The underground hip hop scene which is now booming all across the UK came out of innovation. With a historical resistance to sample based music in the UK, it is difficult for hip hop artists to penetrate the corporate music industry. This difficulty is not however unique to the UK. While hip hop is generally excepted within the popular culture of both Canada and the USA, there remain many other underground music, art, and fashion cultures within society at large. It is no secret that the established industries of music, fine art, and film, among others, are incredibly difficult to gain access to as a producer of culture. This is causing more and more independent cultural producers to turn to other means of creating.
Hip hop culture producers in the UK, whether they be rappers, videographers, or even fans, are pioneering the way to a new age of cultural production. If independent artists prove able to sustain a flow and exchange of cultural capital that they can then turn into economic capital, than they could be the beginning of a new generation of cultural producers. Both Raymond Williams and John Fiske discuss production as being essential to understanding culture. Perhaps this generational shift in the understanding and practice of cultural production will result in the development and evolution of a society with a new hierarchy of cultural values.
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Social Networking
In the final of my three main entries, I will discuss the use of social networks, particularly Twitter, by members of the underground hip hop scene in the UK. Specifically, I will discuss the role of Ruth Page's term attention economy, and how Twitter is used by micro-celebrities to accrue status within this attention economy. I will also discuss how Simon Frith's theories on the opinions of taste present in fan conversations on Twitter work to determine identities and boundaries of multiple communities simultaneously.
In mid November of this year, a popular rapper within the underground hip hop community in the UK named Micky Worthless ignited a Twitter battle with a British popular singer named James Arthur (Mos Prob). The argument was so widespread and popular, especially the updates posted on the Don't Flop website that it "broke the website" (Mos Prob). Micky Worthless is a primarily a battle rapper featured in many Don't Flop videos. Being a battle rapper he is naturally a rather opinionated and aggressive person, and his Twitter account reflects that.
James Arthur is a previous winner of X Factor which is a singing competition show popular in the UK (Mos Prob). James Arthur recently got a spot on a popular rap radio show, and Micky did not appreciate a non-rapper getting a chance to shine on such a large stage before many others who he deemed more worthy (Micky Worthless). This resulted in aggressive tweets from both sides.
Both Arthur and Micky made "diss tracks."
The way they each kept the back and forth going demonstrates their knowledge of the significance of visibility in the "attention economy" present on Twitter (Page 182). They continuously posted their opinions of each other constructing fine lines between between good and bad music and culture. Through their spat, they concrete identities for themselves which allows for more effective and immediate self-branding. This illustrates Page's point about how micro-celebrities use Twitter to "place particular emphasis on the construction of identity as a product" and then try and make that product as visible as possible through hashtags and (@) tags. Online conflicts such as this also illustrate how the commodity of discourse can be harnessed into generating support from fans (Page 182). This Twitter battle also exemplifies how searchable talk on Twitter increases visibility, for one can simply search for things such as #TeamFuckMicky to find Twitter member that align with particular tastes or interests (Page 182).
In his article on value and cultural taste, Simon Frith says "to be engaged with popular culture is to be discriminating" (4). By discriminating what you think is good or bad culture, you are solidifying yourself into an identity (18). These identities help define the boundaries of fandom. This is important in two sided conflicts such as these because fans simply need to be able to identify who is with them and who is against them. Frith suggests a definition of popular culture as "that cultural sector in which all participants claim authority to pass judgment" (9). This is evident by the massive response by Twitter users contributing to this Twitter fight.
The whole ordeal resulted in a public relations catastrophe for James Arthur and a huge publicity bump for Micky Worthless. Within 48 hours after the diss tracks were released, and within another 36 hours the Sun had branded Arthur as a homophobe and Sony, Arthur's label, had removed his diss track and taken control of his Twitter account (Mos Prob). The social event proved to be an excellent example of the restrictive nature of the traditional music industry and the freedom of speech available to independent music artists (Mos Prob).
Mos Prob. "What Happened This Week (18/11/13)." Weblog post. Dont Flop. N.p., 18 Nov. 2013. Web. 04 Dec. 2013.
Page, Ruth. (2012). "The Linguistics of Self-Branding and Micro-Celebrity in Twitter: The role of Hashtags." Discourse & Communication, 6(8), 181-201
In mid November of this year, a popular rapper within the underground hip hop community in the UK named Micky Worthless ignited a Twitter battle with a British popular singer named James Arthur (Mos Prob). The argument was so widespread and popular, especially the updates posted on the Don't Flop website that it "broke the website" (Mos Prob). Micky Worthless is a primarily a battle rapper featured in many Don't Flop videos. Being a battle rapper he is naturally a rather opinionated and aggressive person, and his Twitter account reflects that.
