Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
`'Tis some visitor,' I muttered, `tapping at my chamber door Only this, and nothing more.'….
Edgar Alan Poe will be remembered for eternity as a masterful poet and
connoisseur of words. In the semiotician’s mind, however, the poet will be remembered
forever as a skillful rapper.
Wait a minute, you’re probably thinking. A rapper?! But it’s true, through the
lens of postmodernism Poe is able to take on the persona that the likes of Jay-Z, MF
Doom, and Eminem have accomplished.
Postmodernism is both a style and condition that combines characteristics from
both high and low culture, sampling different genres and appealing to mass audiences,
while self-referencing itself through a critical lens of irony. The break from modernism,
the era proceeding postmodernity, was characterized by universally understood
composition and structural purity. Although elements from the modern era transferred
over to the postmodern style, the meanings of the fundamentals changed.
Hip-hop epitomizes a postmodern style. The musical form of hip-hop evolved out
of ska and reggae music, when versions of songs were echoed and repeated, highlighting
certain instrumental sounds. These looped songs were then “toasted” over, where
someone would compose lyrics on the spot, full of alliteration and irony and speak them
to the beat of the music.
In the 1970’s immigrants landing in the Bronx set up “block parties” where music
was amplified so the entire neighborhood could enjoy the masterful techniques of the
disk jockey. A disk jockey, or DJ was the controller of the records, using two records on
turntables and manipulation the sound to create new melodies and beats.
Improvisational composition was then greatly furthered by artists such as Kool DJ
Herc, Grandmaster Flash, Grandwizard Theodore and Afrika Bambataa to name a few.
They experimented with scratching the records, mixing genres of music, and break-beat
mixing.
THE GANG’S ALL HERE!
As DJ skills became more and more advanced they created sophisticated songs
combining samples, quotes and parodies of already composed songs in order to create
new songs.
**BUT WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN??!!**
Sampling: The act of taking a portion of one sound recording, the sample, and reusing it
through manipulation as an instrument or element of a new recording.
Quotation: Taking a piece of a previous recording directly and using it in a new
recording.
Parody: Redoing music that already exists, with the intention of subversion and
creation of new meaning, while legitimizing previous meaning at the same time.
So, when you hear an old song on the radio, and then are surprised to hear that
someone else is rapping over the classic tune, it is exemplifying postmodernism. The
hip-hop and rap realm utilizes these techniques very frequently. One instance is the
rapper MF Doom. He has created his entire image after the Marvel comic super villain
“Dr. Doom.” In his music, he samples voices from Dr. Doom television cartoon and MF
Doom is not seen in public without his mask on, making the character his own, while
acknowledging his referential point.
MF DOOM
DR. DOOM
Another example is the rapper Nas, who took John Lennon’s “Imagine” song and
rapped lyrics about peace on the street, instead of world peace. In this way, he subverted
the original meaning, and created a new message while still acknowledging his source of
inspiration. In another case Nas took The Eurhythmics’ song “Sweet Dreams are Made
of These” and parodied the lyrics, as “Street Dreams are Made of These”. In effect, Nas
has subverted the original meanings, and put his own hope for peace into existence. This
mix creates irony, because the message of peace and folk culture is mixed with the harsh
street identity of rap.
NAS
MC POE!
But as you’re probably wondering, where does Edgar Alan Poe fit in?? The
VIC220 class had the privilege this year of hearing two of Buffalo, NY’s rising hip-hop
artists perform: DJ. SHUTEYES and MR. DEFINITION. These two performers showed
the class the various techniques, styles, and creativity that go into creating a hip-hop
success story. With DJ Shuteyes spinning RJD2’s ?????, Mr. Definition “spit” or rapped
Edgar Alan Poe’s The Raven. The effect was chilling, and much altered from a standard
reading of the poem in a classroom setting.
COPYRIGHT OR COPYWRONG??
The road that hip-hop has followed has not been purely one of admiration
by society. Some feel that changing a song is ruining the original script, while others feel
that originality is put into question when artists take whole or parts of songs. Can
someone own a drum sequence? How does one assign authorship to folk melodies?
As Arthur and Marilouise Kroker, and David Cook put it: “Property, ownership and
authenticity are not postmodern words; appropriation, sampling and parody are.”
Think about it. In the scholastic realm we borrow ideas, build on theories, and
copy styles with every paper we write. As you learn from others, you assimilate their
teaching and make it your own. Why would this not resonate the same with music?
Linda Hutcheon of the University of Toronto writes about sampling in her book
Pumping Irony. She feels that capitalism attempts to market music as new, original and
authentic in order to create a unique “product” to sell. When postmodernism questions
the role of the “original”, and discerning original from copy threatens the difference
between the two. Where is the difference? The difference lies in meaning; both musical
pieces are unique in the message they send to the listener. The meanings from previous
discourses attached to new text carry over into its NEW forms, and create NEW
meanings.
When it comes down to it, any creation of new sound is original, and in this sense
hip-hop is a creative expression of mixing and matching to create new songs. As Linda
Hutcheon concluded, everything we interact with becomes a part of our greater point of
reference, and in this way creation will always have a bit of assimilation, yet it will be
original if structured in a new way.
Semiotics gives the world a new slant on considering our interpretations and
relationships to meanings we take for granted. The ways in which we live are a part of
the postmodern movement, and it is so interesting to learn what lies beneath our everyday
actions.
Today, Edgar Alan Poe got the chance to command the microphone and share the
stage with hip hop artists; in our postmodern world there are no limits. What’s next? Poe
and Shakespeare- the new album will be soon hitting shelves near you.
HIP HOP AND YA DON’T STOP
**Maris Grundy