police and the State (Calio 1998, p. 739):
Justice
«La justice nique sa mère. Le dernier juge que j’ai
vu avait beaucoup plus de vices que le dealer de ma
rue» (Assassins).
[Justice fucks your mother. The last judge I saw had
many more vices than the dealer of my street]
The policemen are considered as racist and anti-young people :
« Mais cette notion d’humanisme n’existe plus quand
ils passent l’uniforme / Souvent mentalement
retardé / Le portrait type, le prototype du pauvre
type » (NTM 1993, Nick la police )
[But this notion of humanism does not exist any
more when they wear the uniform / Often mentally
delayed / The typical portrait, the prototype of the
poor guy]
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The politicians
« Nique ton maire 94, mon ami glandu, voici la Tribu, tu as les
mains dans les poches, tout ce qui te fait envie tu le fauches,
comme le font les politiciens qu’ils soient de droite ou de gauche
[…]. Il se souvient de moi à l’approche des élections, me parle
de budget, pour mon quartier de rénovation, un petit coup de
peinture sur ma poubelle, je dois trouver la vie plus belle, mon
ami je nique cette brêle. » (NTM 94 / Tribu)
[Fuck your mayor 94, mi poor friend, here is the Tribe, you have
your hands in your pockets, you steal everything you want to
have, as the politicians do, whether they are right-wing or leftwing […]. He remembers who I am just before the elections, he
speaks to me about budget, about renovation in my district, a
small blow of paint on my dustbin, I must find that life is more
beautiful, my friend, I fuck this shit.]
Germany
In German Rap the cultural “others” are not only formal social actors
but informal ones too. This may be related to the different structure of
the French and German Rap culture: In France the background of Rap
is migration and the difficult life in the suburbs. Social critique is the
main topic. In Germany - without suburbs as in France and with less
migrant Rapper - social critique is present as a topic but to a lower
degree and accompanied by other topics (love, drugs, contemplation;
see chapter 2.c Values and Knowledge). The government as the
cultural “other” is there too, but also the criticism on passive and lazy
people who e.g. don’t react, don’t help others, don’t demonstrate. This
is very important for all the songs dealing with racism. The reference
to racist people (“braune Scheiße”) includes formal actors but also
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racism as an invisible tendency in everyday life and the accompanying
cowardice in the society:
Dies ist so was wie eine letzte Warnung
Denn unser Rückschlag ist längst in Planung
Wir fall’n dort ein, wo ihr auffallt
Gebieten eurer braunen Scheiße endlich aufhalt
...
Wie viel Blut muss fließen in innerdeutschen Krisen
Alter, schau die letzten Jahre haben das mir zu oft bewiesen
Dass die Menschen sich erheben, wenn die Leute nicht mehr Leben
Doch dann ist es zu spät, ihr solltet öfters drüber reden
(Brothers Keepers Project 2001: Adriano (Letzte Warnung); www.ultimatelyrics.de)
[… how much blood must still be shed in crisis within Germany.
Look, at the last few years: it was proved too often that people rose, when
people are actually not alive anymore.
Some topics in German Rap seem to be expressed without an
explicit cultural other. “Nordish by Nature” (Fettes Brot) is one
example. The Nordic identity is established without references to e.g.
other regions. But on a larger scale this serves for the “Battle” in the
German Rap scene and this national competition is an important
feature in German Rap culture. The cultural other is again found in the
(national) Rap culture itself.
The so far mentioned cultural others don’t paint the whole picture of
German Rap but they are the most relevant ones. In some lyrics
references to parents, teachers and school can be found. But they
are not so essential for the identity building of Rap culture.
5.
McWorld
The ongoing Globalisation is changing our world and accordingly
new concepts are proposed. Mary Snell-Hornby summarises the
emerging global village and the spread of English as a lingua franca in
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the concept of a seventh continent called the McWorld (Snell-Hornby
2000; in Schaeffner). In this chapter - which serves as our conclusion we want to discuss our findings in the context of a McWorld.
Universal
We discussed Rap culture as an US-American original and the existing
forms in France and Germany. There are certainly some universals in
Rap culture. The basis of Rap music (rhythm, tempo etc) is the same in
every country (Boucher 1999, p. 10). Over all Rap is used as a medium
for protest and expressing anger. Hip Hop activities (graffiti, breakdance etc; see chapter 2.a./2.b.) and the clothing with its symbols
(sportswear of certain international brands etc.; see chapter 2.d.) are
very similar. Additionally the communication patterns that are used
in the lyrics are mainly the same (see chapter 3. Universals). Another
important feature of Rap culture is its intertextuality as a result of
sampling. This is very influential regarding the fact that Rap culture
was introduced by the media in Europe. Rappers can choose from a
“McWorld-media-culture-corpus”
of
personalities
and
archetypes,
melodies and lyrics, brand names and events. And they do it to a very
high extent.
