Exam Terms

Question 1

Mechanical Recording Rights

Answer 1

Right to reproduce a particular recording of a song or album. Pre-1980s focus was on pirating, later focus was on sampling. As importance and prevalence of sampling has grown, the importance of this copyright law has increased.

Question 2

Treatment

Answer 2

Refers to “narrative treatment.” How music video directors treat the HH artist’s desires, lyrical focus etc. while also incorporating their own preferred visual styles and technical strengths.
-Tricia Rose, BN

Question 3

Public Transcript

Answer 3

This is the dominant transcript or what James Scott calls the “transcripts of power.” It is the open interaction between subordinates and those who dominate, and it upholds the social order. Hip Hop resists the public transcript.

Question 4

Black Atlantic Triangle

Answer 4

The African Diaspora, formed by the triangular slave trade which spanned Africa, the Americas and Europe. This triangle facilitates the the inter-cultural exchange across the diaspora, which is important to HH as it draws from Afrodiasporic traditions.

Question 5

Syncopation

Answer 5

This is a key African American vernacular style and consists of the accenting of rhythmic patterns on weak rather than strong impulses. It is effectively an unexpected interruption of the regular rhythm. This technique is central to Hip Hop culture including rapping, DJ’ing and breakdancing.

Question 6

Call-and-Response

Answer 6

This refers to when a song leader gives a musical statement and the chorus immediately follows with a response. According to John Taylor, it was brought from Africa and is central to musical traditions both on the continent and in the African diaspora. It is important in our course as it represents a diasporic link between Africa and the Americas.

Question 7

Flow

Answer 7

Refers to rhythm over time and, in the case of an MC, is determined by the rhythmic structure of their lyrics over the rhythms of the track. It can be formed through pitch, pace, tone etc. It is the MC’s unique fingerprint.

Question 8

Rhythmic Concrescence

Answer 8

A type of rhythmic harmony in which several, independent rhythmic components work together and eventually blend together to create a cumulative effect. It can also be regarded the ‘soul’ ‘swing’ etc. of a song. It is found throughout African American musical traditions.

Question 9

Toasting

Answer 9

According to Rose in Black Noise, it is a boastful form of oral storytelling that is often political, aggressive, violent and sexist on content. It is considered a lyrical antecedent to Hip Hop. Regarded a predecessor to the vulgarity and violence in Hip Hop lyrics.

Question 10

Rhythm Over Time

Answer 10

MC’s flow or lyrical cadence in relation to the beat. According to Bradley, it is maintained by rapping “in the pocket,” linguistic, tempo and timing.

Question 11

Flow, Layering and Rupture

Answer 11

All 3 are stylistically central to breaking, graffiti style, rapping and musical construction showing stylistic continuity between these AA traditions. See definition of ‘flow.’ ‘Layering’ is the construction of a new song through sampling. ‘Rupture’ is a disruption in the continuity (of a song, dance, rap) through breakbeats, popping / locking etc.

Question 12

Bad Man vs. Bad N***a

Answer 12

Both are archetypal portrayals of Black men and have AA folklore origins. Bad man may be a violent rule breaker who is considered a troublemaker by white, but is ultimately considered heroic by his those around him because he seeks the good of his community. On the contrary, Bad n***a is seen as a threat by other Black People as he acts on his own self-interest even if it hurts his community. He exerts his power by resisting all moral and social control.

Question 13

Sound System / Dub

Answer 13

Both are Jamaican in origin and share various similarities with Hip Hop. DJ Kool Herc drew on the bass-heavy sensibilities of Jamaican sound systems, which were designed to play dub, in order to create a sound system that would become a foundation for Hip Hop in the Bronx. With this sound system, Cool Herc pioneered the break beat which is central to Hip Hop today.

Question 14

Versioning

Answer 14

The repeated borrowing and recycling of an entire, popular composition. It is key to AA and Caribbean musical traditions. It is a method of narrative reformulation, resistance and paying homage and redefined traditional notions of authorship / originality (Rose).

