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In quest of truth: the meaning of message making in Israeli rap

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 September 2015

Uri Dorchin
Uri Dorchin*
Affiliation:
Zefat Academic College, 11 Jerusalem Street, Zefat, Israel. E-mail: dorchin@post.bgu.ac.il
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Abstract

This article explores the meaning of ‘message’ in rap made in Israel. I suggest that since Israeli rappers perceive rap not just as music but as an instrument for the articulation of one's true self, they invest heavily in the notion of truth, rendering the making-of-a-message a message in its own right. I draw on two different analytical methods to explore the meaning of truth in this context: text analysis, based on a ‘word-system approach’, and ethnography of performance. The analysis of speech strategies exposes the different aspects attached to the idea of truth, and this is complemented by my fieldwork experiences, which illustrate how these aspects and perceptions are being practised during performance. I argue that for Israeli rappers the ideals of message making and ‘keeping things real’ draw simultaneously on the global stylistic capital of hip-hop and on local traditions of straightforward verbal expression.

Type
Articles
Information
Popular Music , Volume 34 , Issue 3 , October 2015 , pp. 452 - 470
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

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References

References

Note: All excerpts from recordings were authorised by ACUM (the Israeli association of authors, composers, lyricists, poets, arrangers and music publishers).

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