Oral nature of rap and the problems of transcription
Rap is a contemporary manifestation of Black oral tradition. Efforts to fix its practices in writing are problematic because of its reliance on rhyme, homonyms, and flow. Many consider African-American Vernacular English (AAVE) to be the primary language of rap music; however, Alim (2006; ch. 4) goes a step farther, and enumerates “ten tenets” of what he calls the Hip Hop Nation Language, which he considers a stage in the evolution of AAVE. AAVE is often framed in terms of a deviation from “proper” English, but it is more accurately understood as a distinct language, one with its own grammar, syntax, and vocabulary. When framed as a deviation from “standard” English, AAVE is used to perpetuate stereotypes of people of color as uneducated (or at least undereducated). Russell Potter, Marcyliena Morgan and others contend that the use of AAVE constitutes a form of resistance to the dominant (white, upper-middle class) culture. Committing these kinds of linguistic variations to print has the potential to obscure layers of meaning, as in the case of homonyms, where choosing one spelling might hide the meaning(s) implied by the sound of the word.
Use of musical and poetic elements
In his song “Follow the Leader,” Rakim defines rap as “Rhythm And Poetry”; however, rap is a case where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. The combination of the musical elements and the poetic elements--often described as the rapper’s “flow”--yields a powerful expressive resource. To present the lyrics alone, outside of their musical context, is to remove a layer of meaning. In a series of studies (to be discussed in more detail below), Carrie Fried demonstrated how manipulating the context in which lyrics are presented can influence how the music is perceived.
Rap songs contain a wide variety of rhyming strategies, and other poetic devices such as personification, hyperbole; and similes and metaphors. The music’s reliance on figurative language undermines any basis in fact that the lyrics might have.
Questions of authorship
Any artistic endeavor is a collaborative process, and rap music is no different. Given rap music’s reliance on authenticity (“keepin’ it real”) fans like to believe that their favorite artist is the only one responsible for writing the lyrics, and that those lyrics faithfully represent that artist’s lived experiences; however, the collaborative nature of rap music makes it difficult to ascribe sole authorship to a single individual. Most songs rely on a producer to supply the beat (background musical track). It is not uncommon for rappers to listen to a number of beats before selecting one, and often the choice of beat can influence the rapper’s musical and lyrical choices. Rappers often contribute guest verses (“features”) to songs, and “posse cuts” have long been a staple of rap culture. In some cases, a team of songwriters is responsible for the lyrics; in other cases, one artist will ghost-write for another. Increasingly, artists have contracts that stipulate that they are entitled to a share of the songwriting credits and the accompanying royalties even if they did not participate in writing the song.
Reliance on artistic conventions/formulas
Like any musical style, rap music relies on the repetition and revision of certain generic conventions for its identity. These conventions are repeated and revised in the mainstream rap arena. Studies of improvisation in rap reveal that artists rely on preexisting formulas arranged in novel configurations. Adams, Drakulich, and Stoia have identified a set of lyrical tropes common to a large number of rap songs. Artists rely on a number of common narrative structures, such as what Cobb calls “the Malcolm X formula,” or what Jocelyn Neal identifies as “the time-shift paradigm.” Three sixteen-bar verses with a hook was a common structure for radio-friendly rap music in the 1990s and early 2000s. That formula is changing as a result of streaming’s impact on music consumption and composition, which favors shorter songs (the shorter the song, the more possible streams per hour) and requires artists to keep listeners engaged for at least the first 30 seconds of a song (the minimum amount of time that will register as one stream for purposes of payment).
In order for an aspiring artist to have a chance at succeeding in the music industry, they need to draw on these conventions, whether they represent their lived experience or not. In 2013, rap songs about “lean” were topping the Billboard charts. That year, A$AP Rocky landed a multi-million-dollar record deal on the strength of his song “Purple Swag,” which embraced many of mainstream rap’s prevailing tropes. Artists rely on conventions for several reasons: they facilitate composition and they offer hope of a way into the music industry. The reliance on convention does suggest that much of what we hear is not as original as we are led to believe.