YOURE JUST
— Micky Worthless (@mickyworthless) November 19, 2013
A FUCK
— Micky Worthless (@mickyworthless) November 19, 2013
I CANT EXPLAIN IT COZ I THINK YOU SUCK
— Micky Worthless (@mickyworthless) November 19, 2013
IM TAKING
— Micky Worthless (@mickyworthless) November 19, 2013
PRIDE, IN TELLING YOU
— Micky Worthless (@mickyworthless) November 19, 2013
TO FUCK OFF AND DIE
— Micky Worthless (@mickyworthless) November 19, 2013
James Arthur is a previous winner of X Factor which is a singing competition show popular in the UK (Mos Prob). James Arthur recently got a spot on a popular rap radio show, and Micky did not appreciate a non-rapper getting a chance to shine on such a large stage before many others who he deemed more worthy (Micky Worthless). This resulted in aggressive tweets from both sides.
i burned James Arthur. picture by @iDJPhotography pic.twitter.com/mUzjdl3z3E
— Micky Worthless (@mickyworthless) November 18, 2013
Both Arthur and Micky made "diss tracks."
To these little wannabe rappers tweeting me about worthless.. I made my diss in half an hour and still bodied this dope and he try so hard
— James Arthur (@JamesArthur23) November 15, 2013
The way they each kept the back and forth going demonstrates their knowledge of the significance of visibility in the "attention economy" present on Twitter (Page 182). They continuously posted their opinions of each other constructing fine lines between between good and bad music and culture. Through their spat, they concrete identities for themselves which allows for more effective and immediate self-branding. This illustrates Page's point about how micro-celebrities use Twitter to "place particular emphasis on the construction of identity as a product" and then try and make that product as visible as possible through hashtags and (@) tags. Online conflicts such as this also illustrate how the commodity of discourse can be harnessed into generating support from fans (Page 182). This Twitter battle also exemplifies how searchable talk on Twitter increases visibility, for one can simply search for things such as #TeamFuckMicky to find Twitter member that align with particular tastes or interests (Page 182).
In his article on value and cultural taste, Simon Frith says "to be engaged with popular culture is to be discriminating" (4). By discriminating what you think is good or bad culture, you are solidifying yourself into an identity (18). These identities help define the boundaries of fandom. This is important in two sided conflicts such as these because fans simply need to be able to identify who is with them and who is against them. Frith suggests a definition of popular culture as "that cultural sector in which all participants claim authority to pass judgment" (9). This is evident by the massive response by Twitter users contributing to this Twitter fight.
The whole ordeal resulted in a public relations catastrophe for James Arthur and a huge publicity bump for Micky Worthless. Within 48 hours after the diss tracks were released, and within another 36 hours the Sun had branded Arthur as a homophobe and Sony, Arthur's label, had removed his diss track and taken control of his Twitter account (Mos Prob). The social event proved to be an excellent example of the restrictive nature of the traditional music industry and the freedom of speech available to independent music artists (Mos Prob).
Works Cited
Frith, Simon (1997) "The Problem of Value in Cultural Studies," in Performing Rites: On the Value of Popular Music, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 3-20.Mos Prob. "What Happened This Week (18/11/13)." Weblog post. Dont Flop. N.p., 18 Nov. 2013. Web. 04 Dec. 2013.
Page, Ruth. (2012). "The Linguistics of Self-Branding and Micro-Celebrity in Twitter: The role of Hashtags." Discourse & Communication, 6(8), 181-201
Video Production
The next aspect of underground hip hop in the UK which I wish to consider is video production on websites such as YouTube. Such a website serves as an accessible space for underground hip hop culture producers in the UK to publish their work. Through various types of videos such as music, personal, or promotional cultural producers of UK hip hop use websites such as YouTube capitalize on the sites structure in regards to the nature of taste and preference. Culture producers within the underground hip hop scene in the UK use Henry Jenkins' ideas of what makes certain texts spreadable to ensure their popularity. The first time underground hip hop culture in the UK was spread to me was through my younger brother. He played me a song called Pork Pie by a rapper by the name of Dirty Dike.
