The Notion of “Rap Culture”

THE NOTION OF RAP CULTURE

European Masters of Intercultural Communication (EMICC)

Semiotics of cultures

The Notion of “Rap Culture”

Sonja Reher (University of Bayreuth / Germany) Peter Jandok (University of Bayreuth / Germany) Valentine Rosset (APU / UK)

Sonja Reher (Germany), Peter Jandok (Germany), Valentine Rosset (France) 1 EMICC; University of Bayreuth (Germany); 2003 THE NOTION OF RAP CULTURE

Summary

In our comparative study of the social actor of Rap culture in France and Germany we present results of internet- and library research, as well as group- and individual thinking in the following structure:

After a short introduction of the three authors and a presentation of the results of our brainstorming before the beginning, we will outline four definitions of culture which are explained and applied to first findings of characteristics of Rap culture.

Secondly a description of our social actor will be given in four dimensions: The first will be the common history, the second the Rap culture as a national scene, the third the common knowledge and values and the fourth the common activities. This will be done in a comparative way, usually starting with our findings of French Rap and afterwards of German Rap.

The data on which our findings are based are a selection of lyrics of French and German Rap – in conjunction with theoretic concepts. With the help of them the third main part of this work is presented: The linguistic culture of Rap. There are some linguistic conventions in Rap culture. Typical linguistic strategies can be found, such as self-referential speech (e. g. boasting, identification, naming, references of place and time) and listener-directed speech (e. g. dissing). Stylistic devices are the second linguistic convention, e. g. the use of metaphors, metonymies, apocopes, aphaeresis, spelling of words. Examples of Bi- /Multilingualism and diglossic speech will also be introduced.

If one wants to describe and understand another culture a cultural translation is necessary. The object of research has to be put into the “words” of somebody else’ culture which certainly is not the same. In this fourth chapter we will thus look closer at the process of interpreting as well as at the process of appropriating. This means that the interpreter has to adjust the found and experienced material in a way that the members of e. g. the researcher’s culture can understand what s/he wants to say. It will also be pointed out who are the “others” of our social actor, this means a mirroring object that defines the contrast, such as Pop-music, government or police in our case.

Sonja Reher (Germany), Peter Jandok (Germany), Valentine Rosset (France) 2 EMICC; University of Bayreuth (Germany); 2003 THE NOTION OF RAP CULTURE

In the fifth chapter called McWorld a summary of similarities that are applicable all over the world will be given.

It has to be pointed out that the brainstorming we did before we started was far from complete. A great part of the four categories of the social actor was only vaguely known to all of us (e. g. dress code, cities, status symbols) – but certainly not in such detail. We definitely did not consider the linguistic part as elaborate and strongly developed as it is, with its global and local features.

On the one hand we learnt a lot about our social actor of Rap culture. On the other hand we learnt and practiced a way in which comparative studies can be approached. These steps on the meta level may help us in the future to open up unknown subjects in a systematic and academic way.

Sonja Reher (Germany), Peter Jandok (Germany), Valentine Rosset (France) 3 EMICC; University of Bayreuth (Germany); 2003 THE NOTION OF RAP CULTURE

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SUMMARY...... 2

INTRODUCTION ...... 5

1. FOUR DEFINITIONS OF CULTURE (APPLIED TO RAP CULTURE) ...... 8

2. THE SOCIAL ACTOR OF RAP CULTURE ...... 11

C. COMMON KNOWLEDGE AND VALUES ...... 19 France ...... 19 Germany ...... 20 D. COMMON ACTIVITIES ...... 23 3. LINGUISTIC CULTURE ...... 24 Universals ...... 24 Germany ...... 32 4. CULTURAL TRANSLATION...... 33 France ...... 34 Germany ...... 35 5. MCWORLD...... 36 Local...... 38 REFERENCES ...... 41 Bibliography ...... 41 Webliography: ...... 42 Discography ...... 43

Sonja Reher (Germany), Peter Jandok (Germany), Valentine Rosset (France) 4 EMICC; University of Bayreuth (Germany); 2003 THE NOTION OF RAP CULTURE

Introduction

Before we start the authors would like to introduce themselves:

Peter Jandok is studying Pedagogic, Intercultural Communication and German as a Foreign Language at the Technical University of Chemnitz and at the University of Bayreuth. He gathered intercultural experiences by working and studying mainly in South Africa, Spain, China and Mexico. His hobbies are reading and partly music.

Valentine Rosset studied four years at Nanterre University/France. There she studied Foreign Languages (English and Spanish). During these 4 years, she studied one semester in London and one in Amsterdam. Now she is registered at the APU/Cambridge to do a Masters in Intercultural Communication.

Sonja Reher is a student of Intercultural German Studies, Anglophone Studies and Sociology at Bayreuth University. During her studies she worked and travelled in China, Ireland and the USA.

When we were asked to describe the notion of a given culture we decided spontaneously to take a closer look on ‘youth culture’. Soon we noticed that this group would be far too big. We had to focus on the category which was easy because all the three of us are interested in music. As we all knew that Rap is a popular form of music in France as well as in Germany and because we all share the interest also in this music we came to the conclusion to investigate more thoroughly the similarities and differences between Rap in France and Germany. Another important factor was that Rap groups are often intercultural themselves and therefore an interesting subject of research.

Sonja Reher (Germany), Peter Jandok (Germany), Valentine Rosset (France) 5 EMICC; University of Bayreuth (Germany); 2003 THE NOTION OF RAP CULTURE

As we did not want to go into research immediately we found it appropriate to do a brainstorming amongst ourselves in order to see what we already knew about our topic of research. This common knowledge was about to be proved in a scientific way as the following step.

We all agreed that many Rap musicians often, at least partly, have an immigrant background which in some form gives them an own identity. Therefore we assumed that the lyrics of their music must reflect this thematically as well as linguistically. In France they mainly come from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Sub-Saharian Africa and live in the suburbs of the big cities, such as Paris and Marseilles. A majority belongs to an underprivileged group. In Germany we imagined that they are Turkish and from Sub-Saharian Africa as well as from US- American origin and live in big cities, too, but not so much in suburbs because the suburbs do not exist in the same way as they do in France. We also thought that Rappers often belong to the middle class. The members of the Rap communities

have a certain dress code and are often involved in graffiti, break- dance and other artistic activities. Status symbols play an important role in their lives, such as jewellery, big cars and pretty girls. Competing amongst the Rap communities seems to be more important

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in Germany than in France. In Germany there would be ‘battles’ where two competitors Rap against each other in clubs and the audience decides who is best. Insulting the other – ‘dissing’ – is the linguistic way to gain respect and prestige in these events which originate from the USA. During the discussion we found out that Rappers in France are rather rejected by the society and feel between two cultures. In Germany our impression was that Rappers more often function as a bridge, a linking element between two poles, whatever they may be: foreigners/Germans, rich/poor, young/established.

