Artist Brooke Candy made hip-hop and pop music. This paper investigates and finds out through phonetic analysis that Brooke Candy uses more features of African American Vernacular English in hip-hop than in pop music. The song “Das Me” from 2012 serves to represent Candy’s language use during hip-hop music, while the song “Happy Days” from 2016 represents the language use during pop music performances. Candy’s use of African American English (AAE) is then compared to her speech when not performing, which is achieved by analysing a short interview of Candy.
However, before the analysis, there is essential information and important concepts that need to be provided. Firstly, there is a closer look at both hip-hop culture and language with a short excursion on AAE as well as popular culture, pop music and its language. Other important concepts, such as “crossing”, linguistic appropriation, and performed language, are explained in the following part, while also providing a brief overview of the Eberhardt and Freeman article. Having established the theoretical framework, the two songs and the video are analysed for AAE features. After the analysis, the results are discussed until lastly this paper finishes with some concluding remarks.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Hip-hop vs pop: Culture and language
2.1 Hip-hop culture and language
2.2 Popular culture, pop music and its language
3. Important sociolinguistic concepts and previous research
3.1 Crossing and linguistic appropriation
3.2 Performed language
3.3 Previous research: Iggy Azalea as an example of a white artist crossing to AAE
4. Data and Methods
5. Analysis
5.1 Morphosyntactic features
5.2 Phonological features
6. Discussion
7. Conclusion
Objectives and Topics
This paper examines the use of African American English (AAE) by white American artist Brooke Candy across different musical genres. The research aims to determine whether the frequency of AAE features in her lyrics declines as her musical style shifts from hip-hop to pop, while also contextualizing her language use within the framework of "crossing" and performed language.
- Sociolinguistics of performance and artist persona development
- Hip-hop culture and the "hip-hop nation language" (HHNL)
- Concepts of linguistic appropriation and "crossing"
- Comparative analysis of AAE features in hip-hop versus pop music
- Methodological analysis of morphosyntactic and phonological features
Excerpt from the Book
2.1 Hip-hop culture and language
An integral part of hip-hop culture is the hip-hop nation, which is an imagined and global community, whose members do not only consume and create hip-hop music, but also live the lifestyle associated with it (Eberhardt & Freeman 2015: 305). Central parts of this lifestyle are breakdancing, graffiti art, DJing and MCing, as well as on a more general level speech and dress (Cutler 2003: 212). The origins of hip-hop lie in the 1970s, where the African American youth used it as a means to speak up against the severe oppression they experienced. Hip-hop quickly grew into an internationally popular phenomenon and became the preferred music for adolescents aged 13-17 in the USA in 1992 already (Morgan 2001: 187). Adolescents aged 12-17 who live the lifestyle associated with hip-hop also form the core group of the hip-hop nation, since they purchase the most recordings and thus are important for hip-hop’s stability as an artistic form (Morgan 2001: 190-191). The central notion in hip-hop culture is that it is from the streets, the most important credo being “keeping it real”, which means sticking to one’s roots (Alim 2004: 390; Cutler 2003: 212). Realness and authenticity in hip-hop are achieved by being connected to the streets and by being true to who one is, which can be seen quite clearly when taking a look at the example of white hip-hoppers Vanilla Ice and Eminem.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Introduces the research topic regarding Brooke Candy’s use of AAE and sets the foundation through a comparison with Iggy Azalea.
2. Hip-hop vs pop: Culture and language: Explores the cultural backgrounds of hip-hop and pop music and defines the role of language within those genres.
3. Important sociolinguistic concepts and previous research: Provides theoretical context on linguistic appropriation, crossing, and performed language.
4. Data and Methods: Outlines the selection process for songs and interviews and details the criteria for identifying AAE features.
5. Analysis: Presents the primary empirical findings regarding morphosyntactic and phonological AAE features in selected songs.
6. Discussion: Interprets the findings, linking them to existing academic research on genre-specific language use and media reception.
7. Conclusion: Summarizes the study's results and suggests future research directions in the field of sociolinguistics of performance.
Keywords
African American English, AAE, Brooke Candy, Hip-Hop, Pop Music, Linguistic Appropriation, Crossing, Sociolinguistics of Performance, Morphosyntactic Features, Phonological Features, Identity, Authenticity, Performed Language, Selectivity, Genre Analysis
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core subject of this research?
The study examines how white artist Brooke Candy utilizes African American English (AAE) features in her music and whether this usage correlates with her transition from hip-hop to pop genres.
What are the primary thematic areas?
The work covers hip-hop culture, AAE as a linguistic system, the sociolinguistics of performance, and the concept of linguistic "crossing" by white artists.
What is the main research question?
The central question is whether the frequency of AAE features in Brooke Candy’s songs declines as her musical style moves towards pop, which is typically associated with standard North American English.
Which scientific methods were employed?
The author uses a qualitative analysis approach, identifying and counting specific morphosyntactic and phonological AAE features in two contrasting songs and one audio interview.
What topics are discussed in the main body?
The body analyzes the cultural context of genres, defines sociolinguistic concepts, details the methods for identifying AAE, presents empirical data through charts, and discusses the implications of these linguistic choices.
Which keywords best characterize this work?
Key terms include: AAE, Brooke Candy, Hip-Hop, Linguistic Appropriation, Crossing, Performed Language, Morphosyntactic Features, Phonological Features, Authenticity, and Genre Study.
Why did the author choose the songs "Das Me" and "Happy Days"?
These specific songs were selected because they serve as strong, representative examples of Brooke Candy's hip-hop and pop styles, respectively, allowing for a clear comparison of her linguistic choices.
Does the artist use AAE in her unscripted speech?
The analysis indicates that Brooke Candy does not utilize AAE features in her interviewed speech, which serves as a control variable to highlight that her usage of these features is specific to her performed musical identity.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Anonym (Autor:in), 2019, Brooke Candy's "Das Me" and “Happy Days”. Use of African American English in Hip-Hop and Pop Music, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1254828
