RAP SONGS

Compare and Contrast Two Rap Songs



Compare and Contrast Two Rap Songs

Introduction

The music has always played an important role in learning and culture, but could affect behavior and emotions. Many times the music is part of the tradition of a country or region (reggae, tango, folk, rap, polka, salsa, samba, etc. In many circumstances it becomes the true protagonist music can also be the performers themselves or their authors. Despite the diversity of rap music (for example, reality rap, political/radical rap, poetry rap, jazz, rap, and gospel rap) there does not appear to be a similar level of diversity in the questions and issues being studied in empirical research on this music phenomenon. The type of research questions pursued (i.e., reflecting negative or positive aspects of rap music) also seems to vary by the type of journal a particular study is published in. Given the importance of studying the effects of rap music in both a negative and positive direction, testing the hypotheses below is expected to forward knowledge that could be used to guide future research in this area.

Discussion

Richard Schechner defined performance as ritualized behavior conditioned/permeated by play and suggested that almost all human actions have an element of performance to them. Performances are comprised of restored behavior, actions that have been done before, and by their function and repetition have become a means of marking identity and influencing others. All performances, including those which are mechanically or digitally reproduced, vary because of their context - it is the 'reader' and their context which are the site of performance.

Rituals are a more structured variety of performance, many of their actions are symbolic but comprise a performative event which transforms people, temporarily or permanently. There is often an overt power relationship which dictates such transformations.

'Play' has many definitions; most consider it a voluntary activity that gives 'pleasure', educates, asserts relationships and/or uses skills creatively. It is often considered 'freer' or more creative than ritual although it still has some framework, and very often goals. Schechner suggests that it is the conflict of this freedom with the cultural forms of aesthetic rituals (a conflict which may be transposed onto the reader as interpretation/expectation) which creates their effect.

To test Schechner's definition this paper will compare two recent rap songs and consider them from a broadly anthropological perspective, analyzing their structures, functions and 'successes' and the experiences of the audiences.

No Hands by Waka Flocka Flame

'No Hands' is a slow 'crunk' rap song by Waka Flocka Flame (b.1986) featuring verses from Wale (b.1984) and Roscoe Dash (b.1990) with production by Drumma Boy (b.1984). The song is in verse-chorus form (CVCVCVC), typical of the qenre". What is unusual about this song is that the three rappers involved usually occupy quite different genres. Waka is usually associated with 'gangsta' rap (indeed, this is the only song on Waka's album, F/ockaveli which 'compromises' his hard gangsta rap sound), Roscoe with crunk and Wale has a more 'alternative' sound that is influenced by ...