Keyword – society

Márton Pál, Iványi:

Stands, Suburbs, Salat

The scholarly literature has explored the genesis of rap music and its original social functions, including, among other things, the processing of the experiences of marginalisation, the formation of collective identities, and various forms of social engagement. Building upon these established lines of discussion, this paper introduces three case studies of artistic practice drawn from two broadly comparable historical and social contexts, as well as a third one that differs markedly from them. Through these cases, it aims to demonstrate how the artistic identity and oeuvre of a given rapper may be structured around distinct focal points such as 1) the articulation of affiliation with a sports club, as exemplified by Dale in the Hungarian scene, 2) the expression of patriotic motifs, characteristic of the Polish trajectory associated with Sokół and 3) the foregrounding of religious commitment, as observed in the Algerian case of Lotfi Double Kanon. In each instance, these emphases operate in tension with, or in opposition to, dominant mainstream cultural frameworks and currents. Taken together, these cases make it evident that certain salient patterns—related to sport, place-based belonging or religious orientation—may constitute some of the most prominent elements of an artist’s public persona or “brand”, even within a musical genre that has long been associated with African American cultural expression. Ultimately, this analysis corroborates earlier observations that suggest that rap has by now evolved into a highly differentiated field and a polyphonic universe of meanings.

Keywords: identity, mainstream, rap, society, underground, (post-)subcultural research