Gender references in rap lyrics Pauliina Karru University of Tampere School of Modern Languages and Translation Studies English Philology Pro Gradu –thesis May 2006 Tampereen yliopisto Englantilainen filologia Kieli- ja käännöstieteiden laitos KARRU, PAULIINA: Gender references in rap lyrics Pro gradu –tutkielma, 65 sivua + 1 liite Kevät 2006 Rap-lyriikat on aihealue jota on tutkittu hyvin vähän. Se on kuitenkin hyvä peili nykypäivän mustien amerikkalaisten, etenkin nuorten, maailmaan, kulttuuriin, kieleen ja arvoihin. Vastaavasti blues-lyriikat kuvastavat omaa aikakauttaan. Taustamateriaalina tässä tutkimuksessa toimii lukuisia tutkimuksia naisten ja miesten kielenkäytöstä yleensä sekä myös spesifisemmin mustien amerikkalaisten kielenkäytöstä. Lisäksi esitellään joitakin tutkimuksia jotka ovat paneutuneet rapin ja bluesin maailmaan sekä tutkimuksia jotka käsittelevät naisiin ja miehiin viittaavia sanoja. Tähän tutkimukseen on valittu viisi mies- ja viisi naisrap-artistia sekä viisi mies- ja kuusi naisblues-artistia. Jokaiselta artistilta valittiin kymmenen suosittua ja siten vaikutusvaltaista laulua. Kahdelta naisblues-artistilta löytyi vähemmän kuin kymmenen sanoitusta ja siksi heidät yhdistettiin ikään kuin yhdeksi. Näistä lyriikoista muodostettiin korpukset joista etsittiin sanoja joilla viitattiin naisiin ja miehiin. Tulokset esitellään niin sanallisesti kuin taulukoissakin, lukuisten esimerkkien kera, ja niitä verrataan tutkimuksen alussa esitettyihin aikaisempiin tutkimuksiin ja niistä pohjautuviin teorioihin. Tutkimuskysymykset olivat: Kuinka ja millaisia sukupuoliviittauksia käytetään? Kuinka ne ovat muuttuneet blueslyriikoissa käytettävistä? Kuinka eri tavalla naiset ja miehet niitä käyttävät? Tuloksista käy ilmi, että rap-lyriikoiden sukupuoliviittaukset ovat oletettua positiivisempia. Selvää on kuitenkin, että sanoituksissa vallitsee tietynasteinen patriarkaalinen asenne. Blues- ja rap-lyriikoiden välillä on havaittavissa eroja. Molemmissa esiintyy sanoja joita ei toisessa ryhmässä esiinny. Lisäksi blues- lyriikoiden sukupuoliviittaukset ovat positiivisempia ja konservatiivisempia kuin rap-lyriikoiden. Naisten ja miesten kesken löytyi joitakin eroja, mutta yleisesti ottaen samat sanat olivat käytössä molemmilla. Ilmeni myös, että mustien naisten käyttämä kieli poikkeaa tässäkin suhteessa stereotyyppisestä naisten kielestä. Avainsanat: gender references, rap lyrics, blues lyrics, African-American Vernacular English, stylistic change Table of Contents 1 Introduction__________________________________________________ 1 1.1 Background __________________________________________________ 2 1.2 Males and females _____________________________________________ 4 1.3 Female singers ________________________________________________ 5 2 Linguistic background _________________________________________ 6 2.1 Language and gender __________________________________________ 6 2.1.1 Generalizations ____________________________________________________ 7 2.1.2 African-American speech ___________________________________________ 10 2.2 Word as a concept ____________________________________________ 13 3 Basic concepts and terminology _________________________________ 17 3.1 Rap Music___________________________________________________ 17 3.2 The Blues ___________________________________________________ 20 3.3 Previous studies ______________________________________________ 21 4 Methods Employed ___________________________________________ 25 5 Materials studied_____________________________________________ 27 6 Findings____________________________________________________ 29 6.1 General observations__________________________________________ 29 6.2 Details ______________________________________________________ 38 6.2.1 Nigga and bitch ___________________________________________________ 38 6.2.2 Other rap specific words ____________________________________________ 41 6.2.3 Words from the family______________________________________________ 46 6.2.4 Gender reference usage in relation to goals of language usage _______________ 49 6.2.5 Are women more conservative?_______________________________________ 51 6.2.6 Edibles, animals, etc. _______________________________________________ 52 6.2.7 Names __________________________________________________________ 56 7 Conclusions_________________________________________________ 58 8 Bibliography ________________________________________________ 62 Appendix 1. 