Listen and Learn: Hip Hop That Uplifts and Enlightens; Edutainment and Empathy Via Narrative Lyricism: A Prosocial Approach to Rap

Listen and learn: Hip hop that uplifts and enlightens;

Edutainment and empathy via narrative lyricism: A prosocial approach to rap

Todd Cameron Haery

The Ohio State University

Masters Thesis: Proposed Research Protocol for the Institutional Review Board (IRB)

Thesis Committee:

Dr. Osei Appiah, Ph.D.

Dr. Daniel McDonald, Ph.D.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank my mentor, Dr. Osei Appiah, for all the patience and assistance in helping to complete this thesis. 

Table of Contents

i. Introduction

ii. A brief overview: History of Hip Hop

a. Socially Conscience Rap

b. Gangsta Rap

iii. Lit Review

a. Intergroup Relations

b. Uses & Gratifications and Social Identity Theory

c. Narrative Theory

d. Perspective Taking

e. Surveillance & Cultural Voyeurism

iv. Summary

v. Hypotheses

vi. Methods

vii. Appendix

viii. References

“Keep in mind when brothas start flexing the verbal skillz, it always reflects what’s going on politically, socially, and economically.” – Davey D (musician)

This study explores how socially conscious rap music can inform listeners of meaningful social and political issues, and ultimately contribute to a more empathetic and civically engaged society. By re-conceptualizing the nature of hip hop culture, highlighting the significance of understanding its history, and emphasizing the socio-political motives associated with rap music’s foundation many pro-social impacts commonly overlooked in literature regarding rap media effects begin to surface. A uses and gratifications approach is used to establish conceptual framework that views rap as lyrical narratives that mold social identity. Rap is discussed as a medium of edutainment capable of influencing attitudes and provoking deep-seated emotional responses (e.g., perspective, self-reflection, and other eudemonic feelings) similarly described in extant literature on entertainment media. Identifying empathetic affects and perspective-taking as mechanisms activated by lyrical narratives, I argue that rap music can educate, empower, improve intergroup relations, and ultimately spur civic engagement by increasing knowledge of sociopolitical issues.

i. Introduction

Viewing music as a cultural artifact, scholars have used it as a means of studying identity formation, the forming and galvanization of social groups, political activism, and social deviance among other social phenomena. The rap genre, however, cannot seem to escape the negative parameters in which it is regularly discussed within the literature (Dixon, 2006; Callais, 2013; Reddick 2002). Rap music is also commonly viewed and discussed negatively among the general public, and parents (also including political elites, and “opinion leaders”- known as public figures to whom the masses refer when forming opinions) (Lazarsfeld, 1955). This is due to noting various undesirable societal ramifications associated with listening to it, such as deviant youth behavior, violence, and aggression (Knobloch, 2006; Dixon, 2006; Reddick, 2003) usually while failing to properly note pro-social or societally positive outcomes.

Rap culture as a whole requires a broader, more novel and less subjective approach in order to more accurately understand its nature and effects. Rather than myopically isolating violence/aggression, consumerism, and misogyny associated with gangsta rap, researchers might gain by discussing lyrical content which focuses on prosocial ramifications relative to consuming socially conscious rap. That is, by considering rap and its perceived public deprecations as outcomes to deep-seated socio-structural inequities and inconsistent public policies which have historically perpetuated the plight and marginalization of institutionally disadvantaged people, social sciences and general publics might understand hip hop culture and its constituents more accurately. In doing so, I argue that rap music can inform and educate the general public, while uplifting and advocating for marginalized and socially stigmatized groups.

ii. History of Hip Hop- a brief overview

Like any type of music, in order to effectively study and understand rap, its origins ought to be thoroughly examined—researched within the sociological and historical frames from which the music originated. Defined as a “musical form that makes use of rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular, which is recited or loosely chanted over a musical soundtrack” (Keyes, 2002 pg.13), rap allegedly originated on New York’s inner-city streets and Black, urban neighborhoods (Kubrin, 2003). Scholars commonly trace rap’s historical roots to West African professional singers/story-tellers (over 2000 years ago) known as griots (Rhodes, 1993) who believed the act of speech generation to be divine in nature; they used spoken word narratives, metaphorical speech, and rhythm-oriented oration for transferring important information. In turn, rhythmic or melodious vocals were used strategically in similar fashion by West African slaves in America when slave-owners prohibited slaves from communicating with one another: “You see, the slaves were smart and they talked in metaphors. They would be killed if the slave masters heard them speaking in unfamiliar tongues. So they did what modern-day rappers do--they flexed their lyrical skillz” (Davey D, 1998).

Modern rap in the U.S. is said to have begun in the late 70’s in a rapidly economically declining Bronx, New York (Rose, 1994). The inner-city environments where rap originated afforded limited avenues for adolescents to obtain social status and social roles that were available to youths in other environments. For instance, peer groups dominated social roles and there were limited opportunities for community-life participation, like school groups, supervised athletics, or volunteer