Abstract
Some of hip-hop’s most ferocious expressions of dissatisfaction occur during hip-hop battles about regional status, especially during the East Coast-West Coast hip-hop conflict, which culminated in the deaths of 2Pac and The Notorious B.I.G. By examining 2Pac’s lyrics and his accent from before and during the conflict, this chapter investigates how 2Pac became West Coast hip-hop’s avatar despite being from New York originally. The results suggest 2Pac accomplished this by disassociating himself from East Coast hip-hop in his lyrics and by deliberately manipulating his accent to sound like a native Californian and be accepted by the West Coast hip-hop community.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Notes
- 1.
In this chapter, “intraregional conflicts” and “interregional conflicts” are meant to refer solely to conflicts over regional status, not to conflicts between rappers from the same region or different regions over other types of issues.
- 2.
The Bridge stands for “Queensbridge Houses”.
- 3.
Compton, California is one of Los Angeles County’s cities, and as the hometown of notable West Coast gangsta rappers (e.g. Eazy-E and Dr. Dre), it is closely linked to West Coast hip-hop (cf. N.W.A’s 1988 album Straight Outta Compton).
- 4.
Calvin “Snoop Doggy Dogg” Broadus—who hails from Long Beach, California—was signed to the West Coast-based label Death Row Records at the time.
- 5.
The phrase to give props is slang for “to give credit” or “to pay respect”.
- 6.
The song’s producer DJ Quik, one of the West Coast’s most influential producers; finna is a slang expression meaning “going to”.
- 7.
Another nickname that The Notorious B.I.G. went by.
- 8.
For more information on Exemplar Theory and Complex Dynamic Systems Theory, see Gilbers (2015).
- 9.
No interview recordings of sufficient quality could be obtained for the year 1990.
- 10.
This chapter’s graphs from Fig. 2.2 onward include 1990 on the horizontal axis even though no data were collected for this year, because if 1990 were omitted from the timeline, it might seem as if the development from 1989 until 1991 took place within one year. For the unsmoothed measurements, the plotted 1990 data points are consistently the same as the 1989 ones.
References
Baugh, J. (1983). Black street speech: Its history, structure and survival. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press.
Blair, T. (1991). Fuck Compton [Recorded by Tim Dog]. On Fuck Compton [12-inch single]. Ruffhouse Records.
Boersma, P., & Weenink, D. (2014). PRAAT: Doing phonetics by computer [Computer program]. Version 5.3.84. Retrieved from http://www.praat.org/
Carter, S., Landsberg, N., Pappalardi, F., Squier, B., Ventura, L., & Weinstein, L. (2003). 99 problems [Recorded by Jay Z]. On The black album [CD]. Roc-A-Fella Records & Def Jam Recordings.
Carter, S., West, K., Parker, L., Burdon, E., Lomax, A., Chandler, B., Lemay, R., Morrison, J., Densmore, J., Krieger, R., & Manzarek, R. (2001). Takeover [Recorded by Jay Z]. On The blueprint [CD]. Roc-A-Fella Records & Def Jam Recordings.
Chambers, J. K., Trudgill, P., & Schilling-Estes, N. (Eds.). (2002). The handbook of language variation and change. Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
Cramer, J., & Hallett, J. (2010). From Chi-Town to the dirty dirty: Regional identity markers in U.S. hip hop. In M. Terkourafi (Ed.), The languages of global hip hop (pp. 256–276). London/New York: Continuum.
Cutler, C. (2007). Hip-hop language in sociolinguistics and beyond. Language and Linguistic Compass, 1(5), 519–538.
De Bot, K., Lowie, W., & Verspoor, M. (2007). A dynamic systems theory approach to second language acquisition. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 10(1), 7–21.
Eckert, P. (2006). Communities of practice. In K. Brown (Ed.), Encyclopedia of language and linguistics (pp. 683–685). Oxford, UK: Elsevier.
Forman, M. (2002). The ‘hood comes first: Race, space, and place in rap and hip-hop. Boston: Wesleyan University Press.
George, N. (1998). Hip hop America. New York: Viking Penguin.
Gilbers, S. (2015). Second African American English dialect acquisition in relation to regional hiphop identity: Presenting an integrated approach to phonological second language and second dialect acquisition. Master’s thesis, University of Groningen, Groningen.
Hess, M. (2009). Introduction: ‘It’s only right to represent where I’m from’: Local and regional hip hop scenes in the United States. In M. Hess (Ed.), Hip hop in America: A regional guide (pp. vii–xxix). Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood Publishing Group.
Jackson, O., & Patterson, L. (1988). Fuck tha police [Recorded by N.W.A]. On Straight outta Compton [LP]. Ruthless Records & Priority Records.
Jaco, W., Hafermann, H., & Grant, A. (2011). Words I never said [Recorded by Lupe Fiasco & Skylar Grey]. On Lasers [CD]. 1st & 15th Entertainment & Atlantic Records.
Jones, N., & Turner, R. (2001). Ether [Recorded by Nas]. On Stillmatic [CD]. Ill Will Records & Columbia Records.
Labov, W. (1972). Language in the inner city: Studies in the Black English vernacular. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
Lyubovny, V. (2014). Grandmaster Caz Talks Big Bank Hank Stealing “Rapper’s Delight”. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FBXRUWraKo/
Morgan, M. (1993). Hip-hop hooray! The linguistic production of identity. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association, Washington, DC.