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Rap music embodies a universal dimension :
« venu de ghettos noirs américains, le Rap sait tenir un langage
universel qui touche toutes les jeunesses populaires des pays occidentaux
(Londres, Paris ; Berlin…) » (Boucher 1999, p. 51). [Rap, which comes from
American black ghettos knows how to hold a universal language which
moves all the popular youths of the western countries (London, Paris;
Berlin)]
The association "World Culture" organised a seminar on Rap in New
York in 1991: "New-York’n Rap" (Boucher 1999, p. 104).
Local
Sampling is done on a “WcWorld”-level but also on a national and
regional level. Despite from the “McWorld-media-culture-corpus” a
specific “local media culture corpus” exists. We already quoted “Die
Firma” who uses a German slogan for Sarotti-chocolate or the German
brand “Rama” (butter) for a comparison (see chapter 3. Linguistic
Culture). In “Nordish by Nature” Fettes Brot (excerpt see chapter 4.)
name the historical captain Störtebeker, the Hamburg shipyard Blohm
& Voss, the famous red light district St. Pauli and Holsten, a beer
brewed in Hamburg. To describe their nightlife they don’t refer to local
personalities but to John Travolta and his famous movie “Saturday
Night Fever”. This local and global interplay is expressed by the
language mix of German and English:
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Hier kommen deine Helden, der Tobi & das Bo.
Bo, bitte melden ! Yo, hier kommt Disco.
Wie samstagnacht, wie bei John Travolta,
Holterdipolter; der Bass pumpt bis Obervolta.
[Hello peoples, we are here,
In the one hand a micro, in the other a beer.
We hear our music very loud.
Hey, girl, do you wanna be my Braut ?
Nachtfieber, Nachtfieber,
Hier bei uns im Norden!
Uuh yeah !
(Fettes Brot 1995: Nordish by Nature;
www.fettesbrot.de)]
The language mix is very creative: while singing the English lyrics
they use an overemphasised German accent and while singing in
German typical English Rap utterances are in between (“yo, yeah....”).
The movie title “Saturday Night Fever” is transferred to the German
word “Nachtfieber” (night fever) and not quoted in English.
A local and global interplay also exists for the addressing of cultural
others and the topics of Rap. Rap culture as protest of rather young
people typically establishes the authorities as cultural others
(government,
police,
parents,
teachers).
Accordingly
the
most
important topics are self-presentation and social-critique. This is a
“McWorld” phenomenon. But on the local level there are immense
differences. James Lull (1995; quoted in Androutsopoulos & Scholz
2002, p. 4) refers to this as the “indigenization” of Rap. Rap is used
as a medium to address social issues and criticism which are related to
local problems. In Germany e.g. the “Brother’s Keepers Project” was
founded as a direct reaction to the murder of a black man
(www.brotherskeepers.de). In France social critique is the dominant topic in
most of the songs whereas in Germany it is only one important topic
Sonja Reher (Germany), Peter Jandok (Germany), Valentine Rosset (France)
EMICC; University of Bayreuth (Germany); 2003
39
THE NOTION OF RAP CULTURE
amongst others. This feature was illustrated in chapter 2 by the
distinction of the French and German social actor of Rap culture.
As a conclusion our understanding of Rap culture has only partly
features of a “McWorld”. We see it much more as a rather creative local
adjustment of a universal concept.
Sonja Reher (Germany), Peter Jandok (Germany), Valentine Rosset (France)
EMICC; University of Bayreuth (Germany); 2003
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THE NOTION OF RAP CULTURE
References
Bibliography
Androutsopoulos, Jannis & Arno Scholz (2002): „On the
recontextualization of hip-hop in European speech communities:
a contrastive analysis of rap lyrics“, in: PhiN 19/2002: 1;
http://www.fu-berlin.de/phin/phin19/p19t1.htm.
Bolte, Henning (1995): "Oralität und Technologie – zur sprachlichen
Praxis in der Rapmusik", in: Schmitz, Ulrich (ed.): Neue Medien,
177–204. (= OBST, 50).
Boucher, Manuel (1998) : Rap, expression des lascars. Significations et
enjeux du Rap dans la société française, L’Harmattan.
Calio, Jean (1998) : Le Rap : une réponse des banlieues ?, Collection
pour Mémoire Entpe Aléas.
Grimm, Stephanie (1998): Die Repräsentation von Männlichkeit im
Punk und Rap. Tübingen: Stauffenburg.
