UNIVERZITA PALACKÉHO V OLOMOUCI Filozofická Fakulta Katedra Anglistiky a Amerikanistiky
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UNIVERZITA PALACKÉHO V OLOMOUCI Filozofická fakulta Katedra anglistiky a amerikanistiky Lil Trump: A Paradox in American Rap Music Diplomová práce Bc. Ondřej Hrabal (F180612) Anglická filologie – Aplikovaná ekonomická studia Vedoucí práce: Mgr. David Livingstone, Ph.D. Olomouc 2020 Prohlašuji, že jsem diplomovou práci na téma „Lil Trump: A Paradox in American Rap Music“ vypracoval samostatně pod odborným dohledem vedoucího práce a uvedl jsem všechny použité podklady a literaturu. V Olomouci dne 30. 11. 2020 Podpis ............................. Děkuji Mgr. Davidu Livingstone, Ph.D. za trpělivost, odborné vedení práce a velmi přínosné konzultace. LIST OF FIGURES Graph 1: Usage of “money” in rap lyrics ................................................................................. 50 Graph 2: Usage of “Porsche,” “Bentley,” “Ferrari,” “Rari,” “Lamborghini” and “Lambo” in rap lyrics ......................................................................................................................................... 51 Screenshot 1: Trump’s post on Twitter about Jay-Z ................................................................ 77 Screenshot 2: Trump’s post on Twitter about Snoop Dogg ..................................................... 78 Screenshot 3: Trump’s post on Twitter about Mac Miller ....................................................... 79 Screenshot 4: Trump’s post on Twitter about Mac Miller ....................................................... 79 Screenshot 5: Trump’s post on Twitter about Mac Miller ....................................................... 79 Screenshot 6: Trump’s post on Twitter about Mac Miller ....................................................... 80 Screenshot 7: Trump’s post on Twitter about Mac Miller ....................................................... 80 Screenshot 8: Ice Cube’s post on Twitter about consulting the Trump administration ........... 83 CONTENT Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 7 The Most Significant Poetry of Today ..................................................................................... 12 Who Is the Black Trump? ........................................................................................................ 19 Famous like Trump .............................................................................................................. 23 Braggadocio ......................................................................................................................... 27 Careless like Trump ............................................................................................................. 30 Keep It Simple ...................................................................................................................... 35 Dystopian like Trump ........................................................................................................... 40 Treating Women like Trump ................................................................................................ 43 Until You Do Right by Me ............................................................................................... 45 Rich like Trump ................................................................................................................... 49 From Rags to Riches ........................................................................................................ 52 Me and All My Peoples, We Always Thought He Was Straight ............................................. 62 FDT .......................................................................................................................................... 66 Make America Great Again. Together. ................................................................................ 73 Beefin’ wit’ the POTUS ....................................................................................................... 76 You Cannot Be a Rapper and Support President Trump, Kanye? ....................................... 81 The Paradox .............................................................................................................................. 85 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 94 Resumé ..................................................................................................................................... 96 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................. 98 Annotation .............................................................................................................................. 122 Anotace ................................................................................................................................... 123 INTRODUCTION “For outsiders, rap’s easy to move to, hard to dissect.”1 - David Foster Wallace When the rap superstar Kanye West (*1977) made an appearance at the Trump Tower after Donald Trump became the 45th president of the United States, the rap world stopped turning. The idea that a notoriously rebellious rapper would do something unexpected comes naturally, however in this case, there was very little understanding awaiting West in his community. Before the 2016 United States presidential election campaigning, Trump had served as one of the most noticeable and almost exclusively positive symbols which was widely used in rap songs by some of the most important rappers of all time. Things took a rapid turn once he announced his presidential candidacy for the Republican Party. Basically overnight, the symbol of wealth, success and the personification of the American Dream became arguably the most significant villain in rap music. This thesis argues that this instant paradigm shift revealed conflicting principles—sets of values prevailing in rap music, yet fundamentally paradoxical. The extreme individualism and the limitless appreciation of the self is inconsistent with community thinking and the fight for equal living conditions and opportunities. In this particular case, the inconsistent set of values of these urban poets can even directly influence how history is written, as will be justified later on. The first part of the thesis demonstrates the importance of rap music and explains why opinions of rappers have an enormous impact on other people’s behavior and beliefs. Moreover, its omnipresence in American culture, business and, most importantly, politics, is illustrated. The following part of the thesis, arguably the most important one, marks the similarities between Donald Trump and the majority of significant rappers. The topics that are dealt with in this segment stretch from the pursuit of fame or money through similarities in rhetoric to sexism. Reasoning for these similarities is provided and exceptions are mentioned. 1 David Foster Wallace and Mark Costello, Signifying Rappers (London: Penguin Books, 2013), 24. 7 The third part of the thesis illustrates the abrupt perspective switch, the instant change from worshipping up to a point of suggesting assassination of Trump. The penultimate part deals with the POTUS as a symbol of disgust. It analyses the post-election reflection of Donald Trump as well as his own reactions to it. It also deals with important exceptions to the rule. The last part utilizes all of the gained evidence to present and defend the postulated paradox. Furthermore, it sketches the potential real-life impact of promoting inconsistent sets of values through this extraordinarily potent medium. Before exploring the relationship between Donald Trump and rap, it is important to clarify basic vocabulary and context. Two terms, which will be used many times in this thesis and can be slightly confusing, are “rap” and “hip hop.” The archivist at the Center for Black Music Research at Columbia College Chicago, Andrew Leach, defines hip hop as follows: “The most commonly held view, however, is that hip-hop is a cultural movement.”2 This movement is usually considered to consist of other elements apart from music such as graffiti art,3 break dancing etc. He further explains: “Rap music has become by far the most celebrated expression of hip-hop culture.”4 Alternatively, one can look for definitions by rappers themselves. A prominent rap star KRS-One (*1965) defined these terms in his song “Hip Hop Vs. Rap” (2003): Rap is something you do Hip Hop is something you live5 Presidents of the United States are public figures and rap lyrics often reflect celebrities, which is why we can find references to all presidents in office from the beginning of hip-hop, which is usually dated to early 1970s.6 The role of rap as a tool of political commentary and critical voice towards those in power is evident. There are two presidents, however, whose significance for rap music seems to be overwhelming and 2 Andrew Leach, “‘One Day It'll All Make Sense:’ Hip-Hop and Rap Resources for Music Librarians,” Notes 65 (2008), 10. 3 Many people, who are significant for the culture, disagree with the common association of graffiti art with hip hop, see Paul Edwards, The Concise Guide to Hip-Hop Music: A Fresh Look at the Art of Hip-Hop, from Old-School Beats to Freestyle Rap (New York City: St. Martin's Press, 2015), 13. 4 Leach, “One Day It’ll All Make Sense,” 10. 5 KRS-One, “Hip Hop Vs. Rap,” D.I.G.I.T.A.L. (Los Angeles: Cleopatra