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With ongoing debates on Scottish independence, immigration, Britain's place in the EU, multiculturalism, national identity and the specter of a past Empire complicating ethnically-defined notions of "Britishness," the Kingdom seems far from United. As a cultural force that is often discussed as giving voice to the voiceless and empowering marginalized communities, hip-hop has become a space in which to explore and debate these issues-defining global community while celebrating locality. In Brithop, author Justin A. Williams finds new hope in an often-neglected figure: the British rapper. Through themes of nationalism, history, subculture, politics, humor and identity, Brithop explores multiple forms of politics in rap discourses from Wales, Scotland and England. Featuring rappers and groups such as The Streets, Goldie Lookin Chain, Akala, Lowkey, Stanley Odd, Loki, Speech Debelle, Lady Sovereign, Shadia Mansour, Shay D, Stormzy, Sleaford Mods, Riz MC and Lethal Bizzle, Williams investigates how rappers in the UK respond to the "postcolonial melancholia" of post-Empire Britain. Brithop shows a rich, multifaceted cultural reality reflective of both the postcolonial condition of the UK and the importance of localism within its varying cultures.
Table des matières
- Acknowledgements
- Chapter 1: Introduction
- Rapping Back to the Postcolonial Melancholia of 21st Century Britain
- Chapter 2: Nationalism
- "My England": Banal Nationalism, Discourses and Counter-narratives
- Chapter 3: History
- Rapping Postcoloniality: Akala's "The Thieves Banquet" and Neocolonial Critique
- Chapter 4: Subculture/Style
- Punk Aesthetics in Sleaford Mods and Lethal Bizzle
- Chapter 5: Politics
- "Colonized by Wankers": Performing the Scottish Independence Debate through Hip-hop
- Chapter 6: Humor
- Stereotypes and Belonging in the Parody Videos of Goldie Lookin Chain and Bricka Bricka
- Chapter 7: Politics, Identity, and Belonging
- British Rappers of the Middle Eastern Diaspora
- Conclusion
- British Rap in the Age of Grenfell and Brexit
- Appendix: Ch. 5 lyrics
- Bibliography
- Index
A propos de l'auteur
Justin A. Williams is Senior Lecturer in music at the University of Bristol, UK. He is the author of Rhymin' and Stealin': Musical Borrowing in Hip- Hop (2013), editor of The Cambridge Companion to Hip- Hop (2015), and coeditor (with Katherine Williams) of The Cambridge Companion to the Singer- Songwriter (2016) and The Singer- Songwriter Handbook (2017). He has also written on crowdfunding, progressive metal, and Hamilton: An American Musical.
Résumé
With the United Kingdom politically more divided than ever, author Justin A. Williams finds new hope in an often-neglected figure: the British rapper. Through themes of nationalism, history, subculture, politics, humor, and identity, Brithop offers insightful new perspectives from rappers based in Wales, Scotland, and England.
Texte suppl.
Justin A. Williams' BRITHOP is a literal tour de force,taking readers on a journey through twenty-first century UK rap and helping them hear how British emcees use beats and rhymes to make their voices heard. With a keen ear for accents, poetic allusions, and political commentary, Williams explores a wide range of artists through the lenses of not only race, gender, and ethnicity, but also class, region, and nationality. By highlighting the vibrancy of Great Britain's multicultural popular music, BRITHOP uts two fingers up to Brexit-era nationalism and refutes narrow conceptions of citizenship and belonging. This is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding contemporary British society as well as hip-hop outside of the United States.