1 1 Introduction The topic of my pro gradu thesis is gender references in rap lyrics. My aim is to study how male and female artists refer to the two different genders in their lyrics. To do this, a list of the most common words and phrases used to refer to males and females in the songs is collected and the positive or negative values of the words are determined and what kind of connotation they are meant to evoke is considered. This is done by consulting dictionaries and by looking closely at the context in which the word is found. The main focus will be on modern day rap lyrics, but I will also try to see how the language has changed by doing a historical analysis by comparing the words found from rap lyrics to those used in blues lyrics. Blues is considered to derive from the songs African slaves used to sing and rap is seen as a modern version, a derivative and a continuator of the narrative nature of blues, and thus it will be well suited in this study to give an indication of stylistic development in this subject in the African-American speech community. I will also study the differences between male and female artist of both rap and blues and see whether there is a difference in the words used and in their meanings. Rap music is one of the fastest growing areas in music today and one that has a great deal of influence among its fans (Ryan & Calhoun III 1996, 121), which include young people from many different ethnicities besides African- American. It is also an area that has received very little interest in the scholarly field and has thus been studied very little. In addition, most of the studies that have been made are from the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. Therefore this study is interesting and hopefully useful. The questions this study is trying to answer are: How and what kind of gender references are used? How have they changed from those found in blues lyrics? What kinds of differences exist between male and female usage of the gender references? 2 The study contains only American blues and rap artists as the focus is on African American English speakers. The blues artists are chosen from the early 20th century and the rap artists are those most popular and most influential in 1995- 2005. The popularity is determined by record sales, placement on different singles charts and possible awards and award nominations. All artists chosen will be African American. This is again to bring coherence and comparability to the group. 1.1 Background Rap music is predominantly black music, but it has fans and listeners in all ethnic groups, black and white being the most common (Ryan & Calhoun III 1996, 126). As already said, it is also a style of music which has been studied very little. The limited amount of studies that have been conducted have focused on the themes, styles and use of rap music (Ryan & Calhoun III 1996, 124). The lack of previous studies adds some challenges to doing this one, but it also makes it very interesting. Blues and rap are both forms of music where the performer dominates the song and the lyrics are often his or her personal experiences and feelings (Bowers 1993, 29). Even when this is not the case, the lyrics tend to reflect typical experiences and thoughts common to the performer’s community and audience (Bowers 1993, 29). As Stephens says “rap music evidences the discursive practices of an imagined community in which the outgroup can no longer be defined along color lines” (1991, 86 quoted in Ryan & Calhoun III 1996, 126). It has also been noted that “even when rap goes international, it remains proudly local; we find in French rap, for example, the same targeting of specific neighbourhoods and concentration on local problems” (Shusterman 1991, 619). Therefore it can be assumed that the gender references found in rap lyrics, and also in blues, reflect the attitude towards the two genders in the groups that they influence, mainly African-American youth of the 21st century and the African- American working class of the early 20th century, respectfully. Of course, both rap and blues have branched out and both include a section that is more performance 3 and entertainment oriented in style, where the reflective quality of the words used is more uncertain (Bowers 1993, 29). Davis (1990, quoted and referenced in Rose 1994, 153) writes: “Music has long permeated the daily life of most African- Americans; it has played a central role in the normal socialization process; and during moments characterized by intense movements for social change, it has helped to shape the necessary political consciousness. Any attempt, therefore, to understand in depth the evolution of women’s consciousness within the Black community requires a serious examination of the music which has influenced them – particularly that which they themselves have created.” This argument by Davis links African-American music with everything from African-American politics to black women’s identities. Therefore studying African-American music is an excellent source when trying to learn about the “collective consciousness of black Americans” (Davis, 1990). Rap