Karrer, Wolfgang (1995): "Rap als Jugendkultur zwischen Widerstand
und Kommerzialisierung", in: Karrer, Wolfgang & Ingrid Kerkhoff
(eds): Rap im Fadenkreuz, 21–43. Hamburg/Berlin: Argument
Verlag. (= Gulliver, 38)
Lull, James (1995): Media, communication, culture. A global approach.
Cambridge: Polity Press.
Mayer, Ruth & Mark Terkessidis (1998): Globalkolorit.
Multikulturalismus und Populärkultur. St. Andrä-Wörden:
hannibal.
Sonja Reher (Germany), Peter Jandok (Germany), Valentine Rosset (France)
EMICC; University of Bayreuth (Germany); 2003
41
THE NOTION OF RAP CULTURE
Mikos, Lothar (2000): “Vergnügen und Widerstand. Aneignungsformen
von HipHop und Gangsta Rap”, in: Göttlich, Udo & Raimer
Winter (eds): Politik des Vergnügens. Zur Diskussion der
Populärkultur in den Cultural Studies, 103-123. Köln: Herbert
von Halem Verlag.
Potter, Russel A. (1995): Spectacular Vernaculars. Hip-Hop and the
Politics of Postmodernism. New York: Suny.
Snell-Hornby, Mary (2000): “Communicating in the Global Village: On
Language, Translation and Cultural Identity. In: Schaeffner,
Christine (ed.): Translation in the Global Village. Clevedon:
Multilingual Matters.
Stapleton, Katina R. (1998): "From the margins to mainstream: the
political power of hip-hop", in: Media, Culture and Society 20,
219–234.
Webliography:
http://d-a-s-h.org/dossier/05/04_battle.html
http://davidnavas.free.fr/rap.html
http://membres.lycos.fr/theplanetrap/autre.htm
http://rapconnexion.free.fr/histoire.php
http://www2.plymouth.ac.uk/gateway_to_study/EngLang/meton.htm
http://www.ac-amiens.fr/lycee60/calvin/c1999/rap/hist_rap.htm
http://www.brothers-keepers.de
http://www.brothers-keepers.de/brothers_keepers/bro.nsf/menu/lyrics_adriano
http://www.detlev-mahnert.de/deutscher-rap.htm
Sonja Reher (Germany), Peter Jandok (Germany), Valentine Rosset (France)
EMICC; University of Bayreuth (Germany); 2003
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THE NOTION OF RAP CULTURE
http://www.diefantastischenvier.de
http://www.ferrismc.de
http://www.fettesbrot.de
http://www.fu-berlin.de/phin/phin19/p19t1.htm
http://www.goethe.de/z/50/alltag/meinung/ausl10.htm
http://www.granika.org/rap_et_racisme.html
http://www.kronawithleitner.at/lyrics/showtext.php/id/553
http://www.lien-social.com/archives/dossiers2002/603a610/608-1.htm
http://www.nouvelobs.com/hs-lesados/instruire/art8.html
http://www.online-magazine.com/snaps.htm
www.ph-ludwigsburg.de/franzoesisch/overmann/baf4/rap/1.htm
http://www.rhp.de
http://www.semionet.com
http://www.ultimate-lyrics.de
Discography
“Advanced Chemistry” (1992): Fremd Im Eigenen Land.
“Assassins”
“Brothers Keepers Project” (2001): Adriano (Letzte Warnung).
“Die Fantastischen Vier” (1992): Die da (Vier gewinnt).
“Die Fantastischen Vier” (1999): Mfg (4:1999).
„Fabe” (1998): Quand je serai grand... (Détournement de son...).
“Ferris MC“ (1999): Im Zeichen des Freaks (Im Zeichen des Freaks).
Sonja Reher (Germany), Peter Jandok (Germany), Valentine Rosset (France)
EMICC; University of Bayreuth (Germany); 2003
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THE NOTION OF RAP CULTURE
“Fettes Brot” (1995): Nordish by Nature (Auf einem Auge blöd).
“Firma, Die” (1998): Aktionäre (Spiel des Lebens).
“IAM”, Nés sous la même étoile
“NTM”,Vos papiers, contrôle d`identité
“NTM” 1993, Nick la police
“NTM” 94,Tribu
“NWA” (1988): Tha Police (Straight Outta Compton).
“Oxmo Puccino”
“Rödelheim Hartreim Projekt“ (1994): Reime (Direkt aus Rödelheim).
“Rödelheim Hartreim Projekt” (1996): Mein Style (Ich bin).
“Schwester S” (1995): Mutter (S ist soweit).
“Sens unik” (1991): Le Vième sens (VIeme sens).
“Stomy Bugsy”
Sonja Reher (Germany), Peter Jandok (Germany), Valentine Rosset (France)
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