Category: hip hop
+ astronautlis, bangarang, cecil otter, chill dummy, dessa, doomtree, four fists, gravedigger, hip hop, joe strummr, lazerbeak, mike mictlan, no kings, p.o.s., paper tiger, rap, rhymesayers, sims
P.O.S. Top Five: Part II
“Gravedigger” Chill, Dummy (2017) Like a lot of P.O.S.’s work, “Gravedigger” calls upon us as listeners to act and think about what we are actually doing with “this little flash” that we have on this earth. Are we spending time in club? Are we falling in line? Are we questioning the systems we exist within? What are we, ultimately, doing with our time. In … Read More P.O.S. Top Five: Part II
+ audition, craig finn, doomtree, drumroll, get down, hip hop, mike mictlan, never better, p.o.s., rap, rhymesayers, safety in speed, we don't even live here
P.O.S. Top Five
I don’t remember, for sure, how I originally came across P.O.S. (Stefan Alexander). I think I first heard about him in 2006, around the time he released Audition. At that time, I read Alternative Press almost every month, and P.O.S. was in one of the “Artists to Look Out For Issues.” I picked up Audition, and its mixture of punk and hip hop struck … Read More P.O.S. Top Five
+ Achille Mbembe, bergen, Norway, fulbright, fulbright award, hip hop, Hkeem, karpe, karpe diem, norway, pumba, toni morrison
What’s Next? Norwegian Hip Hop
In my previous post, I wrote about the Norway and Slavery research group that I started with a couple of colleagues at the University of Bergen. Today, I want to dig a little more into what I plan to do with my work on Norwegian hip hop, specifically Karpe’s work. Over the past few months, I have written multiple posts on artists such as … Read More What’s Next? Norwegian Hip Hop
+ «Hvit menn som push 50», «Hvite menn som pusher 50», «Hvor jeg kommer fra», chirag, hip hop, karpe, karpe diem, magdi, norway, pumba, rap
Tensions in Karpe’s «Hvite menn som pusher 50»
Last post, I dove into the refrain of Karpe’s «Hvite menn som pusher 50» (“White men pushing 50”), specifically looking at the ways that the “Heisann Montebello” operates within the song and across the album. Today, I want to continue my discussion of «Hvite menn som pusher 50» by looking at the verses and parts of the video and live performance that I mentioned … Read More Tensions in Karpe’s «Hvite menn som pusher 50»
+ Øyvind Holen, «Hvit menn som push 50», «Hvor jeg kommer fra», «Lett å være rebell i kjellerleiligheten din», «Vestkantsvartinga», chirag, heisann montebello, hip hop, karpe, karpe diem, magdi, norway, pumba, rap
Language and “Heisann Montebello” in Karpe’s «Hvite menn som pusher 50»
Over the past few posts, I have been looking at songs on Karpe Diem’s Heisann Montebello. Today, I want to continue that discussion by looking at «Hvite menn som pusher 50» (“White men pushing 50”). This is the second song on the album, following «Au pair», a song that sets up the ways that the album will interrogate whiteness, white privilege, and wealth. This … Read More Language and “Heisann Montebello” in Karpe’s «Hvite menn som pusher 50»
+ Øyvind Holen, «Attitudeproblem», chirag, hip hop, karpe, karpe diem, magdi, norway, OnklP, rap, Ståle Stiil
Art and Entertainment in Karpe’s «Attitudeproblem» Part II
Last post, I started looking at Karpe Diem’s «Attitudeproblem» and teasing out the tensions within the song between art and entertainment. Today, I want to continue that discussion by looking at Chirag’s verse. Along with looking at art and entertainment, I also want to explore how Chirag’s verse comments on complaceny and material comforts, much in the same he questions at the end of … Read More Art and Entertainment in Karpe’s «Attitudeproblem» Part II