My brother has always been an avid explorer of music and much of my taste in music comes from listening to what he has to show me. This an example of the most essential form of semiotic productivity which John Fiske calls enunciative productivity (2). While not all instances of enunciated productivity are exclusively oral, the face-to-face method of sharing popular culture seems to be the most influential in shaping taste. Initially, my knowledge of underground hip hop in the UK was solely what my brother told me. I later discovered that artists such as Dirty Dike have music videos posted to YouTube. The accessibility of YouTube allows for a wide range of tastes to be present, all fighting for the attention of the browsing users. When one selects a video to watch within YouTube, the structural function of the site is such that videos are suggested for you. The suggested videos are based on their similarity in name or content to the video which the user selected. Suggestions are also influenced by the user's previous views, along with the videos selected by users with similar tastes or interests. John Fiske claims "many fans report that their choice of their object of fandom was determined at least as much by the oral community they wished to join as by any of its inherent characteristics" (2). Interestingly, YouTube seems to work in a way that places users within a "oral" community based on their established interests, even in instances such as mine where I didn't even know such an online "oral" community existed. This categorizing and community creating nature of YouTube encourages the development of underground sub-cultures such as the hip hop scene in the UK. Crucial to the development of these communities created is the accessibility and spreadability of the content around which they are created.
In order for the videos produced on YouTube to be increasingly accessible it must be suggested as often as possible, and in order to increase the suggestibility there must be views on those videos, and according to Henry Jenkins, the best way to gain views is to ensure spreadability. The question is then, what makes a video spreadable? Jenkins discusses a number of critical points a text can touch upon in order to qualify as spreadable. When he points out motivations to share media texts, he suggests that one of the reasons is to establish the boundaries of an "in-group" (Jenkins). I feel this applies to the sharing of music videos on YouTube. Members of the underground hip hop community on YouTube share music videos do so "because individual responses to such content helps them determine who does or does not belong in their community" (Jenkins). By gauging the tastes of their broader community, they are determining the boundaries of the smaller community of hip hop music to which they subscribe. Jenkins also discusses the reasons one might promote a brand saying that such "content gives expressive form to some deeply held perception or feeling about the world" which is especially true in the case of the emotion nature of music. Much of underground hip hop in the UK is aggressive both instrumentally and lyrically. Rappers complain about the state of British society and politics which is a ground on which many young English people can relate. In the case of non-music videos produced within the underground UK hip hop scene, the spreadability tends to be more closely related to humor.
The video above is a compilation of popular lines recited by a successful rap battler featured in many Don't Flop videos. Videos such as these appeal to the spreadability of humor (Jenkins). Particularly applicable to this rappers style is Jenkins' point on absurd humor. He says that along with parody, absurd humor is often the most successfully spread. In the beginning of the video above, there is an ad for a T-shirt featuring one of Oshea's most famous lines. It reads "I'm so gangster I once had a shit on a shark" (Best of Oshea). Jenkins discusses the natural way people enjoy sharing humorous content, but he also notes how when attempts at humor fall flat, they can "inject awkwardness into any situation and induce a sense of alienation" which is a detriment to any attempt at spreadability (Jenkins). In the case of Don't Flop videos, it is the nature of rap battles to produce those awkward moments when a rapper recites a line that does not land with their audience. Don't Flop videos have an advantage over other spreadable videos in this case because watching the crowd react to a terribly un-funny verse is almost as hilarious as a clever play on words. The successful creation of spreadable videos is unsurprising when one considers that it comes from a community of incredibly aware and savvy users of social networks.
Jenkins, Henry, Xiaochnag Li, Ana Domb Drauskopf, and Joshua Green. (2009). "If It Doesn't Spread, It's Dead." (part 1-8).
My brother has always been an avid explorer of music and much of my taste in music comes from listening to what he has to show me. This an example of the most essential form of semiotic productivity which John Fiske calls enunciative productivity (2). While not all instances of enunciated productivity are exclusively oral, the face-to-face method of sharing popular culture seems to be the most influential in shaping taste. Initially, my knowledge of underground hip hop in the UK was solely what my brother told me. I later discovered that artists such as Dirty Dike have music videos posted to YouTube. The accessibility of YouTube allows for a wide range of tastes to be present, all fighting for the attention of the browsing users. When one selects a video to watch within YouTube, the structural function of the site is such that videos are suggested for you. The suggested videos are based on their similarity in name or content to the video which the user selected. Suggestions are also influenced by the user's previous views, along with the videos selected by users with similar tastes or interests. John Fiske claims "many fans report that their choice of their object of fandom was determined at least as much by the oral community they wished to join as by any of its inherent characteristics" (2). Interestingly, YouTube seems to work in a way that places users within a "oral" community based on their established interests, even in instances such as mine where I didn't even know such an online "oral" community existed. This categorizing and community creating nature of YouTube encourages the development of underground sub-cultures such as the hip hop scene in the UK. Crucial to the development of these communities created is the accessibility and spreadability of the content around which they are created.