Sonja Reher (Germany), Peter Jandok (Germany), Valentine Rosset (France) 7 EMICC; University of Bayreuth (Germany); 2003 THE NOTION OF RAP CULTURE

1. Four definitions of culture (applied to Rap culture)

In order to describe the social actor of Rap culture as well as possible we firstly suggest to give four definitions of culture that influence this social actor (http://www.semionet.com). Those definitions of culture will be outlined and applied to the Rap culture by presenting examples and findings of our research.

The first definition of culture defines culture as a system of knowledge and values which is supposed to be more or less commune to a group of men. Knowledge can be practical (e. g. spraying, breakdancing), theoretical (e. g. where the idols or enemies come from and why they are either idols or enemies), tacit and explicit (e. g. what to sing about in a good song), and specialised or general (e. g. what kind of beat is preferred by a certain audience; how ‘battles’ are organised). Further aspects of knowledge is knowledge of traditions and customs (e. g. the country of origin of Rap; what reasons there are to dress in a special way).

Shared values are the second pillar of the first definition of culture. They choose between different possibilities in a typical way. This means e. g. that most of the Rappers prefer to spend their free-time in connection with a special type of music rather than with books. In

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France they prefer to live in suburbs, than in city centres or villages. They also prefer clothes of special brands to suit with ties. With the help of this set of values a social actor is equipped to justify, evaluate and sanction actions within or outside the group.

The second definition of culture contains culture as a set of cognitive strategies and solutions for given relevant needs. The focus of attention here is thus not so much on isolated items of knowledge and values but on through experiences gathered ways to handle situations that have to be dealt with and to achieve goals. In connection with the social actor of the Rap culture this means that there are strategies to gain respect (e. g. tests of courage; be a friend of somebody known), be accepted or to be successful (e. g. rhyme in an prestigious and fully approved way by ‘authorities’ of the in-group). These strategies have to be learnt.

Culture can also be seen as a plurality of social fields

(http://www.jhu.edu/~istr/conferences/dublin/workingpapers/siisiainen.pdf). Bourdieu mentions three forms of capital: economic capital, social capital, cultural capital. A social actor lives in a ‘social field’’ where these forms of capital give him access to different sources: economic capital to “material resources such as money, land, and productive property”; social capital to “interpersonal relationships”; cultural capital to “institutions, cultural knowledge, and cultural products of society”

(http://www.taug.no/article/articleview/55/1/11/). These three capitals are partly independent and a social actor can thus control one capital more than another one. Applied to Rap culture it is possible that a rise in the economic capital causes a fall in the social capital where for certain parts of the Rap society money might not play such an important role and is associated with capitalism, establishment etc. It is also possible

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that an increase in cultural capital – e. g. access to media – causes an increase in the social capital as well, because if a Rap band gains certain success, interpersonal relationships may newly be established. A highly popular individual or band (social capital) in the ingroup of Rappers may also fail to increase the economic capital because the society rejects what is positive in the ingroup and cannot e. g. sell enough records or get permission to perform in public.

Finally culture can be seen as a historical form with an evolutionary dynamic. This means that culture is not a stable concept but a changing and adjusting process. The Rappers participate and are actively involved in this process and thereby constitute the culture as well as alter it. Our social actor changes and develops the Rap culture itself as well as other bordering social actors that react to the changes. By violent lyrics introduced by one participant of Rap culture others can try to be even more violent or do just the opposite. The competing element is almost institutionalised by the already mentioned battles with their dissing in which one has to react quickly to the lyrics sung by the other one before. This shows a dynamic process that does not exist as such but is being created by the members of a given culture. Another example may be that in the beginning of Rap in France the songs were sung in English. Soon this changed to French and now French Rap is almost exclusively sung in French.

Sonja Reher (Germany), Peter Jandok (Germany), Valentine Rosset (France) 10 EMICC; University of Bayreuth (Germany); 2003 THE NOTION OF RAP CULTURE

2. The social actor of Rap culture

There are four aspects of our chosen social actor that we want to describe in this chapter:

Starting with the common history of our social actor we present the background of Rap culture participants in France and Germany. Following the history, Rap culture as a national scene will be introduced. Another important aspect of the social actor certainly are the differences in France and Germany of common knowledge and values. Finally the common activities are being pointed out. The common language and communicative means will be dealt with in a separate chapter (chapter 3). By presenting all these features we intend to describe the social actor as precisely and accurately as possible. Our findings are based on thorough internet and literature research. The categories will be introduced in a comparing way. At the end of every aspect the similarities and differences will be discussed.

a. Common history

Origins

It is widely agreed on that the roots of Rap culture can be traced back to the Afro-American vernacular culture and rhetoric (e.g.

Bolte 1995; http://www.fu-berlin.de/phin/phin19/p19t1.htm).

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Rap, scratching, sampling, graffiti, and break dance are all part of Hip Hop (Mikos 2000, p. 106ff.). It began during the seventies in New York’s South Bronx as a reaction to social and economic changes. In Hip Hop the youth found an alternative identity which on the one hand related them to the destroyed traditions of Black communities and on the other hand distanced them from black middle class values. The second centre of Rap and Hip Hop culture developed in the ghettos of Los Angeles. Ghettos like Watts and Compton shared a long tradition of gangs from the twenties on. Between 1970 and 1972 the new “Crip- Gangs” (“Continuous Revolution In Progress”) kept alive the avant- garde and fearless aura of the “Black Panthers”. As a counter movement and for self-defence the independent gangs founded the “Bloods”. The Crips and the Bloods dominated the crack market in the ghettos and being a dealer was the first opportunity to escape the vicious circle of bad education, unemployment and poverty. This was the background for the start of Rap culture in the ghettos. Being a successful Rapper was the second way to escape from the ghetto. “NWA” (“Niggers With Attitude”) are one example for Los Angeles’ “Gangsta Rap” singing about the reality of ghetto life including drug dealing, murder and rapes. The American public was outraged when NWA called for police murder in their song Tha Police. Rap was no longer perceived as the expression of ghetto life but was seen as the very reason for violence in the ghettos.

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Some researchers tried to re-construct the development of Rap topics and genres (e.g. Grimm 1998; Karrer 1995; Stapleton 1998; Potter 1995). They start with party/fun Rap which is connected to block parties, dj-ing, break-dance etc. This is about having a good time. The next genre they find is message Rap. Here the focus is “on black people’s social problems and protesting against social injustice” (Androutsopoulos & Scholz 2002, p. 9). The last genre is the gangsta Rap that has already been described above. This is the “material” European Rappers could use and transform for their own purposes.

