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I Got Something to Say

Gender, Race, and Social Consciousness in Rap Music

  • Book
  • © 2018

Overview

Authors:
  1. Matthew Oware

    1. Sociology , DePauw University , Greencastle, USA

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  • Includes a lyrical (content) analysis of recent rap music of men and women from 2005 to 2015
  • Analyzes commercial and underground/independent rap music in the United States
  • Discusses the emergence of queer emcees, the role of Black Lives Matter, and current politics

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Table of contents (8 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xi
    Download chapter PDF

  2. Introduction: Started from the Bottom…

    • Matthew Oware
    Pages 1-21

  3. Urban Spaces and Bodies

    • Matthew Oware
    Pages 23-37

  4. The Hybrid Rapper

    • Matthew Oware
    Pages 39-77

  5. Bad Bitches?

    • Matthew Oware
    Pages 79-114

  6. Coming Straight from the Underground

    • Matthew Oware
    Pages 115-152

  7. The Queer Emcee

    • Matthew Oware
    Pages 153-180

  8. Black Lives Matter and Political Rap

    • Matthew Oware
    Pages 181-206

  9. Conclusion: Future Intersections of Rap and Politics

    • Matthew Oware
    Pages 207-223

  10. Back Matter

    Pages 225-240
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Keywords

About this book

What do millennial rappers in the United States say in their music? This timely and compelling book answers this question by decoding the lyrics of over 700 songs from contemporary rap artists. Using innovative research techniques, Matthew Oware reveals how emcees perpetuate and challenge gendered and racialized constructions of masculinity, femininity, and sexuality. Male and female artists litter their rhymes with misogynistic and violent imagery. However, men also express a full range of emotions, from arrogance to vulnerability, conveying a more complex manhood than previously acknowledged. Women emphatically state their desires while embracing a more feminist approach. Even LGBTQ artists stake their claim and express their sexuality without fear. Finally, in the age of Black Lives Matter and the presidency of Donald J. Trump, emcees forcefully politicize their music. Although complicated and contradictory in many ways, rap remains a powerful medium for social commentary.

Authors and Affiliations

  • Sociology , DePauw University , Greencastle, USA

    Matthew Oware

About the author

Matthew Oware is the Lester Martin Jones Professor of Sociology and Director of the Africana Studies Program at DePauw University, USA. He is an award-winning teacher and scholar whose articles have appeared in Journal of African American Studies, Journal of Black Studies, Poetics, and Sociology of Race and Ethnicity. He teaches courses in Sociology and Africana Studies.

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: I Got Something to Say

  • Book Subtitle: Gender, Race, and Social Consciousness in Rap Music

  • Authors: Matthew Oware

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90454-2

  • Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham

  • eBook Packages: Social Sciences, Social Sciences (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-319-90453-5Published: 20 July 2018

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-08019-8Published: 10 January 2019

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-90454-2Published: 11 July 2018

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XI, 240

  • Topics: Media Sociology, Cultural Studies, Music, African American Culture, Culture and Gender, Men's Studies

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