Thesis, the Songs of 10 Rappers Were Analyzed
ABSTRACT Get Rich or Die Tryin’: A Semiotic Approach to the Construct of Wealth in Rap Music Kristine Ann Davis, M.A. Mentor: Sara J. Stone, Ph.D. For the past 30 years, rap music has made its way into the mainstream of America, taking an increasingly prominent place in popular culture, particularly for youth, its main consumers. This thesis looks at wealth through the lens of semiotics, an important component of critical/cultural theory, using a hermeneutical analysis of 11 rap songs, spanning the last decade of rap music to find signification and representation of wealth in the rap song lyrics. The research finds three important themes of wealth - relationship between wealth and the opposite sex, wealth that garners respect from other people, and wealth as a signifier for “living the good life” - and five signifiers of wealth – money, cars, attire, liquor, and bling. Get Rich or Die Tryin': A Semiotic Approach to the Construct of Wealth in Rap Music by Kristine Ann Davis, B.A. A Thesis Approved by the Department of Journalism ___________________________________ Clark Baker, Ph.D., Chairperson Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Baylor University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Approved by the Thesis Committee ___________________________________ Sara J. Stone, Ph.D., Chairperson ___________________________________ Mia Moody-Ramirez, Ph.D. ___________________________________ Tony L.Talbert, Ed.D. Accepted by the Graduate School August 2011 ___________________________________ J. Larry Lyon, Ph.D., Dean Page bearing signatures is kept on file in the Graduate School. Copyright ! 2011 by Kristine Ann Davis All rights reserved! CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS v Chapter 1.
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