France

The majority of French Rappers are from the second generation of immigrants. They are the children of Black and Arab immigrants and grew up between two cultures: the one of their origins and the French one. (http://www.ac-amiens.fr/lycee60/calvin/c1999/rap/hist_rap.htm). Most Rappers feel that they do not belong to any of them. They are generally excluded from the society and through Rap music, and aim at rebelling against inequality. French Rap embraces all the ethnic communities who live in France (Boucher 1999, p. 196). The Rap community is multicultural: For instance, the band “Alliance Ethnik” gathers people from Italian, Congolese, Kabyle and Jewish extractions.

Sonja Reher (Germany), Peter Jandok (Germany), Valentine Rosset (France) 13 EMICC; University of Bayreuth (Germany); 2003 THE NOTION OF RAP CULTURE

Germany

The high percentage of foreign origin members of our social actor in Germany is not such an important feature compared with French Rappers, but still characteristic: In Germany about 60%, and in France about 92%. Because Rap in Germany only became famous in the early 90’s, Rappers mostly belong to the third generation of immigrants, mainly from Turkish and Afro-American origin.

Source: Androutsopoulos, Jannis & Arno Scholz (2002)

The Turkish, amongst others, were asked to come and work for German companies in the early 60’s when Germany desperately needed workforce. The German government expected them to go back after a certain time but a part of them stayed on. Because they were seen as guests (Gastarbeiter) the German administration did not make any effort to integrate them into the society. A sort of sub-society emerged in big cities such as Berlin, Frankfurt or Stuttgart.

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Afro-American Rappers mainly origin from relationships of at least one parent from the American GI’s that were stationed in different parts of Germany after World War II. As an example of their productivity and influence on German Rap one may refer to the “Brothers and Sisters Keepers” that consists of 53 exclusively Afro-American singers, Rappers and producers, men as well as women (http://www.brothers- keepers.de/brothers_keepers/bro.nsf/menu/lyrics_adriano).

They still feel between two chairs and Rap is their form to articulate their feelings (http://www.goethe.de/z/50/alltag/meinung/ausl10.htm).

Sonja Reher (Germany), Peter Jandok (Germany), Valentine Rosset (France) 15 EMICC; University of Bayreuth (Germany); 2003 THE NOTION OF RAP CULTURE

b. Rap culture as a national scene

France

The national scene is mainly present in the suburbs of big cities: in the streets, associations, pubs, concert halls … (http://davidnavas.free.fr/rap.html).

There are also subcategories within the Rap culture: There are Rappers (like “Mc Solaar”) who write very good texts from a linguistic point of view and commercial Rappers, like “Alliance Ethnik”, whose lyrics are linguistically not very interesting (www.ph- ludwigsburg.de/franzoesisch/overmann/baf4/rap/1.htm).

Another division can be made between what is called commercial

Rap and underground Rap (http://rapconnexion.free.fr/histoire.php). On the one hand, a "show-biz" Rap has gradually appeared for a few years. By the media and the politicians this kind of Rap is considered to be positive. On the other hand, a movement called "underground Rap" has emerged. The Rappers who are part of this movement want to keep their liberty of creation and auto-produce themselves (Boucher 1999, pp. 71-72).

Another distinction can be made between soft, positive, funky Rap (“MC Solaar”, “IAM”, “Alliance Ethnik”, “Ménélik”, “Réciprok”, “Doc

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Gyneco”) and hardcore Rap (“NTM”, “Assassin”). There are more hard-core Rappers than soft Rappers in France (Boucher 1999, p. 70). The band “NTM” has been in jail because their texts attacked the police directly. These hardcore bands denounce inequality and fight against racism. Their lyrics are sometimes very violent. They denounce the institutions and the media and represent a very violent music that comes from the United States: gangsta Rap

(http://rapconnexion.free.fr/histoire.php). The “soft” Rappers, on the contrary, are promoted by the TV and the radio.

“Manau”, celtic group

French Rap can differ from one region to another. Some Rap bands include local linguistic and musical characteristics (celtic Rap, “les Fabulous Trobadors” in Toulouse, “Massilia Sound System” and “IAM” in Marseilles) (http://www.ac-amiens.fr/lycee60/calvin/c1999/rap/hist_rap.htm).

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Germany

In contrast to the French community that grew up and acts in the suburbs of big cities, the German scene can be found in Stuttgart (e. g. “Freundeskreis”, “Afrob”, “Fanta´s”), Hamburg (e. g. “Absolute

Beginner”, “Sammy Deluxe”), Berlin and Cologne (http://www.detlev- mahnert.de/deutscher-rap.htm). It seems that the German Rap scene can be split into a mainstream and an underground part. The mainstream branch is commercial Rap and the underground branch is mainly hardcore. Because there seem to be more and more right wing Rappers a differentiation between Neue Deutsche Reimkultur (new German Rhymeculture – hinting to ‘Reinkultur’ = clean culture) and Oriental Hip

Hop unfortunately takes place (http://d-a-s-h.org/dossier/05/04_battle.html). This differentiation could rise because a self-image of being outcast was maintained in the early days of Rap in Germany. Rappers with foreign origin referred to themselves in the same way as right wing sympathizers would call them. The German Rap band “Freundeskreis” says:

„An all meine Niggas Kanaken Malagas Polaken Meine Mullahs Mafiosis und Franzaken An meine Paellas PKK's Schlitzaugen Hakennasen Kameltreiber Ziegenhirten Knoblauchfresser Paprikas Meine Terroristen Kriminelle Drogendealer Parasiten Asylbetrüger Hütchenspieler Blutsauger Taugenichtse Tagelöhner Rumstreuner Meine Zulukaffa und meine Zigeuner Lasst mich nicht allein“ [To all my niggers, kanaks … please don’t let my alone.]

As in France few women can be found in German Rap bands or as solo Rappers. One of the most famous ones are “Aziza A.” or “Schwester S.”. They often want to break with their parents’ old

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fashioned points of view which are an important topic in their songs including emancipation, independence, career, virginity before marriage, equality to men. Aziza A. sings in her song „Es ist Zeit” (1997):

„In den zwei Kulturen, in denen ich aufgewachsen bin, ziehen meine Schwestern meist den kürzeren“.

[„In the two cultures where I grew up, my sisters do often get a raw deal.]

c. Common knowledge and values

France

Rap is a discourse about the existing society but tends to become a discourse for a better society. The lyrics deal with money; for instance, the Rappers dream of luxurious cars:

« Ca tourne et la chance part, j'rêve que d'barres et d'BM, j'suis un d'ce mômes qu'on recense pas... » (Lunatic)

[Everything is OK and luck starts, I only dream of BMW, I am one of these kids who are rejected.]

They also deal with women. The Rappers are seen as machos; women are seen as objects. Another topic is delinquency :

« Si je dois buter, tuer pour l'fric, si je dois tirer, flinguer pour ma clique, s'il faut choisir entre toi et moi : tu sais

c'que j'peux t'faire, Le flingue à gauche, l'oseille à droite. Un conseil, espèce de fils de..., paye et baisse les yeux ! Moi j'suis le black mafiosi... » (Oxmo Puccino) [If I have to kill to get money, if I have to choose between you and me, you know what I can do, the gun on the left, cash on the right. One piece of advice, son of a bitch…, pay and lower the eyes! I am the black Mafiosi…]

Sonja Reher (Germany), Peter Jandok (Germany), Valentine Rosset (France) 19 EMICC; University of Bayreuth (Germany); 2003 THE NOTION OF RAP CULTURE

« Mon papa à moi est un gangster, il fait partie du Ministère Amer... » (Stomy Bugsy).

