Toronto Metropolitan University
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Situating hybridity and searching for authenticity in Canadian hip-hop : how do we "keep it real"?

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posted on 2021-06-08, 12:32 authored by Cheryl Thompson
This project explores the language and discourse around hip-hop in Canada. Through ethnographic interviews, I contemplate the narrative of an indigenized Canadian hip-hop, how that narrative is reflective of national and regional identities, the use of slang vernacular and resistance rhetoric, and, how female hip-hop community members articulate the genre's need for authentication. Through the use of critical content/textual analysis, I also explore the intersections of race, gender, sexuality and identity in the lyrics of five of Canada's mainstream rappers to illustrate how the rhetoric of hip-hop and that of the media influences the way we talk about, and consume, hip-hop culture. Ultimately, I draw conclusions related to the current status of hip-hop in Canada, and suggest that the genre's dominant contestations are centred on the lack of definition of the Black, White and Native Canadian identity, ownership, and how corporate annexation impedes the genre's ability to transcend.

History

Language

eng

Degree

  • Master of Arts

Program

  • Communication and Culture

Granting Institution

Ryerson University

LAC Thesis Type

  • Thesis

Thesis Advisor

Jennifer Brayton

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