Category: rap

The Ways that the Past Impacts the Present: Personas and Identity

As I prepared to teach my study travel course on identity in Belfast and before I arrived, I had a preconceived notion, of course, about the places I would visit and what I would encounter. Most of these impressions, apart from the things that my daughter told me about her time in Belfast, came from either academics, novelists, or popular culture, music being a big part … Read More The Ways that the Past Impacts the Present: Personas and Identity

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

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

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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»

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»