[My dad is a gangster, he is part of the Ministry "Amer"]

Another important value for French Rappers is religion, especially

Islamic religion (http://membres.lycos.fr/theplanetrap/autre.htm). The lyrics also deal with racism (http://www.granika.org/rap_et_racisme.html). Last but not least, French Rappers talk about inequalities :

«Pourquoi fortune et infortune, pourquoi suis-je né les poches vides, pourquoi les siennes sont-elles pleines de thune, Pourquoi j'ai vu mon père en cyclo partir travailler, Juste avant le sien en trois pièces gris et BMW» (“IAM”, Nés sous la même étoile, 1997).

[Why luck and misfortune, why was I born poor, why is he rich, why did I see my father go to work, just before his in three grey pieces and BMW]

French Rappers, by their lyrics, want to make people aware of the difficulties that the young people living in the suburbs face (Boucher 1999, pp. 162-163).

Germany

Out of the given figure (page 16) it can easily be seen that self- presentation and differentiation to somebody/something else is the most important aspect of German Rap. The reason for this might be that the concept of Battles is rather popular amongst Rappers. Two

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Rappers compete on a stage, rapping about one another which includes insulting, naming, etc. and at the same time praising him/herself (boasting; see also chapter 3).

The second most important topic is social critique which is by far the most important topic in France. They often sing about political subjects of Germany as well as the US-American foreign policy, national identity, critique on capitalism or the newly arising German self-confidence.

From: „Brother Keepers“, Song: „Letzte Warnung”

Denk' ich an Deutschland in der Nacht bin ich um meinen Schlaf gebracht - mein Bruder Adriano wurde umgebracht Hautfarbe schwarz. Blutrot. Schweigen ist Gold Gedanken sind tiefblau. Ein Bürger hat Angst vor seinem Volk. Ein Wintermärchen aus Deutschland. Blauer Samt. Als Kind schon erkannt: ich bin hier fremd im eigenen Land Operation Artikel 3 - da habt ihr gelacht!

[If I think of Germany I cannot sleep – my brother was killed … A winter fairytale from Germany. Blue velvet. When I was a child I already noticed: I’m a foreigner in my own country. …]

The category contemplation refers to lyrics that simply express thoughts that come to the Rapper’s mind including melancholic statements.

Scene is a minor topic in Germany. It means that e. g. Rap bands speak about their relationship to Rappers from other cities or countries, their music labels or their devotion to Rap, break-dance or graffiti.

Smudo, the singer of one of the first commercial and popular Rap bands “Die Fantastischen Vier” connects some categories by saying: “Black Rappers like Public Enemy or ICE T provoke. We want to have a good time and party with a meaning.“

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Source: Androutsopoulos, Jannis & Arno Scholz (2002)

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d. Common activities

France and Germany

The attributes that go with French Rap are dance, appearance

(fashion) and graffiti (http://davidnavas.free.fr/rap.html). During the Free- style sessions, the Rapper compete with each other:

« Au cours de moments d’improvisation intenses, lors de free-styles, des posses, des crews s’affrontent, se testent, se mesurent » (Boucher 1999, p. 272). [Crews compete with one another, test and confront one another during intensive moments of improvisation, free-styles and posses.]

Fashion is very important in the Rap culture. The way of dressing of the Rappers is very codified. They usually wear sportswear (Carhart, Nike, Rebook, Adidas, Lacoste), glasses and trendy bags.

The same applies to German Rap. These similarities will be discussed in chapter 6 (McWorld).

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3. Linguistic culture

As already mentioned in 2. a (common history) the linguistic origin of Rap culture is the Afro-American vernacular tradition. US-American Rap developed its linguistic characteristics from e.g. playing the dozens, the sermon style or call and response patterns. Verbal battles with interactive features between the “players” and their audience are typical for the traditional Afro-American rhetoric. Playing the dozens is one example. In this game the participants have “... to taunt another person by taunting, kidding, "jiving", teasing or insulting their family...”. It “is more than a game of fun - it is a battle for respect”

(http://www.online-magazine.com/snaps.htm).

Universals Rap is produced freestyle and based on improvisation but there are also lyrics that are the product of long work. Therefore it is not fair to discuss Rap exclusively in the context of “street language”. One example for this is the French Rapper “MC Solaar”. The former minister of Culture, Mr Toubon, considered “Mc Solaar” as somebody who defends French language. “Mc Solaar” plays a lot with the language, uses metaphors, metonymies and so on. The lyrics of his songs are even analysed in high schools and universities (http://www.ph- ludwigsburg.de/franzoesisch/overmann/baf4/4g.htm).

There are certain universal “ingredients” for the composition of Rap lyrics. Some of them can be seen as linguistic strategies or speech acts to formulate the specific topics of Rap, others can be described as stylistic devices (Androutsopoulos & Scholz 2002). In this chapter seven speech act patterns will be introduced and illustrated with lyrics

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from either France or Germany. Afterwards the dominating stylistic devices will be explained. By using self-referential speech Rappers “describe their own verbal performance” (Androutsopoulos & Scholz 2002, p. 16). In the following example Ferris MC explains his performance as a kind of sport and sexual interaction:

„Im Zeichen des Freaks teilt Ferris, was er liebt per Freakflow, / wenn der Vorhang fällt, beginnt die Freakshow, / alle Babsis schreien: "Oh, oh!", alle Freaks schreien: "Bo bo!" / Das Monster in mir wake you up - wham - before I go go! / Manchmal werd' ich nicht high, wieviel Wheed ich auch missbrauch', / dann fühl' ich mich wie Michael Douglas in "Falling down", / meine Lunge schwarz vom Harz, mein Blut zu unrein / für Führerschein, I m a rolling stoned, deshalb nie allein, / Einsamkeit? Mir 'n Fremdwort, ich treib' Rap-Extremsport, / meine Frauen, die Tracks, treiben's mit mir an jedem Ort...“ (Ferris MC 1998: Im Zeichen des Freaks; http://www.ultimate-lyrics.de)

[... the monster that is inside me will wake you up ... then I feel like Michael Douglas in “falling down“ …]

The listener-directed speech describes the lyric’s effect on the audience, in the French example the audience is supposed to feel the physical pain of a knife:

