In Defense of Rap

Darren Barefoot wrote A Rant on Rap, which I felt compelled to defend against Bob's full paragraph of reasons for not liking rap. I'm not trying to talk Bob or Darren into liking rap, but I'm defending it from a linguistic point of view. This is one of my biggest pet peeves -- people calling Black English inferior.

Mine is the third post down:

I don't think Bob's heard any GOOD rap, he's just concentrating on the *bling bling* stuff that gets the most attention. I don't believe it deserves its reputation for dumbing down language any more than pop music (noticed any of Britney Spears' lyrics? most of it consists of "oh baby baby baby" and "yeah"). In fact, most of the bad rap that rap gets is related to social prejudices, not linguistics at all. Rappers have a linguistic virtuosity that few people can master -- do you think you could rhyme off the top of your head? I'd embarrass myself if I tried. Characteristics of Black English that people say bastardizes English is actually closer to Shakespearean times where they used, for example, double negatives for emphasis. Black English carries far more meaning in its inflections and usage of the verb "to be" than English does, so to say that it's inferior as a language has only basis in preference rather than linguistics.

One of the best current rap artists out there is a socially conscious Canadian: K-OS. I think he's from Ottawa. His "Exit" album is brilliant, not just for the lyrics, but there are actual melodies in his music -- fancy that. His style is not angry, and his album isn't R-rated. I wish he'd get more exposure.

It's true much of rap is what represents the category -- machismo, booty calls, whatever, but every musical category popularizes whoever sells the most, not necessarily who is the best (Yanni? Celine Dion? Shania Twain?). Rap is cashing in on its covert prestige -- money from suburban tweens who are attracted to the gangster lifestyle. It was only a generation ago that segregation was abolished in the south, so it's a bit of a comeuppance, isn't it?

Anyway, I'm off on a tangent, I'm here to defend rap music -- by the way, I'm not black.
Posted by: gail at February 11, 2004 03:06 AM