In order for the videos produced on YouTube to be increasingly accessible it must be suggested as often as possible, and in order to increase the suggestibility there must be views on those videos, and according to Henry Jenkins, the best way to gain views is to ensure spreadability. The question is then, what makes a video spreadable? Jenkins discusses a number of critical points a text can touch upon in order to qualify as spreadable. When he points out motivations to share media texts, he suggests that one of the reasons is to establish the boundaries of an "in-group" (Jenkins). I feel this applies to the sharing of music videos on YouTube. Members of the underground hip hop community on YouTube share music videos do so "because individual responses to such content helps them determine who does or does not belong in their community" (Jenkins). By gauging the tastes of their broader community, they are determining the boundaries of the smaller community of hip hop music to which they subscribe. Jenkins also discusses the reasons one might promote a brand saying that such "content gives expressive form to some deeply held perception or feeling about the world" which is especially true in the case of the emotion nature of music. Much of underground hip hop in the UK is aggressive both instrumentally and lyrically. Rappers complain about the state of British society and politics which is a ground on which many young English people can relate. In the case of non-music videos produced within the underground UK hip hop scene, the spreadability tends to be more closely related to humor.
The video above is a compilation of popular lines recited by a successful rap battler featured in many Don't Flop videos. Videos such as these appeal to the spreadability of humor (Jenkins). Particularly applicable to this rappers style is Jenkins' point on absurd humor. He says that along with parody, absurd humor is often the most successfully spread. In the beginning of the video above, there is an ad for a T-shirt featuring one of Oshea's most famous lines. It reads "I'm so gangster I once had a shit on a shark" (Best of Oshea). Jenkins discusses the natural way people enjoy sharing humorous content, but he also notes how when attempts at humor fall flat, they can "inject awkwardness into any situation and induce a sense of alienation" which is a detriment to any attempt at spreadability (Jenkins). In the case of Don't Flop videos, it is the nature of rap battles to produce those awkward moments when a rapper recites a line that does not land with their audience. Don't Flop videos have an advantage over other spreadable videos in this case because watching the crowd react to a terribly un-funny verse is almost as hilarious as a clever play on words. The successful creation of spreadable videos is unsurprising when one considers that it comes from a community of incredibly aware and savvy users of social networks.
Works Cited
Fiske, John. (1992) "The Cultural Economy of Fandom," in The Adoring Audience: Fan Culture and Popular Media ed. Lisa. A. Lewis. New York: Routledge, 1992. 30-49Jenkins, Henry, Xiaochnag Li, Ana Domb Drauskopf, and Joshua Green. (2009). "If It Doesn't Spread, It's Dead." (part 1-8).
Rap Battling
In this first entry, I will introduce the practice of rap battling and its presence within hip hop culture internationally. I will then discuss the performance of rap battles specific to the UK hip hop scene and show how they relate to and illustrate the flow of cultural capital, and I will further discuss how that cultural capital is actively and consciously turned into economic capital, which in turn results in sub-cultural prominence. This cultural capital is also in effect among the fans of such performance events. I will use John Fiske's ideas around fandom to discuss the fan participation within the rap battle culture as a means of gaining cultural capital for themselves. I will then use Henry Jenkin's points on the construction of community to illustrate the resulting dynamics within the rap battle fan culture.
The practice of rap battling is not unique to the underground hip hop scene in the UK. There is a history of rap battles in the urban neighborhoods of many American cities. A rap battle traditionally involves two rappers going head-to-head in a contest of rapping skills. There are freestyle rap battles in which rappers improvise rhymes in the moment, and there are also rap battles for which the competitors might prepare a few verses. Often rappers might modify these prepared verses with improvised lines according to the situation, all in order to demonstrate their mastery of words and their lyrical ability. The participation in rap battles deals with the accumulation and exchange of Pierre Bourdieu's notion of cultural capital.
In this video clip, we witness the legendary Christopher Wallace, also known as the Notorious B.I.G. improvising a verse in a rap battle against a neighborhood challenger. The audience can be heard laughing, applauding, and howling in support of Biggie Smalls' improvisational lyrical prowess. In this video we are witnessing the Notorious B.I.G. accumulating cultural capital. While in Biggie's day, the art of rap battling was a very directly personal interaction between performers and witnesses, in the rap battle culture in the UK, the production company Don't Flop widens the scope of participation.