« ... non, je ne m'arrête pas / simplement deux mesures / pour reprendre mon souffle / alors accroche toi / car la

suite te tranchera / comme une navaja. » (Sens unik 1991: Le Vième sens) [“... no, I'm not stopping / just for two beats / to catch my breath again / so get down on it / because what you are about to hear will cut you / like a knife [Spanish].” (Translation by Androutsopoulos & Scholz 2002, p. 17)]

Dissing and boasting are two closely related speech act patterns. Dissing is the downgrading and offending of others, mainly other

Sonja Reher (Germany), Peter Jandok (Germany), Valentine Rosset (France) 25 EMICC; University of Bayreuth (Germany); 2003 THE NOTION OF RAP CULTURE

Rappers. In the following example the band “Rödelheim Hartreim Projekt” (Frankfurt area) is dissing the Stuttgart based “Die Fantastischen Vier”:

Sie nennen sich fantastisch, ich wundere mich, was sich die Jungs dabei denken, sie sind spastisch, Hör mal auf, laß mich, drastisch sagen wir, wie es ist, mit List werdet ihr abgedisst, angepisst, bis ihr wißt: wer, wie, was, der, die, das Projekt aus Rödelheim kommt kraß (Rödelheim Hartreim Projekt 1994: Reime. www.rhp.de/data/lyrics)

[they call themselves fantastic, I wonder how the guys see themselves, they're spastic ... (Translation by Androutsopoulos & Scholz 2002, p. 42)]

Boasting on the contrary refers to the self-appraisal of the Rappers who emphasise their discoursive and whatever qualities and skills. The “Rödelheim Hartreim Projekt” for examples demands a medal for the “finest poetry” and the most successful dissing of other Rappers:

Und wenn du meinst daß du ‘n Mittel gegen mich hast Alter es gibt keins feinste Poesie in Hessen und trotzdem wollt ihr stressen mich testen Euch mit mir messen sadoma ehrlich wessen pillenfressende in West wohnende Mutter hat ‘n Sohn der dumm genug ist mich zu dissen frißt du Testosteron- ...... Ich hab‘ so viele Sorten MC’S gedisst ich sollt‘ ‘n Orden dafür kriegen das Bundesverdienstkreuz für ‘s Rapdepp verbiegen das fliegende Mikro am goldenen Band für den meistgehaßten MC im ganzen Land... (Rödelheim Hartreim Projekt 1996: Mein Style. www.rhp.de/data/lyrics)

[They are talking about themselves and how they have dissed many Rapers so that they should be officially praised.]

In the above example a reference to playing the dozens can be found as the mother of the fictive opponent is humiliated. The close relationship of dissing and boasting is illustrated by the example; the Rappers are boasting by summarising their success in dissing.

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Especially in the intros of lyrics place and time references can be found. Using these references the lyrics are contextualised in a very realistic way. “Fabe” from France for example uses time references to indicate that he has not moved on in life:

... j'avais dix ans c'était en 81, / on est en 98 fréro, / j'ai pas changé d'numéro ... (Fabe 1998, Quand je serai grand... ; in phin ex. 32)

[“I was ten years old in 81 / now we're in 98 brother, / my house number hasn't changed”]

Another linguistic characteristic of Rap is the identification or the naming of the Rapper or his group members. In the first German example the Rapper Torch identifies himself at the beginning of his part as many Rappers do:

„Jetzt ist die Zeit, hier ist der Ort / Heute ist die Nacht, Torchmann hat das Wort.“ (Brothers Keepers 2001: Adriano (Letzte Warnung); http://www.brothers- keepers.de/brothers_keepers/bro.nsf/menu/lyrics_adriano)

[Now is the time, this is the place/ Tonight, Torchman is speaking.

Naming can also be used for turn-taking between verses of different Rappers. A third function is authenticity. In the example below the Rapper gives his name in the middle of his part to prove that he personally experiences his topic:

„... Gestatten sie mein Name ist Frederik Hahn / ich wurde hier geboren, doch wahrscheinlich sieht man's mir nicht an, ...“ (Advanced Chemistry 1992: Fremd Im Eigenen Land; ;http://www.kronawithleitner.at/lyrics/showtext.php/id/553)

[Please allow me to introduce myself: my name is Frederik Hahn / I was born her, but you probably can’t see it, ...]

Sonja Reher (Germany), Peter Jandok (Germany), Valentine Rosset (France) 27 EMICC; University of Bayreuth (Germany); 2003 THE NOTION OF RAP CULTURE

Finally Rappers are representing a certain local Rap culture including their group, town or neighbourhood. Doing this they underline what they stand for in the Hip Hop culture.

« ... aujourd'hui moi je représente pour le Fonk... » [today I represent for the funk ; Translation by Androutsopoulos & Scholz 2002, p. 19]

« ... je représente pour le tié-quar et mes potes... » [I represent for the neighbourhood and all my buddies ; p.19] ;

« ... je représente bien la FF...« (= Fonky Family) [I do represent FF ; p. 19]

Apart from the speech act patterns a lot of stylistic devices can be found in Rap lyrics. The Rappers use many metaphors. A metaphor is “a figure of speech in which one thing is compared to another — either directly or by implication”

(http://www2.plymouth.ac.uk/gateway_to_study/EngLang/meton.htm). For instance, “airbags” is used to describe the breasts of a woman and “bounty” to name a Black person who wants to look like a White person.

Androutsopoulos & Scholz (2002, p. 26) explain that common metaphors of Rap discourse are a violent force or a powerful drug. They give a German example:

„... der sizilianer / hart wie stein und nicht wie Rama / vernichte firmenfeinde wie ein flugzeug über Yokohama / wie Shakespeare bring ich drama / Lupara bianca (1) ich entführ dich wie (tanka) / erpress scheiche spreng dich wie deiche / hinterlasse leichen wie Sarotti ohnegleichen (2) / bring dich zum schwitzen wie tropisches klima / und alles nur aus liebe zur Firma (3)“

[Die Firma 1998: Aktionäre; 1 Italian; a kind of gun; 2 Sarotti ohnegleichen = advertisement slogan for sarotti toffees; 3 the band's name]

[“... the sicilian / hard as stone not as "rama" / destroy the firma's enemies like a plane over yokohama / like shakespeare I bring drama / lupara bianca (1), I kidnap you like (tanka) / blackmail sheiks, blow you like a damm / leave corpses behind like sarotti ohnegleichen (2) / I make you sweat like tropical climate / and all that just out of love Sonja Reher (Germany), Peter Jandokfor (G theermany), "firma" Valentine(3)”] Rosset (France) 28 EMICC; University of Bayreuth (Germany); 2003 THE NOTION OF RAP CULTURE

French Rappers also use a lot of metonymies, which means “a figure of speech in which an attribute or a suggestive word is substituted for the name of something. It is often used in imaginative writing such as fiction and poetry to clarify and enhance an image”

(http://www2.plymouth.ac.uk/gateway_to_study/EngLang/meton.htm). For example, the word « casquette » (cap) is used by the young of the suburbs to refer to an inspector and “bleu” (blue) to a policeman, as the policemen are dressed in blue in France. The apocope means the deletion of syllables at the end of a word. For instance, « bénéfice » (profit) becomes « bénèf », or « catastrophe » (disaster) becomes « cata ». The aphaeresis refers to the deletion of the first part of a word : « caille » for « racaille » (rabble) or « rien » for « algérien » (Algerian). Rappers also use rhymes:

la paix de l'âme, le respect de l'homme. Mais cette notion d'humanisme n'existe plus quand ils passent l'uniforme, préférant au fond la forme, peur du hors normes. (Vos papiers, contrôle d`identité », NTM)

[The peace of mind, the respect for the man. But this notion of humanism does not exist any more when they wear the uniform, preferring the appearance, afraid of different standards.]