Morgan, M. (1998). More than a mood or an attitude: Discourse and verbal genres in African American English. In S. Mufwene (Ed.), African American English (pp. 251–280). New York: Routledge.
Morgan, M. (2001). “Nuthin’ but a G thang”: Grammar and language ideology in hip hop identity. In S. L. Lanchart (Ed.), Sociocultural and historical contexts of African American English (pp. 187–209). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Nycz, J. (2013). Changing words or changing rules? Second dialect acquisition and phonological representation. Journal of Pragmatics, 52, 49–62.
Parker, L., & LaRock, S. (1987). The Bridge is over [Recorded by Boogie Down Productions]. On Criminal minded [CD]. B-Boy Records.
Philips, C. (2012). Tupac Shakur: The 1995 interview. Retrieved from http://chuckphilipspost.com/
Pierrehumbert, J. (2001). Exemplar dynamics: Word frequency, lenition, and contrast. In J. Bybee & P. Hopper (Eds.), Frequency effects and the emergence of lexical structure (pp. 137–157). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Quinn, E. (2005). Nuthin’ but a “G” thang: The culture and commerce of gangsta rap. New York: Columbia University Press.
Ramirez, E. (2015). Meek Mill vs. Drake: A full timeline of the rap beef & who weighed in. Retrieved from http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/the-juice/6641784/meek-mill-drake-timeline/
Reid, S. (2005). 50 Cent and The Game—Doomed from the very beginning? Retrieved from http://www.mtv.com/news/1497638/50-cent-and-the-game-doomed-from-the-very-beginning/
Rickford, J., & Rickford, R. (2000). Spoken soul: The story of Black English. New York: Wiley.
Sarig, R. (2007). Third coast: Outkast, Timbaland, and how hip-hop became a Southern thing. Boston: Da Capo Press.
Shakur, T. (1993). Nothing but love [Recorded by 2Pac]. On I get around [CD single]. Interscope Records.
Shakur, T. (1996). Tupac Shakur (2Pac) VIBE The Lost Interview. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIFmTSCAlMA/
Shakur, T. (1997). Thug style [Recorded by 2Pac]. On R U still down? (Remember me) [CD]. Amaru Entertainment, Jive Records, & Interscope Records.
Shakur, T., Blake, D., Nelson, P., Clinton, Jr., G., Collins, W., Haskins, C., & Worrell, B. (1996). Heartz of men [Recorded by 2Pac]. On All eyez on me [CD]. Death Row Records & Interscope Records.
Shakur, T., Buchanan, J., & Tilery, D. (1995). Old school [Recorded by 2Pac]. On Me against the world [CD]. Interscope Records, Atlantic, & Out Da Gutta Records.
Shakur, T., Evans, D., & Hornsby, B. (1998). Changes [Recorded by 2Pac and Talent]. On Greatest hits [CD]. Amaru Entertainment, Death Row Records, Interscope Records, & Jive Records.
Shakur, T., & Jefferson, T. (1993). Representin’ 93 [Recorded by 2Pac]. On Strictly 4 my N.I.G.G.A.Z. [CD]. Jive Records & Interscope Records.
Shakur, T., Washington, Jr., B., Fula, Y., Greenidge, M., & Jackson, J. (1996). Hit ‘em up [Recorded by 2Pac and The Outlawz]. On How do U want it [CD single]. Death Row Records & Interscope Records.
Shakur, T., Young, A., Cocker, J., Cunningham, W., Durham, N., Hooks, M., Hudson, R., Stainton, C., Troutman, L., Troutman, R., & Anderson, J. (1995). California love [Recorded by 2Pac, Dr. Dre, & Roger Troutman]. On California love [CD single]. Death Row Records & Interscope Records.
Smitherman, G. (1977). Talkin and testifyin: The language of Black America. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
The Breakfast Club (2014). Ice Cube interview at The Breakfast Club Power 105.1. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pm9YEYgPPp0/
Thorpe, D. (1999). Chuck D (interview). Bombsite, 68(3). Retrieved from http://www.bombsite.com/issues/68/articles/2251
Waninge, F., Dörnyei, Z., & De Bot, K. (2014). Motivational dynamics in language learning: Change, stability, and context. The Modern Language Journal, 98(3), 704–723.
Williams, M. & Moltke, S. (1986). The Bridge [Recorded by MC Shan]. On Beat biter [12 inch single]. Bridge Records.
Wolfram, W. (2007). Sociolinguistic folklore in the study of African American English. Language and Linguistic Compass, 1(1), 1–22.
Wolfram, W., & Kohn, M. E. (2015). Regionality in the development of African American English. In J. Bloomquist, L. J. Green, & S. Lanehart (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of African American language (pp. 140–160). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Young, A., Broadus, C., & Curry, T. L. (1992). The $20 sack pyramid [Recorded by Dr. Dre]. On The chronic [CD]. Death Row Records, Interscope Records, & Priority Records.
Young, A., Broadus, C., & Wolfe, C. (1992). Fuck wit Dre day (and everybody’s celebratin’) [Recorded by Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dogg]. On The chronic [CD]. Death Row Records, Interscope Records, & Priority Records.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Gilbers, S. (2018). The Linguistic and Lyrical Development of 2Pac in Relation to Regional Hip-hop Identity and Conflict. In: Ross, A., Rivers, D. (eds) The Sociolinguistics of Hip-hop as Critical Conscience. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-59244-2_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-59244-2_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-59243-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-59244-2
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)