Don't Flop is a company run by a small group of hip hop enthusiasts. Their primary function is to organize and publicize rap battle events throughout England. Through their YouTube channel, they document and disseminate skillfully edited videos of each and every rap battle performance which they produce. They began putting on events just over five years ago and have gained notoriety quickly. They host events in cities all over England from London to York and Manchester to Brighton.
At 2 minutes into this video we witness the typical introduction of rappers to the rap battle. This particular battle feature Lunar C and Micky Worthless, two of the most popular battlers in the culture. John Fiske discusses official culture being reinforced institutionally, inherently excluding popular culture (2). I would argue that Don't Flop serves as institutional reinforcement of an "official" sub-culture. The support present in Don't Flop events legitimizes the gained cultural capital earned by rap battlers within the hip hop scene. As seen in the video clip above, the rappers then use that cultural capital to promote brands and products, transforming the cultural capital into economic capital. The importance of rappers like Lunar C and Micky Worthless within the hip hop scene prove John Fiske's claim that "cultural capital... work hand in hand with economic capital to produce social privilege and distinction" (2). At 8 minutes into the above video, Micky Worthless recites a few lines which challenge the legitimacy of his YouTube views. This further illustrates the value of such cultural capital and how the nature of rap battling encourages the competition for that cultural capital.
John Fiske also discusses how fans can achieve social distinction through capital accumulation. At the end of the above video (18:00) the judges of the battle give their opinions and declare a champion. They tend to be fans and supporters who attend Don't Flop events on a regular basis. These "experts - those who have accumulated the most knowledge - gain prestige within the group and act as opinion leaders" further influencing the distribution of cultural capital within the scene. The community dynamics of Don't Flop fans illustrate the generational shift which Jenkins touches upon in his discussion on new forms of community.
"Young people [expect] greater opportunities to reshape media content" which is evident not only in the judging that happens at the end of each battle, but also simply in the importance of crowd participation (Jenkins). In countless Don't Flop battles, the detrimental effect on rappers is clear when the crowd is not supporting them. When they don't have the support, they don't perform well, and when the don't perform well, they don't win the prize. In the cultural sense, the prize is not only money or products, but cultural and economic capital. Again this is evidence of "each rung of the ladder performing tasks which are needed to support those below and sometimes above them" (Jenkins). While the events themselves are crucial in developing community and serve as a space for cultural capital to be earned and distributed, the video production aspect of such cultural texts within the UK hip hop scene magnify the social impact.
Jenkins, Henry, Xiaochnag Li, Ana Domb Drauskopf, and Joshua Green. (2009). "If It Doesn't Spread, It's Dead." (part 1-8).
The practice of rap battling is not unique to the underground hip hop scene in the UK. There is a history of rap battles in the urban neighborhoods of many American cities. A rap battle traditionally involves two rappers going head-to-head in a contest of rapping skills. There are freestyle rap battles in which rappers improvise rhymes in the moment, and there are also rap battles for which the competitors might prepare a few verses. Often rappers might modify these prepared verses with improvised lines according to the situation, all in order to demonstrate their mastery of words and their lyrical ability. The participation in rap battles deals with the accumulation and exchange of Pierre Bourdieu's notion of cultural capital.
In this video clip, we witness the legendary Christopher Wallace, also known as the Notorious B.I.G. improvising a verse in a rap battle against a neighborhood challenger. The audience can be heard laughing, applauding, and howling in support of Biggie Smalls' improvisational lyrical prowess. In this video we are witnessing the Notorious B.I.G. accumulating cultural capital. While in Biggie's day, the art of rap battling was a very directly personal interaction between performers and witnesses, in the rap battle culture in the UK, the production company Don't Flop widens the scope of participation.
Don't Flop is a company run by a small group of hip hop enthusiasts. Their primary function is to organize and publicize rap battle events throughout England. Through their YouTube channel, they document and disseminate skillfully edited videos of each and every rap battle performance which they produce. They began putting on events just over five years ago and have gained notoriety quickly. They host events in cities all over England from London to York and Manchester to Brighton.