Another very frequent device is the spelling of words: “Ich bin das S das C das H das W das E, S, T, E, R, S und steh wie P” (Schwester S: Mutter; P refers to the name of another Rapper). Also acronyms are common in songs and group names e.g. “N.W.A” (“Niggers With Attitude”). The German group “Die Fantastischen Vier” even made a whole song out of them:

Sonja Reher (Germany), Peter Jandok (Germany), Valentine Rosset (France) 29 EMICC; University of Bayreuth (Germany); 2003 THE NOTION OF RAP CULTURE

„... RAF, LSD und FKK / DVU, AKW und KKK / RHP, USW, LMAA / PLZ, UPS und DPD / BMX, BPM und XTC / EMI, CBS und BMG / ADAC, DLRG – ojemine...“ (Die Fantastischen 4 1999: Mfg; http://www.ultimate- lyrics.de).

The speech act patterns and stylistic devices described above are mostly universal characteristics of Rap culture. By using metaphors or comparisons the Rappers connect the universals of Rap culture with local issues as e.g. specific personalities, events, brand names. This will be further explained in the chapter 5.

Not only conventions or stylistic devices are important aspects of the linguistic culture. We haven’t discussed yet which languages are being used. Is our linguistic culture monolingual, bilingual or multilingual? Are there any characteristics for a diglossic speech community? Rap culture is multilingual as such as there is the English origin and the transformation in the European countries. Rap in Europe did not only stick to English as the only language, and the mother tongue seems to be important in Rap culture. Bilingual and bicultural artists have in most cases three languages that are important for their creativity: the dominant language of the society they live in, the language from their migration background and English.

Sonja Reher (Germany), Peter Jandok (Germany), Valentine Rosset (France) 30 EMICC; University of Bayreuth (Germany); 2003 THE NOTION OF RAP CULTURE

France

Multilingualism is a characteristic of the French Rap. Most of the young who use this “new” language are the children of immigrants. As a consequence, the fact that they mix words coming from many different languages, like Arabic, Gipsy, Anglo-American slang, popular French and old French slang (http://www.lien- social.com/archives/dossiers2002/603a610/608-1.htm) but also from Berber, African,

Creole (http://www.nouvelobs.com/hs-lesados/instruire/art8.html) is not so surprising.

French Rapper use verlan. To verlan a word means to play with its syllables by reversing them in order to form a new term. In the lyrics « la nouvelle danse, la danse de Treuilmon » (AZROCK DC, in Boucher 1999, p. 175), « Treuilmon » is the verlan of Montreuil. Verlan is not a universal or Rap culture but seems to be a French phenomenon. They use this way of speaking to fight against then norms of French society. They feel excluded from this society, so they want people to be excluded from their group, by using a coded language. They want to form an in-group.

According to Charles Ferguson, diglossic communities possess a High variety Language that is very prestigious and a Low variety

Language with no formal or “official status” (http://www.semionet.com). There is a High variety language and a Low variety language within the social actor of Rap culture:

« la majorité des Rappeurs utilise dans leurs "lyrics", en plus de la langue française commune, un langage propre qui appartient au quartier dans lequel ils évoluent. » (Boucher 1999, p. 174) [The majority of Rappers use in their "lyrics", besides the common French language, their own language which belongs to the district in which they evolve.]

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Germany

Een, twej, een twej, drej. Sech mol "Hey" sech mol "Hoo". Dat is Fettes Brot op platt inne Disco. Jo ick buen de Jung achtern Plattenspeeler Un so deel ick op as Stoertebeker sine Likkedeeler. Dor is for jeden wat dorbi wat ik speel. Bi uns in heet dat nich "Disco" sondern "Dans op de Deel". Ick krakehl veel Platt in dat Mikrofon Buest nich unt 'n Norden is dat schwer to verstohn. Wohn' anne Waterkant dohn wi all un da schnackt man nu ma so, Hoer mal 'n beeten to. Hummel Hummel "Mors! Mors!". Ick buen ruut - de Schippmeester buen as de annern Nordisch by Nature. (Fettes Brot 1995: Nordish by Nature; http://www.ultimate- lyrics.de/texte/text_f/fettesbrot_nordishbynature.txt) In German Rap multilingualism can be found in the context of third generation migration as described above for French Rap. A second area is the use of dialects and the regional battle. The Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein based band “Fettes Brot” is a good example for the use of dialect and other languages to express a regional identity. In their song Nordish by Nature they use standard German, the dialect Plattdütsch and Danish to describe their “Nordic identity”. The English phrase “I am out”, in standard German “Ich bin raus” in this song transform to “Ick buen root”.

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4. Cultural translation

The issue of cultural translation is the crucial part of intra- and intercultural encounters. It can be seen as a practice that structures and follows the perception. Cultural translation is the process of interpreting the knowledge and values of the “other” on the basis of the interpreter’s own values and knowledge. Interpreter can be e. g. researchers who are analysing their data; if you take an ethnologist it means the translation between “academic” and “native” culture. Additionally cultural translation is the process of appropriating the “other” or parts of the “other” in relation to the interpreters culture. To apply the concept of cultural translation to Rap culture we raise the following question: Which cultures are perceived and commented on as the cultural “others” by Rap culture?

In chapter 2.b (Rap culture as a national scene) we introduced different categories to distinguish Rap culture. If we describe each of them as a single social actor we can give the second category as one cultural “other”: commercial Rap versus underground Rap, party Rap versus gangsta Rap. If we talk about one Rap culture including all these forms we can call it extremely self-referential. In chapter 3 we explained how the speech act patterns of dissing and “boasting” are used as strategies of interpretation and appropriation in Rap culture. Only “message Rap” seems to have more cultural “others” outside Rap culture. Now we want to focus on those cultural “others” who are not part of our broad concept of Rap culture.

One cultural other for Rap culture is Pop culture. The classical topics in Pop culture (love, romance, nature...) are for Rap culture superficial and no expression of their feelings and approach to life.

