Conscious Rap Music: Movement Music Revisited a Qualitative Study of Conscious Rappers and Activism
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Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University African-American Studies Theses Department of African-American Studies Spring 5-6-2012 Conscious Rap Music: Movement Music Revisited A Qualitative Study of Conscious Rappers and Activism Ife J. Mohammed-Akinyela Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/aas_theses Recommended Citation Mohammed-Akinyela, Ife J., "Conscious Rap Music: Movement Music Revisited A Qualitative Study of Conscious Rappers and Activism." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2012. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/aas_theses/14 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of African-American Studies at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in African-American Studies Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. CONSCIOUS RAP MUSIC: MOVEMENT MUSIC REVISITED A QUALITATIVE STUDY OF CONSCIOUS RAPPERS AND ACTIVISM by IFE J. MOHAMMED Under the Direction of Dr. Sarita K. Davis ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to explore how conscious rap is used as a form of activism. Ethnographies of conscious rappers based in the Atlanta, GA area will be used to understand this relationship. In order to complete this investigation, ten unsigned conscious rappers will be given a series of questions to explore their involvement as activists; some of these artists were also recruited due their affiliations with political organizations also based in Atlanta, GA. By gathering interviews from conscious rappers who consider their music as a form of activism, scholars of African American Studies may further understand the role of music and political activism when mobilizing the African American and minority communities. INDEX WORDS: Hip Hop, Conscious Rap, Activism CONSCIOUS RAP MUSIC: MOVEMENT MUSIC REVISITED A QUALITATIVE STUDY OF CONSCIOUS RAPPERS AND ACTIVISM by IFE J. MOHAMMED A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University 2012 Copyright by Ife J. Mohammed 2012 CONSCIOUS RAP MUSIC: MOVEMENT MUSIC REVISITED A QUALITATIVE STUDY OF CONSCIOUS RAPPERS AND ACTIVISM by IFE J. MOHAMMED Committee Chair: Dr. Sarita K. Davis Committee: Dr. Lakeyta Bonnette Dr. Johnathan Gayles Electronic Version Approved: Office of Graduate Studies College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University May 2012 iv DEDICATION This paper is dedicated to my family, Zayd A. S. Akinyela, Zayd Y. O. Akinyela and Zayd Y. J. Akinyela. I could not have accomplished any of this without the three of you. Family First and in loving memory of Arvitis Jackson Mohammed, I am because you are. This is also dedicated to NuAfrikan ENT., much love to the lifestyle: Zayd Malik and Ife Jie. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to acknowledge all of the conscious rappers out there that have dedicated their careers to going against the mainstream grain and choosing to stand outside the box. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................................ v LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................................................... viii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 BACKGROUND .................................................................................................................................. 3 1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT ................................................................................................................... 4 1.3 PURPOSE ........................................................................................................................................... 5 1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY ...................................................................................................... 7 1.5 NATURE OF STUDY .......................................................................................................................... 8 1.6 RESEARCH QUESTION ..................................................................................................................... 9 1.7 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ......................................................................................................... 9 1.8 ASSUMPTIONS ................................................................................................................................ 13 1.9 SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS ............................................................................................................ 14 1.10 CHAPTER SUMMARY ................................................................................................................... 14 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW......................................................................................................... 16 2.1 TITLE SEARCHES ............................................................................................................................ 16 2.2 RESEARCH DOCUMENTS, JOURNALS RESEARCHED ............................................................... 17 2.3 HISTORICAL OVERVIEW ............................................................................................................... 18 2.4 MUSIC AS A FORMAL INFLUENCE – GOSPEL MOVEMENT MUSIC ....................................... 19 CHAPTER 3 METHODS ............................................................................................................................ 40 3.1 DESIGN APPROPRIATNESS ........................................................................................................... 41 3.2 POPULATION .................................................................................................................................. 43 3.3 SAMPLE ............................................................................................................................................ 44 3.4 DATA COLLECTION and PROCEDURES ...................................................................................... 45 3.5 RATIONALE...................................................................................................................................... 46 3.6 VALIDITY- INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL ........................................................................................ 47 3.7 DATA ANALYSIS .............................................................................................................................. 47 3.8 CHAPTER SUMMARY ..................................................................................................................... 48 CHAPTER 4 RESULTS ............................................................................................................................... 50 4.1 PARTICIPANTS ................................................................................................................................ 51 4.2 THEMES AND SUB-THEMES ......................................................................................................... 55 4.3 A TOOL TO EDUCATE, EMPOWER AND INSPIRE ...................................................................... 55 4.4 EVERYBODY’S MUSIC HAS ENERGY ........................................................................................... 57 vii 4.5 I WANT TO TEACH WITHOUT YOU KNOWING IM TEACHING .............................................. ...58 4.6 POLITICAL RAP CONCERNS THE REPRESENTATION OF THE PEOPLE ......................... .......59 4.7 NEW AFRIKAN – ITS IN MY BLOOD ............................................ .................................................60 4.8 THE MUSIC IS FOR EVERYONE…....…………………………….………………………...…...……….63 4.9 I WANT TO CHANGE THE WORLD................................................................................................65 4.10 I HAVE TO TELL OUR STORY.......................................................................................................66 4.11 IMPORTANT FOR US TO MAKE GOOD MUSIC.........................................................................67 4.12 DON’T EXPECT TO BE THE NEXT BEYONCE’...........................................................................68 4.13 BEING ABLE TO BE MYSELF........................................................................................................69 4.14 CHAPTER SUMMARY ....................................................................................................................70 CHPATER 5 CONCLUSION.......................................................................................................................70 5.1 IMPLICATIONS AND STUDY RESULTS ........................................................................................73 5.2 THEORY.............................................................................................................................................73 5.3 PARTICIPANTS AND APPROACH .................................................................................................74 5.4 THEMES ...........................................................................................................................................75 5.5 FUTURE RESEARCH .......................................................................................................................78 5.6 CHAPTER