At 2 minutes into this video we witness the typical introduction of rappers to the rap battle. This particular battle feature Lunar C and Micky Worthless, two of the most popular battlers in the culture. John Fiske discusses official culture being reinforced institutionally, inherently excluding popular culture (2). I would argue that Don't Flop serves as institutional reinforcement of an "official" sub-culture. The support present in Don't Flop events legitimizes the gained cultural capital earned by rap battlers within the hip hop scene. As seen in the video clip above, the rappers then use that cultural capital to promote brands and products, transforming the cultural capital into economic capital. The importance of rappers like Lunar C and Micky Worthless within the hip hop scene prove John Fiske's claim that "cultural capital... work hand in hand with economic capital to produce social privilege and distinction" (2). At 8 minutes into the above video, Micky Worthless recites a few lines which challenge the legitimacy of his YouTube views. This further illustrates the value of such cultural capital and how the nature of rap battling encourages the competition for that cultural capital.
John Fiske also discusses how fans can achieve social distinction through capital accumulation. At the end of the above video (18:00) the judges of the battle give their opinions and declare a champion. They tend to be fans and supporters who attend Don't Flop events on a regular basis. These "experts - those who have accumulated the most knowledge - gain prestige within the group and act as opinion leaders" further influencing the distribution of cultural capital within the scene. The community dynamics of Don't Flop fans illustrate the generational shift which Jenkins touches upon in his discussion on new forms of community.
"Young people [expect] greater opportunities to reshape media content" which is evident not only in the judging that happens at the end of each battle, but also simply in the importance of crowd participation (Jenkins). In countless Don't Flop battles, the detrimental effect on rappers is clear when the crowd is not supporting them. When they don't have the support, they don't perform well, and when the don't perform well, they don't win the prize. In the cultural sense, the prize is not only money or products, but cultural and economic capital. Again this is evidence of "each rung of the ladder performing tasks which are needed to support those below and sometimes above them" (Jenkins). While the events themselves are crucial in developing community and serve as a space for cultural capital to be earned and distributed, the video production aspect of such cultural texts within the UK hip hop scene magnify the social impact.
Works Cited
Fiske, John. (1992) "The Cultural Economy of Fandom," in The Adoring Audience: Fan Culture and Popular Media ed. Lisa. A. Lewis. New York: Routledge, 1992. 30-49Jenkins, Henry, Xiaochnag Li, Ana Domb Drauskopf, and Joshua Green. (2009). "If It Doesn't Spread, It's Dead." (part 1-8).
Introduction
Between Miley Cyrus' massive popularity, the chaotic consumerism of "Black Friday," and the disfunction that is The Jersey Shore it is not uncommon to hear complaints about the state of society and modern culture. Raymond Williams was confronted with such complaints about the masses half a century ago, and he insisted that "a dying culture, and ignorant masses, are not what [he had] known and [seen]" (86). I respond similarly today, for the evolving dynamics of cultural participation and production are changing the face of popular culture. A major facilitator of this shift in popular culture is a growing connectivity and development of online communities. It was the online community of YouTube through which I was able to discover another community across the Atlantic Ocean with which I share a great passion.
Hip hop in the United Kingdom is something which does not often reach the cultures of Canada or the United States. While the hip hop scene in the UK has been around since the late 1980s, it has not been integrated into the mainstream popular culture as much as hip hop in the United States. The more traditional structure of the music industry in the UK has proved to be harder for hip hop artists to penetrate. More recently, an increasing amount of hip hop music in the UK is being produced by independent artists unaffiliated with major record labels. Through more independent modes of production which encourage the participation of consumers and fans, producers of hip hop culture use techniques such as self-branding, community participation, and spreadability in the creation of a flourishing underground hip hop scene. I will post a series of entries focusing on three aspects of underground hip hop in the UK which demonstrate the social and cultural implications of this emerging style of cultural production. The three aspects I will address are rap battling, video production, and social networking. All of which will be discussed in relation to cultural production.
The practice of rap battling is important to underground hip hop in the UK as a way of creating community, gaining and exchanging cultural capital, and applying marketing techniques such as self-branding to turn that cultural capital into economic capital. The second aspect of the underground UK hip hop scene I will discuss is the production of videos including music, documentary, and promotional videos. These make use of Henry Jenkins' idea of spreadable media through mediums such as YouTube that make use of the discriminating nature of fandom. Lastly, I will address the proficient use of social networking to encourage fan participation, employ techniques of self-branding, and capitalize on social mobility.
Works Cited
Jenkins, Henry, Xiaochnag Li, Ana Domb Drauskopf, and Joshua Green. (2009). "If It Doesn't Spread, It's Dead." (part 1-8).
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