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“Aziza A.” claims that she internally cannot feel Pop music: „Ich höre Pop, ich mag Pop. Ich tanze dazu. Aber HipHop, das geht an mein Innerstes. Das fühle ich. Da geht es um mich“ [I listen to Pop, I like Pop. I dance to Pop. But HipHop goes to my core. I feel it. That has got something to do with me.] (“Aziza A” said this at a panel on Hip Hop in Berlin 14.10.1996; quoted in Mayer & Terkessidis, p. 44).

France The message that most French Rappers want to emphasize through their lyrics is a criticism of the different powers existing in France: money, Justice, the police and the State (Calio 1998, p. 739): Justice

«La justice nique sa mère. Le dernier juge que j’ai vu avait beaucoup plus de vices que le dealer de ma rue» (Assassins).

[Justice fucks your mother. The last judge I saw had many more vices than the dealer of my street]

The policemen are considered as racist and anti-young people :

« Mais cette notion d’humanisme n’existe plus quand ils passent l’uniforme / Souvent mentalement retardé / Le portrait type, le prototype du pauvre type » (NTM 1993, Nick la police )

[But this notion of humanism does not exist any more when they wear the uniform / Often mentally delayed / The typical portrait, the prototype of the poor guy]

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The politicians

« Nique ton maire 94, mon ami glandu, voici la Tribu, tu as les mains dans les poches, tout ce qui te fait envie tu le fauches, comme le font les politiciens qu’ils soient de droite ou de gauche […]. Il se souvient de moi à l’approche des élections, me parle de budget, pour mon quartier de rénovation, un petit coup de peinture sur ma poubelle, je dois trouver la vie plus belle, mon ami je nique cette brêle. » (NTM 94 / Tribu)

[Fuck your mayor 94, mi poor friend, here is the Tribe, you have your hands in your pockets, you steal everything you want to have, as the politicians do, whether they are right-wing or left- wing […]. He remembers who I am just before the elections, he speaks to me about budget, about renovation in my district, a small blow of paint on my dustbin, I must find that life is more beautiful, my friend, I fuck this shit.]

Germany

In German Rap the cultural “others” are not only formal social actors but informal ones too. This may be related to the different structure of the French and German Rap culture: In France the background of Rap is migration and the difficult life in the suburbs. Social critique is the main topic. In Germany - without suburbs as in France and with less migrant Rapper - social critique is present as a topic but to a lower degree and accompanied by other topics (love, drugs, contemplation; see chapter 2.c Values and Knowledge). The government as the cultural “other” is there too, but also the criticism on passive and lazy people who e.g. don’t react, don’t help others, don’t demonstrate. This is very important for all the songs dealing with racism. The reference to racist people (“braune Scheiße”) includes formal actors but also

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racism as an invisible tendency in everyday life and the accompanying cowardice in the society:

Dies ist so was wie eine letzte Warnung Denn unser Rückschlag ist längst in Planung Wir fall’n dort ein, wo ihr auffallt Gebieten eurer braunen Scheiße endlich aufhalt ... Wie viel Blut muss fließen in innerdeutschen Krisen Alter, schau die letzten Jahre haben das mir zu oft bewiesen Dass die Menschen sich erheben, wenn die Leute nicht mehr Leben Doch dann ist es zu spät, ihr solltet öfters drüber reden (Brothers Keepers Project 2001: Adriano (Letzte Warnung); www.ultimate- lyrics.de)

[… how much blood must still be shed in crisis within Germany. Look, at the last few years: it was proved too often that people rose, when people are actually not alive anymore. Some topics in German Rap seem to be expressed without an explicit cultural other. “Nordish by Nature” (Fettes Brot) is one example. The Nordic identity is established without references to e.g. other regions. But on a larger scale this serves for the “Battle” in the German Rap scene and this national competition is an important feature in German Rap culture. The cultural other is again found in the (national) Rap culture itself.

The so far mentioned cultural others don’t paint the whole picture of German Rap but they are the most relevant ones. In some lyrics references to parents, teachers and school can be found. But they are not so essential for the identity building of Rap culture.

5. McWorld

The ongoing Globalisation is changing our world and accordingly new concepts are proposed. Mary Snell-Hornby summarises the emerging global village and the spread of English as a lingua franca in

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the concept of a seventh continent called the McWorld (Snell-Hornby 2000; in Schaeffner). In this chapter - which serves as our conclusion - we want to discuss our findings in the context of a McWorld.

Universal

We discussed Rap culture as an US-American original and the existing forms in France and Germany. There are certainly some universals in Rap culture. The basis of Rap music (rhythm, tempo etc) is the same in every country (Boucher 1999, p. 10). Over all Rap is used as a medium for protest and expressing anger. Hip Hop activities (graffiti, break- dance etc; see chapter 2.a./2.b.) and the clothing with its symbols (sportswear of certain international brands etc.; see chapter 2.d.) are very similar. Additionally the communication patterns that are used in the lyrics are mainly the same (see chapter 3. Universals). Another important feature of Rap culture is its intertextuality as a result of sampling. This is very influential regarding the fact that Rap culture was introduced by the media in Europe. Rappers can choose from a “McWorld-media-culture-corpus” of personalities and archetypes, melodies and lyrics, brand names and events. And they do it to a very high extent.

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Rap music embodies a universal dimension :

« venu de ghettos noirs américains, le Rap sait tenir un langage universel qui touche toutes les jeunesses populaires des pays occidentaux (Londres, Paris ; Berlin…) » (Boucher 1999, p. 51). [Rap, which comes from American black ghettos knows how to hold a universal language which moves all the popular youths of the western countries (London, Paris; Berlin)]

The association "World Culture" organised a seminar on Rap in New York in 1991: "New-York’n Rap" (Boucher 1999, p. 104).

Local Sampling is done on a “WcWorld”-level but also on a national and regional level. Despite from the “McWorld-media-culture-corpus” a specific “local media culture corpus” exists. We already quoted “Die Firma” who uses a German slogan for Sarotti-chocolate or the German brand “Rama” (butter) for a comparison (see chapter 3. Linguistic Culture). In “Nordish by Nature” Fettes Brot (excerpt see chapter 4.) name the historical captain Störtebeker, the Hamburg shipyard Blohm & Voss, the famous red light district St. Pauli and Holsten, a beer brewed in Hamburg. To describe their nightlife they don’t refer to local personalities but to John Travolta and his famous movie “Saturday Night Fever”. This local and global interplay is expressed by the language mix of German and English:

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Hier kommen deine Helden, der Tobi & das Bo. Bo, bitte melden ! Yo, hier kommt Disco. Wie samstagnacht, wie bei John Travolta, Holterdipolter; der Bass pumpt bis Obervolta.

