The everyday life of gangster rap
(2023) SOCM04 20231Department of Sociology
Sociology
- Abstract
- Rap music has been controversial ever since the music genre took off. Themes such as violence, drugs and aggression have been themes portrayed in the genre since a long time ago. The purpose of this study was to study How do Swedish rap artists within the gangster rap scene describe their everyday life through their lyrics? By analyzing ten different artists and a total of 76 songs through a thematic analysis, patterns have been found in the music. The focus has been on themes that include crime, weapons, drugs, sex, violence, dissatisfaction with the state and women. Based on these themes, sub-themes have also been presented. Theories that are applied are Travis Hirschi's theory of social bonds, Howard Becker's theory of the branding... (More)
- Rap music has been controversial ever since the music genre took off. Themes such as violence, drugs and aggression have been themes portrayed in the genre since a long time ago. The purpose of this study was to study How do Swedish rap artists within the gangster rap scene describe their everyday life through their lyrics? By analyzing ten different artists and a total of 76 songs through a thematic analysis, patterns have been found in the music. The focus has been on themes that include crime, weapons, drugs, sex, violence, dissatisfaction with the state and women. Based on these themes, sub-themes have also been presented. Theories that are applied are Travis Hirschi's theory of social bonds, Howard Becker's theory of the branding theory, Henri Tajfel and John Turner's theory of social identity theory, Pierre Bourdieu's theory of social, economic, cultural capital and habitus and finally gangster rap as a subculture. The results of the study show that the Swedish rap genre is characterized by descriptions of crime, violence, sex, drugs and weapons. A result that is not surprising as it largely goes hand in hand with the study's previous research. The rappers describe a reality of what crime and gang culture can look like in Stockholm's suburbs. Graphic descriptions of violence, drugs and other criminal acts characterize Swedish gangster rap music. (Less)
- Popular Abstract
- Gangster music is taking more and more place in the Swedish music industry, in recent years the genre has grown and taken over top charts around Europe. People of all ages listen and engage with the genre even though the lyrics and message of gangster music are controversial. A very popular genre with many controversial messages has raised concerns among some. Research on the subject of gangster rap and criminality is common internationally and has become increasingly common at the national level following several artists' public membership in criminal networks. The artists mean that they describe their everyday life in injustice and poverty, while the media and others argue otherwise. I ask myself the question; How do Swedish rap artists... (More)
- Gangster music is taking more and more place in the Swedish music industry, in recent years the genre has grown and taken over top charts around Europe. People of all ages listen and engage with the genre even though the lyrics and message of gangster music are controversial. A very popular genre with many controversial messages has raised concerns among some. Research on the subject of gangster rap and criminality is common internationally and has become increasingly common at the national level following several artists' public membership in criminal networks. The artists mean that they describe their everyday life in injustice and poverty, while the media and others argue otherwise. I ask myself the question; How do Swedish rap artists within the gangster rap scene describe their everyday life through their lyrics? I answered this question by analyzing the artists' own songs that they published during a certain time span. I analyzed a total of 76 songs by 10 different Swedish artists who were from the Stockholm area. From the lyrics I looked for similarities and differences between the different artists, what they had in common and what could set them apart. The main findings that were found were that there was disappointment from the artists towards the state and other various authorities. The artists described an anger that they and their families did not receive the help they needed to get by in the Swedish suburbs. Themes such as weapons and drugs were also present and normalized in the texts. My findings from this study were matched with the previous research that was included in the study. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9131871
- author
- Saveska, Teodora LU
- supervisor
-
- Magnus Ring LU
- organization
- alternative title
- An analysis of how artists describe their reality through music
- course
- SOCM04 20231
- year
- 2023
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Rap, Gangster rap, young people, social bond theory, labeling theory, social identity theory, social capital, cultural capital, economical capital, subculture, crime, violence, weapons, drugs, sex, we & them.
- language
- English
- id
- 9131871
- date added to LUP
- 2023-07-04 09:39:01
- date last changed
- 2023-07-04 09:39:01
@misc{9131871,
abstract = {{Rap music has been controversial ever since the music genre took off. Themes such as violence, drugs and aggression have been themes portrayed in the genre since a long time ago. The purpose of this study was to study How do Swedish rap artists within the gangster rap scene describe their everyday life through their lyrics? By analyzing ten different artists and a total of 76 songs through a thematic analysis, patterns have been found in the music. The focus has been on themes that include crime, weapons, drugs, sex, violence, dissatisfaction with the state and women. Based on these themes, sub-themes have also been presented. Theories that are applied are Travis Hirschi's theory of social bonds, Howard Becker's theory of the branding theory, Henri Tajfel and John Turner's theory of social identity theory, Pierre Bourdieu's theory of social, economic, cultural capital and habitus and finally gangster rap as a subculture. The results of the study show that the Swedish rap genre is characterized by descriptions of crime, violence, sex, drugs and weapons. A result that is not surprising as it largely goes hand in hand with the study's previous research. The rappers describe a reality of what crime and gang culture can look like in Stockholm's suburbs. Graphic descriptions of violence, drugs and other criminal acts characterize Swedish gangster rap music.}},
author = {{Saveska, Teodora}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{The everyday life of gangster rap}},
year = {{2023}},
}