Hip hop identity in a township reality. - Poppunt

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most cases they refer to the media as a major factor in the popularity of gangsta rap and its attractiveness to young people. The media spend much attention to gangsta rappers and are very eager to give them a platform. Instead of promoting people who write songs containing positive and conscientious lyrics, they promote gangsta rappers. This is probably due to the fact that they can make a lot of money from it, since rap music has become big business with a lot more to sell than only CD’s; today it seems that every self-respecting rapper needs to have his/her own clothing or shoe range. This also causes the negative image that hip hop has for a lot of people, because these are the only kind of rappers that they are presented with. Some of our interviewees indicate other factors that should prevent us from exaggerating the guilt of gangsta rap for all what goes wrong in this world. Mayja says it is normal for youths to go through a phase where they want to imitate their idol. Bad Luck also points to the responsibility of the listeners themselves. They should be careful with the interpretations they make. In Compton L.A. there might be a lot of killings, but if there would be a murder for every ‘I’ll kill you’ in a rap song, it would be rather empty by now. Just to say, “you do not have to take everything literally, there is also the poetic licence”, which is not only applicable to hip hop, but also to the Bible or to Nick Caves ‘Murder Ballads’. In this respect Bad Luck also points to the responsibility of the parents who should keep a better control over what their children are listening to. 3. Conclusion What strikes us most in our findings, is the fact that all of our interviewees approached this matter of gangsta rap quite subtly and thoughtfully. As we have already mentioned, rap music and especially gangsta rap, is often the subject of controversy. Nevertheless, our interviewees do not let themselves be talked into a black-and-white point of view, although we always asked the rather biased question: ‘Do you not think that gangsta rap has a bad influence on young people?’. Although none of our interviewees relate in any way to the lifestyle described in gangsta rap songs, they do not perceive it as having an all around bad influence. They all live in violent and disadvantaged neighbourhoods and they all write stories about it, but focus on different elements. Most of them are convinced that gangsta rap can have a possible negative influence on young children, because gangsta rappers are mostly portrayed as living an extremely luxurious life, which suggests that crime gets rewarded in the end.
Our interviewees do see a bigger picture in this discussion about gangsta rap. They point to the poverty that surrounds them as a factor of stimulus for criminality, the influence that the media has by choosing this rap genre to be displayed the most, and finally the responsibility of the listener and the parents who should observe more closely their children’s viewing and listening habits. CHAPTER FIVE: CODE-SWITCHING AND CROSSING In this chapter we will focus on to the way our interviewees talked to us during our conversations. Their speech will be the central issue of this chapter, since, as we will show, speech also reveals information about one’s identity, or at least the identity one wants to give out to the outside world. We will start this chapter by giving a brief overview of the most important tendencies in the research concerning code-switching. Thereafter, we will apply the most relevant elements to our data. We will then proceed to examine the codes between which they are switching more in detail. Finally, with the assistance of the theory we formed, we will link everything
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Universiteit Gent Faculteit Lettere
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3. Conclusion 52 4. GANGSTA RAP (KD
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music they make). The concept of id
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the Hoofweg Primary School in Wesba
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There is no further message in the
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adopted it for the name of their gr
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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
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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 and 38: English is used by our interviewees
Page 39 and 40: The reason why we discuss the topic
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: In this part we assess the given an
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
Page 79 and 80: 1998a: 272) states that three dimen
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Page 83 and 84: for example the features of BSAE ar
Page 85 and 86: 2) Omission of articles How many pe
Page 87 and 88: Gough distinguish, but that did not
Page 89 and 90: - to battle: to compete, usually fr
Page 91 and 92: Those guys that I was rolling with.
Page 93 and 94: American code to claim membership o
Page 95 and 96: further on in this chapter, these t
Page 97 and 98: CONCLUSION For a particular segment
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Hip hop identity in a township reality. - Poppunt

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