[Hello peoples, we are here, In the one hand a micro, in the other a beer. We hear our music very loud. Hey, girl, do you wanna be my Braut ? Nachtfieber, Nachtfieber, Hier bei uns im Norden! Uuh yeah ! (Fettes Brot 1995: Nordish by Nature; www.fettesbrot.de)]

The language mix is very creative: while singing the English lyrics they use an overemphasised German accent and while singing in German typical English Rap utterances are in between (“yo, yeah....”). The movie title “Saturday Night Fever” is transferred to the German word “Nachtfieber” (night fever) and not quoted in English. A local and global interplay also exists for the addressing of cultural others and the topics of Rap. Rap culture as protest of rather young people typically establishes the authorities as cultural others (government, police, parents, teachers). Accordingly the most important topics are self-presentation and social-critique. This is a “McWorld” phenomenon. But on the local level there are immense differences. James Lull (1995; quoted in Androutsopoulos & Scholz 2002, p. 4) refers to this as the “indigenization” of Rap. Rap is used as a medium to address social issues and criticism which are related to local problems. In Germany e.g. the “Brother’s Keepers Project” was founded as a direct reaction to the murder of a black man

(www.brotherskeepers.de). In France social critique is the dominant topic in most of the songs whereas in Germany it is only one important topic

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amongst others. This feature was illustrated in chapter 2 by the distinction of the French and German social actor of Rap culture.

As a conclusion our understanding of Rap culture has only partly features of a “McWorld”. We see it much more as a rather creative local adjustment of a universal concept.

Sonja Reher (Germany), Peter Jandok (Germany), Valentine Rosset (France) 40 EMICC; University of Bayreuth (Germany); 2003 THE NOTION OF RAP CULTURE

References

Bibliography

Androutsopoulos, Jannis & Arno Scholz (2002): „On the recontextualization of hip-hop in European speech communities: a contrastive analysis of rap lyrics“, in: PhiN 19/2002: 1; http://www.fu-berlin.de/phin/phin19/p19t1.htm.

Bolte, Henning (1995): "Oralität und Technologie – zur sprachlichen Praxis in der Rapmusik", in: Schmitz, Ulrich (ed.): Neue Medien, 177–204. (= OBST, 50).

Boucher, Manuel (1998) : Rap, expression des lascars. Significations et enjeux du Rap dans la société française, L’Harmattan.

Calio, Jean (1998) : Le Rap : une réponse des banlieues ?, Collection pour Mémoire Entpe Aléas.

Grimm, Stephanie (1998): Die Repräsentation von Männlichkeit im Punk und Rap. Tübingen: Stauffenburg.

Karrer, Wolfgang (1995): "Rap als Jugendkultur zwischen Widerstand und Kommerzialisierung", in: Karrer, Wolfgang & Ingrid Kerkhoff (eds): Rap im Fadenkreuz, 21–43. Hamburg/Berlin: Argument Verlag. (= Gulliver, 38)

Lull, James (1995): Media, communication, culture. A global approach. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Mayer, Ruth & Mark Terkessidis (1998): Globalkolorit. Multikulturalismus und Populärkultur. St. Andrä-Wörden: hannibal.

Sonja Reher (Germany), Peter Jandok (Germany), Valentine Rosset (France) 41 EMICC; University of Bayreuth (Germany); 2003 THE NOTION OF RAP CULTURE

Mikos, Lothar (2000): “Vergnügen und Widerstand. Aneignungsformen von HipHop und Gangsta Rap”, in: Göttlich, Udo & Raimer Winter (eds): Politik des Vergnügens. Zur Diskussion der Populärkultur in den Cultural Studies, 103-123. Köln: Herbert von Halem Verlag.

Potter, Russel A. (1995): Spectacular Vernaculars. Hip-Hop and the Politics of Postmodernism. New York: Suny.

Snell-Hornby, Mary (2000): “Communicating in the Global Village: On Language, Translation and Cultural Identity. In: Schaeffner, Christine (ed.): Translation in the Global Village. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.

Stapleton, Katina R. (1998): "From the margins to mainstream: the political power of hip-hop", in: Media, Culture and Society 20, 219–234.

Webliography: http://d-a-s-h.org/dossier/05/04_battle.html http://davidnavas.free.fr/rap.html http://membres.lycos.fr/theplanetrap/autre.htm http://rapconnexion.free.fr/histoire.php http://www2.plymouth.ac.uk/gateway_to_study/EngLang/meton.htm http://www.ac-amiens.fr/lycee60/calvin/c1999/rap/hist_rap.htm http://www.brothers-keepers.de http://www.brothers-keepers.de/brothers_keepers/bro.nsf/menu/lyrics_adriano http://www.detlev-mahnert.de/deutscher-rap.htm

Sonja Reher (Germany), Peter Jandok (Germany), Valentine Rosset (France) 42 EMICC; University of Bayreuth (Germany); 2003 THE NOTION OF RAP CULTURE

http://www.diefantastischenvier.de http://www.ferrismc.de http://www.fettesbrot.de http://www.fu-berlin.de/phin/phin19/p19t1.htm http://www.goethe.de/z/50/alltag/meinung/ausl10.htm http://www.granika.org/rap_et_racisme.html http://www.kronawithleitner.at/lyrics/showtext.php/id/553 http://www.lien-social.com/archives/dossiers2002/603a610/608-1.htm http://www.nouvelobs.com/hs-lesados/instruire/art8.html http://www.online-magazine.com/snaps.htm www.ph-ludwigsburg.de/franzoesisch/overmann/baf4/rap/1.htm http://www.rhp.de http://www.semionet.com http://www.ultimate-lyrics.de

Discography

“Advanced Chemistry” (1992): Fremd Im Eigenen Land. “Assassins”

“Brothers Keepers Project” (2001): Adriano (Letzte Warnung).

“Die Fantastischen Vier” (1992): Die da (Vier gewinnt).

“Die Fantastischen Vier” (1999): Mfg (4:1999).

„Fabe” (1998): Quand je serai grand... (Détournement de son...).

“Ferris MC“ (1999): Im Zeichen des Freaks (Im Zeichen des Freaks).

Sonja Reher (Germany), Peter Jandok (Germany), Valentine Rosset (France) 43 EMICC; University of Bayreuth (Germany); 2003 THE NOTION OF RAP CULTURE

“Fettes Brot” (1995): Nordish by Nature (Auf einem Auge blöd).

“Firma, Die” (1998): Aktionäre (Spiel des Lebens). “IAM”, Nés sous la même étoile “NTM”,Vos papiers, contrôle d`identité “NTM” 1993, Nick la police “NTM” 94,Tribu

“NWA” (1988): Tha Police (Straight Outta Compton).

“Oxmo Puccino”

“Rödelheim Hartreim Projekt“ (1994): Reime (Direkt aus Rödelheim).

“Rödelheim Hartreim Projekt” (1996): Mein Style (Ich bin).

“Schwester S” (1995): Mutter (S ist soweit).

“Sens unik” (1991): Le Vième sens (VIeme sens).

“Stomy Bugsy”

Sonja Reher (Germany), Peter Jandok (Germany), Valentine Rosset (France) 44 EMICC; University of Bayreuth (Germany); 2003