Lyrical Representations of the American Political Divide Group 10: Zane Laizane Rasa Drukteinyte Mathias Lind Hansen Daniele Leonaite Carlos Miguel Chávez Valenzuela Supervisor: Jennifer Eschweiler Autumn Semester 2018 Amount of characters with spaces: 131,702 Words: 21,532 [ I ] Abstract This project aims to explore a series of politically and culturally charged discourses portrayed in contemporary American music with a specific focus on the current political climate in the United States of America. We are interested in studying how music functions in the processes of cultural and political identification; how intricate political messages are articulated through music and spread among broad audiences; and how rhetorical – and aesthetic elements, as well – can transcend protesting voices and help to draw shared visions on how to confront political and socio-cultural phenomena. [ II ] Table of contents 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................... 1 1.1. Music as political discourse .................................................................................. 1 1.2. Problem formulation ............................................................................................ 3 1.3 Statement of the academic focus .......................................................................... 3 2. Theoretical considerations .......................................................................................... 4 2.1 A social-constructionist approach ......................................................................... 4 2.2 On regimes of truth ............................................................................................... 6 2.3 On populism ......................................................................................................... 8 2.4 On tribalism ........................................................................................................ 10 3. Methodology ............................................................................................................ 13 3.1. Critical Discourse Analysis: Theory and Method.................................................. 13 3.2. Nature of the empirical object ............................................................................ 13 3.2.1. Corpus ....................................................................................................... 14 3.2.2. Enhancing of corpus ................................................................................... 14 3.2.3. Example ..................................................................................................... 15 3.2.4. Transcriptions ............................................................................................. 15 3.3. Coding of the samples within the corpus ............................................................ 15 3.3.1. Text ............................................................................................................ 15 3.3.2. Discourse practices .................................................................................... 16 3.3.3. Social practice ............................................................................................ 16 4. Contemporary American Music ................................................................................ 17 4.1. Text: The songs ................................................................................................. 17 4.1.1. FDT (Fuck Donald Trump) by YG & Nipsey Hussle ....................................... 17 4.1.2. We the People… by A Tribe Called Quest .................................................... 18 4.1.3. Million Dollar Loan by Death Cab for Cutie ................................................... 19 4.1.4. Can’t You Tell? by Aimee Mann ................................................................... 19 4.1.5. Fucked Up Donald by D.O.A. ...................................................................... 21 4.1.6. My Mind Is For Sale by Jack Johnson .......................................................... 22 4.1.7. The Storm by Eminem ................................................................................. 23 [ III ] 4.1.8. Immigrants, by Hamilton, K’naan, Riz MC, Snow Tha Product, Residente ...... 25 4.1.9. XXX. by Kendrick Lamar .............................................................................. 27 4.1.10. Land Of The Free by Joey Bada$$ ............................................................. 29 4.1.11. Alright by Kendrick Lamar ......................................................................... 30 4.1.12. Street Livin’ by The Black-Eyed Peas ......................................................... 31 4.1.13. This Is America by Childish Gambino ......................................................... 33 4.1.14. Bella Ciao (Goodbye Beautiful) by Marc Ribot & Tom Waits ........................ 35 4.1.15. Ye vs. The People by Kanye West & T.I. ..................................................... 36 4.1.16. I’m Not Racist by Joyner Lucas .................................................................. 37 4.2. Discursive practice ............................................................................................ 37 4.3. Social practice................................................................................................... 39 4.4 Analysis of the theories ....................................................................................... 42 5. Discussion ............................................................................................................... 45 6. Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 47 7. Bibliography ............................................................................................................. 48 I. Annexes – Lyrics ......................................................................................................... lii FDT (Fuck Donald Trump) by YG & Nipsey Hussle ...................................................... lii We the People… by A Tribe Called Quest .................................................................. liv Million Dollar Loan by Death Cab for Cutie .................................................................. lv Can’t You Tell? by Aimee Mann ................................................................................ lvii Fucked Up Donald by D.O.A. .................................................................................... lvii My Mind Is For Sale by Jack Johnson ........................................................................lviii The Storm by Eminem ............................................................................................... lix Immigrants, by Hamilton, K’naan, Riz MC, Snow Tha Product, Residente ..................... lx XXX. by Kendrick Lamar ........................................................................................... lxiii Land Of The Free by Joey Bada$$ ............................................................................ lxv Alright by Kendrick Lamar ........................................................................................ lxvi Street Livin’ by The Black-Eyed Peas ...................................................................... lxviii This Is America by Childish Gambino ........................................................................ lxx Bella Ciao (Goodbye Beautiful) by Marc Ribot & Tom Waits ...................................... lxxii Ye vs. The People by Kanye West & T.I. .................................................................. lxxiii I’m Not Racist, by Joyner Lucas .............................................................................. lxxiv [ IV ] [ V ] 1. Introduction This project aims to explore a series of politically and culturally charged discourses portrayed in contemporary American music with a specific focus on the current political climate in the United States of America. We are interested in studying how music functions in the processes of cultural and political identification; how intricate political messages are articulated through music and spread among broad audiences; and how rhetorical, as well as aesthetic elements, can transcend protesting voices and help to draw shared visions on how to confront political and socio-cultural phenomena. The project is born from our interest in phenomena regarding culture, politics, power, and language; and from our wish to explore the intersection between music and ideology. We believe that music can create a powerful social platform for conveying and discussing complex and controversial ideas due to the emotional and informative nature of its content. We also believe that some of the particularities present in the chosen songs play a significant role in the public understanding of the political processes in which they are embedded. We plan to outline a better comprehension of expressions that bring identity to the centre of popular culture and to examine how artists perceive themselves and their communities within their narratives of personal experience. Some musicians use their broad public reach to address a variety of common subjects and social injustices, from abuse of authority to racism, sexism, immigration, economic inequality, among others. Others use their platforms to support the ideas generated from a specific politician or political party. Due to the privileged