+ Øyvind Holen, «Attitudeproblem», chirag, Elaina Hercz, hip hop, karpe, karpe diem, magdi, mona abdel-fadil, norway
Art and Entertainment in Karpe’s «Attitudeproblem» Part I
Over the past two posts, I have started looking at Karpe’s Heisann Montebello (2016). I have discussed «Lett å være rebell i kjellerleiligheten din» (“Easy to be a rebel in your basement light”) and the ways that the song addresses xenophobic, Islamophobic, and racist rhetoric. Today, I want to continue some of that same discussion by looking at another song on the album, «Attitudeproblem» … Read More Art and Entertainment in Karpe’s «Attitudeproblem» Part I
+ «Lett å være rebell i kjellerleiligheten din», chirag, heisann montebello, hip hop, karpe, karpe diem, magdi, norway, rap
Rhetoric of Infestation in Karpe Diem’s «Lett å være rebell i kjellerleiligheten din» Part II
Today, I want to continue my discussion of Karpe Diem’s «Lett å være rebell i kjellerleiligheten din» (“Easy to be a rebel in your basement apartment”). Again, this will not be a comprehensive discussion of the song, but hopefully it will serve as an entry point. One that I have discovered over the course of this process, and something I anticipated, is that a … Read More Rhetoric of Infestation in Karpe Diem’s «Lett å være rebell i kjellerleiligheten din» Part II
+ adjø montebello, Øyvind Holen, «Lett å være rebell i kjellerleiligheten din», benjamin hermansen, chriag, heisann montebello, hip hop, holmlia, karpe, karpe diem, magdi, norway, sindre bangstad
Rhetoric of Infestation in Karpe Diem’s «Lett å være rebell i kjellerleiligheten din» Part I
My research into Norwegian hip hop is ever evolving. I keep finding new artists and songs everyday, but the one group that has really caught my attention is Karpe Diem, a group that consists of Magdi (Egyptian/Norwegian) and Chirag (Indian/Norwegian). Their 2015-2016 project Heisann Montebello (Hello Montebello) exists as a political statement on behalf of individuals who ask, as Pumba puts it, «Hvor faen … Read More Rhetoric of Infestation in Karpe Diem’s «Lett å være rebell i kjellerleiligheten din» Part I
+ «Hvor jeg kommer fra», benjamin hermansen, bergen, Norway, Cecelia Cutlre, hip hop, norway, pumba, rap, rune bergelund steen, Unn Røyneland
Identity and Nationality in Pumba’s «Hvor jeg kommer fra»
When I started digging into Norwegian hip hop, I came across Pumba pretty quickly and the video for his song «Hvor jeg kommer fra» (“Where I come from”). Released in 2008, «Hvor jeg kommer fra» came seven years after the racist murder of Benjamin Hermansen, a Ghanian-Norwegian fifteen year-old, in Holmlia in Oslo. Pumba (Richard Edward Bravo) was born in Norway and is of … Read More Identity and Nationality in Pumba’s «Hvor jeg kommer fra»
+ Øyvind Holen, «Ghettoparasitt», Erik og Kriss, Ghetto Parasite, hip hop, Hkeem, MachoMayne, norway, rap, Skolegården
Norsk Hiphop: Hkeem’s «Ghettoparasitt»
Note: My translations may be off. I am still learning Norwegian. So, if anything is mistranslated, please let me know. As well, the second part of my lecture on The Great Gatsby will go live soon. A few weeks after we moved to Bergen last August, I heard some music coming from outside. There was a pop up stage down the road, with various … Read More Norsk Hiphop: Hkeem’s «Ghettoparasitt»
Identity in Childish Gambino’s “This is America”
A few days ago, Childish Gambino’s “This is America” dropped. Since then, people have been talking about the song and the video, either praising or questioning Gambino and Hiro Muria’s message and delivery. Initially, I landed on the side of utter praise for the song and the video. I’ve been a fan of Donald Glover since Community and of his music since Camp. With … Read More Identity in Childish Gambino’s “This is America”
