Chris Johnson | The Regional Rap: How geographic location impacts content

 
Does geographic location impact lyrical content in rap music? The intuitive answer is yes, undoubtably so. But what of globalization and the dissemination of ideas? And if location is so important why do all rappers sound the same these days? These are just a few of the questions I intend to grapple with through my project The Regional Rap. Of course, this question is important not only for me, but also for the consumer. The exploration of how geographic location impacts lyrical content in the modern hip-hop scene is perhaps more interesting now than it has ever been, especially in the age of social media. However, despite the ease with which ideas can spread, as well as common themes which present themselves within the genre of rap as a whole, regions have been, and always will be linked by their vernacular. Accents, dialects, and the like are simply products of one’s upbringing and thus are closely tied to location. Thus, these connections and commonalities persist. Though they may look different now in certain cities relative to other, there is without a doubt a case to be made for the ever-present regionality in hip-hop today, you just have to look for it.