Question 15

Symbolic meaning of “inner city”

Answer 15

Buzzword that comes loaded with racialized implications, assumptions and stereotypes. It carries stereotypes about crime, Black youth, violence etc. that decenter the institutional reasons for the existence of inner city conditions. Importance in Hip Hop…

Question 16

Resistance, Refusal, Renegotation

Answer 16

This is how, according to Lipsitz, white Americans have responded to civil rights laws & efforts such as desegregation efforts. White fight & flight from neighborhoods contributed to the process of ghettoization, contributing to the creation of the social conditions under which Hip Hop would emerge.

Question 17

Tensions between the Homoerotic and Homophobic

Answer 17

Homophobia is central to dominant views of masculinity in Hip Hop. As a result, according to Hill Collins, Black men reject close male friendships that come close to homoerotic bonding. This gives rise to what Rose calls the “gangster, pimp, hoe trinity” whereby any close social interaction between Black men must include women in order to not be perceived as homoerotic.

Question 18

Red-Lining

Answer 18

Practice by the HOLC in the 20th century that used a color-coding map to determine how ‘suitable’ an individual was for a home loan. The lowest rating, red, was given to any neighborhood with a Black person and thus incentivized racial segregation and racial inequality. It contributed to the process of ghettoization, thereby contributing to the creation of the social conditions under which Hip Hop was created.

Question 19

Possessive Investment in Whiteness

Answer 19

Institutionalized investment in structures that promote whiteness as the standard of freedom, privilege etc. and Blackness as the standard for slavery (Lipsitz) and sub-humanity. One of its effects is the affording of economic advantages to whites to the expense of Black people. This created the economic conditions that inspire Hip Hop.

Question 20

Oppositional Transcripts

Answer 20

Cultural responses to the oppressive public transcripts. Rap is an oppositional transcript in that it resists oppression through counter-hegemonic ideas and images. It allows the oppressed and powerless to exercise social power by giving voice to their (untold) histories and experiences in a public arena, fostering communal resistance.

Question 21

Chronic Joblessness

Answer 21

Urban deindustrialization, which affected all communities, disproportionately affected Black communities in the 1970s and 80s. It led to mass unemployment in Black neighborhoods which led to what Wilson calls social disorganization in Black communities, such that Black people were geographically, culturally and socially isolated from work. This pushed Black people into street economies which, today, inform much of the lyrical content in Hip Hop.

Question 22

Dual Rhythmic Relationship

Answer 22

According to Bradley, this refers to when the instrumentals/beat and vocals work together to unify the track. Hip Hop artists may craft their lyrics to the beat or creatively disrupt the musical patterns in the song (through techniques like syncopation), in both cases delivering a unified piece of music that satisfies the audience’s musical expectations of rhythm. It allows MCs to break away from the rigidity of musical patterns.

Question 23

Rocking (instead of) fighting

Answer 23

Competitive dancing of African American origin that uses gestures (as opposed to actual violence) to undermine the opponent. This dancing was done to African American music such as soul and is an antecedent to contemporary Hip Hop dance styles.

Question 24

Minstrelsy

Answer 24

According to Ogbar, this was when white men dressed in blackface and performed routines that ridiculed Black humanity. It both reflected and shaped white perceptions of Black people, to the ultimate benefit of white supremacy. It reinforced dangerous and degrading stereotypes of Black people for the entertainment of white people, which can be likened to how contemporary mainstream Hip Hop reinforces stereotypes of Black people for the entertainment of its majority-white consumers.

Question 25

Authenticity in Hip Hop

Answer 25

According to Ogbar, a set of criteria that certify an obscure notion of realness. In Hip Hop, these criteria are usually wrapped up in stereotypes of masculinity, femininity and Blackness. These stereotypes include violent excess, sexual dominance and ‘ghetto-ness’ and are performed by Hip Hop artists in order to establish a sense of authenticity.

