Strategic Visuals in Hip-Hop Life Writing

Bibliographic Data

ID5777235
AuthorsNassim W Balestrini (0000-0003-1960-8262, corresponding author), Nassim Balestrini
Year2015
Volume38
Issue2
Pages224-242
Publication date2015-01-19
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenuePopular Music & Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0300-7766 • E-ISSN: 1740-1712
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/03007766.2014.994318
OpenAlexW2064854692
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited19

Autobiographies as well as rap lyrics have been misconstrued by authenticity-oriented reading practices that disregard the fact that they are aesthetic constructs. Much hip-hop life writing published since the 1990s modifies elements prominent in American autobiographical traditions, thus embedding itself within the mainstream while simultaneously adjusting dominant rags-to-riches or triumph-over-odds trajectories to the socioeconomic predicaments associated with hip hop. They include visuals, but the verbal text nevertheless dominates most monographs. The recent New York Times bestsellers by Jay-Z and Eminem, however, revolutionize hip-hop life writing by devising strategic nexuses between visual and verbal discourse in order to raise awareness of the repercussions inherent in authenticity-focused perceptions of rap and rappers

Lyrics · Mainstream · Diverse Musicological Studies · Music History and Culture · Social and Cultural Dynamics

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub