Analyzing the texts of rap music it is necessary to consider the intended audience of the songs and the purposes of the singers. “Rap is from the streets. If you don’t know what’s going on out there, you can’t do rap. You can live in Beverly Hills, but your heart has to be in the streets” (Keyes 6). The same is with the analysis of the songs and music, the critics should be aware of the lived realities of the authors and demographic characteristics of the aimed audience.
The authors of these songs raise the questions that appear to be burning to the present-day youth and adults as well. The questions of social injustice, racial prejudices, creativity and self-identification are illuminated in the rap songs using swear words and slang to make them more expressive and emotionally colored, as the art can not be restricted by the generally accepted canons. These songs may appear to be shocking to some of the listeners, but enjoying wide popularity among the audiences and expressing the protest of certain social groups, the rap songs are works of art and an essential element of the hip hop culture.
The rappers discuss the questions of the relationship with the opposite sex, putting an emphasis not on the romantic feelings, but on the problem of trust and psychological aspects of understanding. MC Lyte discusses the problem of the not trustworthy promises in the song Paper Thin of the album Lyte as a Rock: “What you say to me is just paper-thin, the word” (The Original Hip-Hop Lyrics Archive). LL Cool J raises the question of loneliness, hardened souls and desire to love in the song I need to Love: “Inside my soul, because my soul is cold/one half of me deserves to be this way till I’m old/ the other half needs affection and joy/and the warmth that is created by a girl and a boy” (The Original Hip-Hop Lyrics Archive).
Sir Mix-a-Lot illuminates the question of the insincerity of the present-day relationships and the desire of the present-day girls to gain the financial profits from the relationships, their mercenary intentions in the song My Posse’s on Broadway: “you beat up on your girl, and now you’re all upset– she’s with the Mix-a-Lot posse, on the Broadway set” (The Original Hip-Hop Lyrics Archive). Thus, the rap songs represent the realistic view of the relationships, not idealizing romanticism, but illuminating the aspects of psychological problems and human weaknesses.
Another important issue is self-identification, rap itself as a way of self-expression. De La Soul raises the question of the importance of accepting the peculiarities of one’s personality in the song Me Myself and I, emphasizing that his songs reflect his lifestyle and his views: “Proud, I’m proud of what I am/ Can it be my De La Clothes/ Or is it just my De La Soul” (The Original Hip-Hop Lyrics Archive). The same questions are raised in the song My Adidas by Run-D.M.C, choosing the Adidas clothes as a symbol of the lifestyle of those who wear them: “We took the beat from the street and put it on TV/ My Adidas are seen on the movie screen” (The Original Hip-Hop Lyrics Archive).
The questions of creativity and art are discussed in the song My Philosophy by Boggie Down Productions, the swearwords and slang are used with the aim of making the text more expressive and closer to the listeners: “You got to have style, and learn to be original/ and everybody’s gonna wanna diss you/ Rap is like a set-up, a lot of games/ a lot of suckas with colorful names” (The Original Hip-Hop Lyrics Archive). Gangstarr develops the topic of the influence of the hip-hop culture on the public consciousness in the song Just to Get a Rep: “The rep grows bigger, now he’s known for his trigger finger/ Rolling with troops of his sons like a Gansta figure” (The Original Hip-Hop Lyrics Archive).
Beastie Boys illuminate the problem of the cruelty in the streets in the song Paul Revere: “He put the gun to my head and this is what he said,/ ‘Now my name is M.C.A. – I’ve got a license to kill” (The Original Hip-Hop Lyrics Archive). The problems of the racial prejudices and relationships with the authorities are raised in the song Fuck Tha Police by N.W.A: “Fuck the police comin straight from the underground/ A young nigga got it bad ‘cause I’m brown/ And not the other color so police think/ they have the authority to kill a minority” (The Original Hip-Hop Lyrics Archive).
The more general questions of the social injustice are raised in the song Squeeze the Trigger by Ice-T: “Homeless sleep on the city streets/ Waitin’ to die with nothin’ to eat/ While rich politicians soak their feet/ In the pools at their ten million buck retreats” (The Original Hip-Hop Lyrics Archive).
The rap songs oppose public opinion and break the accustomed rules, attracting the listeners and talented composers with the opportunity of self-expression.
Bibliography
Keyes, Cheryl. Rap Music and Street Consciousness. The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois, 2004: 302.
The Original Hip-Hop Lyrics Archive. n.d. n.a. Web.