Question 26

Battling

Answer 26

According to Rose, when graffiti crews, DJs, breakdance crews and rappers compete for territory and local supremacy. They are done with the aim of displaying artistic expertise and achieving bragging rights. As independent record producers began to notice the popularity of rap and DJ battles, they began to approach them about producing records, leading to answer records which today are iconic in Hip Hop music.

Question 27

Booty

Answer 27

‘Booty’ refers to the buttocks, the vagina or sexual intercourse and is primarily associated with Black women. It is often considered a marker of authentic Black womanhood and reflects notions about women as property, violent masculinity and Black promiscuity in Hip Hop.

Question 28

The break

Answer 28

Break beats are points of rupture in the structure of a song during which the underlying rhythms of the song are brought to the fore. They are a means to build and drop tension. In early rap, break beats were the core of DJ mixing strategies and their effect is a precursor to
looping as is used by rappers today. Break beats are also a core element in breakdancing.

Question 29

Unreasonable suspicion

Answer 29

Highlights how the notion of ‘reasonable suspicion’ in policing is unfairly (unreasonably) applied to Black men to justify paramilitary policing of Black bodies. It was employed for the stop-and-frisk rule which informed police brutality in (Black) ghettos in the late 20th century. The violence experienced by Black people as a result of these paramilitary tactics forms much of the lyrical content of Hip Hop.

Question 30

2 Keys to Song Copyright Infringement

Answer 30

1) Did the composer of the second song have access to the first song? This notion of access protects hits more than marginal works.
2) Does the second song show ‘substantial similarity’ to the first song? This will be the case in a sample.
These questions are important in the age of digital sampling because many samples can easily be understood as copyright infringements.

Question 31

Partial Resistance(s)

Answer 31

When an individual takes a strong stance on some issues but has a weak, nonexistent or problematic stance on other issues. This is often the case in Hip Hop where rappers may be strong supporters of a particular cause such as anti-racism, but be mum on or continue to perpetuate sexist and homophobia themes in their music.

Question 32

3 Kinds of Rights in Copyright Law

Answer 32

1) Composition Rights: rights over the actual notes and structure of a pre-existing song
2) Performance: public concerts, radio play, jukebox, streaming - usually licensed with royalties collected
3) Mechanical Rights: rights to reproduce a particular recording of the song or album (not necessarily the version played publicly)

The introduction of sampling complicated mechanical and compositional rights.

Question 33

Political Resistance

Answer 33

According to Cohen, this is mobilized, conscious challenging of dominant norms. Hip Hop can be a site of political resistance.

Question 34

3 Types of Cultural Resistance

Answer 34

1) Direct narrative challenge to institutional discrimination and injustices
2) Hidden / oppositional transcripts - narratives that challenge dominant, oppressive interpretations (‘unofficial truths’) through metaphors or other coded language
3) Aesthetic / stylistic

Question 35

Hidden Transcripts

Answer 35

According to Rose, this is the use of coded language by marginalized groups in order to resist dominant discourses. This is a type of cultural resistance that is expressed openly. Rap is a hidden transcript.

Question 36

“Arc of work” standard

Answer 36

A way of evaluating the political scope of an artist. This method considers the artist’s political progression and social awareness over time. This is important in Hip Hop in order to maintain perspective over the artist’s political identities.

Question 37

Illegal search

Answer 37

The term used for an improper profile arrest. LL Cool J made a song with this title, and it is about being unjustly searched and / or arrested. It critiques the justice system and police brutality against Black men, demonstrating how Hip Hop can be a platform for Black people to voice their protest.

Question 38

Why HH Artists Sample

Answer 38

1) As a political act or statement
2) To tap into cultural memory
3) To pay homage or show appreciation to other artists

Question 39

Sampling as Ideological Continuity / Rupture

Answer 39

Continuity: bridging generations of Hip Hop music, using the sample to tell a similar story or supplement the original story, reinforcing the ideology / meaning in the original work
Rupture: repurposing the idea from the original work in an oppositional manner of using the sample with completely different content and context