Hip hop identity in a township reality. - Poppunt

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the public they write and perform songs for and the language they use in their songs. They use a certain language to increase their audience, or, on the contrary, to reach a very specific public. This immediately leads us to the link between language and the environment they live in. If you want to spread a certain message to the people around you, you need to make sure they can understand it. If most of the people around you have not been to school and do not have a thorough knowledge of English, you will not be able to get across your message to them. On the other hand, if you want to reach as many people as possible, English might be an option, since this is a communication language spread over the entire world. Secondly, there is a link between the choice for a certain language and the topics that they deal with (which will be the subject of the next chapter). If the song is just about having a good time, it is less important to use the language your main audience understands best. CHAPTER THREE: TOPICS, MESSAGES AND GOALS This chapter focuses on the topics our interviewees process in their lyrics. Since the song themes predominantly coincide with the message our interviewees want to spread and with the general goal they want to reach with their music, all of these things will be examined at the same time.
The reason why we discuss the topics, is because this is a perfect manner to explore the way rappers in Cape Town see the environment they live in, and how they want to make an impact on it with the music they produce. It was astounding that almost every one of the interviewees gave similar replies to the questions we asked about the content of their lyrics. To make this clear, we will start by taking a look at the answers the interviewees gave us concerning this topic. Everybody will be considered and quoted separately, while in the next part we are going to discuss the findings that result from the responses they gave us. It is significant to explain which type of questions we asked them during the interviews. They were short, neutral and open questions so the respondents could still answer them in any way they wanted. Some examples are: ‘What are your lyrics about’, ‘Do you want to spread a message with your music’, and ‘How far do you want your music to reach / do you have a goal you want to achieve’. This chapter ends with a general conclusion about what function rap music has for our interviewees. It can be divided into two parts: the function it has for them personally, and the function it can have for the community they live in. 1. Overview Crosby found in hip hop a way to express his feelings and a medium to spread his messages across to people. For him it is important to have an outlet for all the things that he experiences around him; past and present. The most important recurrent topics in his lyrics are the social issues people in townships need to deal with, and general daily life. These two topics interconnect; since Crosby is an inhabitant of Gugulethu, he is face to face with the difficult social circumstances. So, for him it is easier to reflect on the problems in the townships because he is not an outsider who sees things from a (safe) distance. Through his lyrics, he criticises the government’s approach towards people living in the townships. For example they do not get enough financial help to keep the youths occupied and off the streets. “There can be a solution to the crime to the cause of the pain / the only thing that can decrease crime is the government to invest more money in getting the youth to be active / giving the youth resources computers parks studio’s.” Crosby urges people who live in bad conditions not to give up hope. He is convinced that, in the future, everything will get better. There is just a need for change to
Page 1 and 2: Universiteit Gent Faculteit Lettere
Page 3 and 4: 3. Conclusion 52 4. GANGSTA RAP (KD
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Page 7 and 8: the Hoofweg Primary School in Wesba
Page 9 and 10: There is no further message in the
Page 11 and 12: adopted it for the name of their gr
Page 13 and 14: songs, he will perform his own acts
Page 15 and 16: where the many townships arose. The
Page 17 and 18: were forced to move during this per
Page 19 and 20: protests; many people were killed c
Page 21 and 22: The unemployment rate is very high,
Page 23 and 24: apartheid state imposed before 1990
Page 25 and 26: particularly interesting that we fo
Page 27 and 28: 100% perfectly so I wouldn’t be e
Page 29 and 30: y writing a song in English in orde
Page 31 and 32: If he does not understand the langu
Page 33 and 34: to more than just his people. Not o
Page 35 and 36: 2. Findings When we examine the rep
Page 37: English is used by our interviewees
Page 41 and 42: Secondly, he tries to motivate yout
Page 43 and 44: apartheid, somebody that passed awa
Page 45 and 46: narrative. As such, the songs are e
Page 47 and 48: “That’s what we doing / make su
Page 49 and 50: man I’ve got guns / yeah right sh
Page 51 and 52: nigga who was like you know not an
Page 53 and 54: “More and more of the kids are re
Page 55 and 56: They are giving advice through the
Page 57 and 58: audience, in the mid nineties, it h
Page 59 and 60: will try to reach the same luxury,
Page 61 and 62: “But it’s being portrayed by th
Page 63 and 64: ecause it suggests it is all right,
Page 65 and 66: In this part we assess the given an
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Page 69 and 70: 2.1. Generally accepted opinion and
Page 71 and 72: themselves was: what do bilingual s
Page 73 and 74: Code-switched speech itself by the
Page 75 and 76: used codes (in contradistinction to
Page 77 and 78: ethnic boundaries, and it raises is
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Page 81 and 82: about seven million black second-la
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Page 87 and 88: Gough distinguish, but that did not
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- to battle: to compete, usually fr
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Those guys that I was rolling with.
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American code to claim membership o
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further on in this chapter, these t
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CONCLUSION For a particular segment
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Hip hop identity in a township reality. - Poppunt

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