I like this thesis which has just been published. "Mapping the City One Rap Song at a Time: How Place and Hip Hop Intersect in Minneapolis, Minnesota" is by Emma O Brien and is a very readable introduction to the Twin cities hip hop scene. It also looks at the rich tradition of hip hop telling city stories. I was particularly interested in her analysis of lyrics and her stories of been able to walk down certain streets and recognise locations from lyrics that she had heard previously. It is an interesting model to apply to a lot of Irish hip hop. How many real life street names or places are been namechecked. Not enough I think. Maybe it is a useful barometer of how 'real' something is. Off the top of my head I can think of 'The Horse and Hound' and 'Chicken Hut' from Rubberbandits 'Bag of Glue'. I remembered Exile Eye talking about cameras following him on 'pana' on his pressure points album. Any more?
The author of this paper, Emma O Brien, spent a semester at UL last year and supported a lot of hip hop events in the city. To read it click here and look for the link to PDF near bottom of page.
Shane
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