The Shift of Media Representation of Grime; Exploring how the White Middle Class have appropriated Grime
“Grime music is now the sound of the British youth and things are only beginning” — The Independent 2015
Abstract
Having being raised in East London, grime played an important role in my teenage years. It was a tool for expression for many individuals in my area, in particularly black boys. Grime is raw and edgy and it’s that, that has remained consistent even if the audience of grime today is different to what it was 10 years ago. Coming to a predominantly White middle university, it was certainly a culture shock. However it was more of a shock to me when I recognised the new audience of grime. As much as I am pleased to see the success of grime I’m critical of how it has evolved. This dissertation will focus on the shift of the media’s representation of grime. The first chapter is the literature review which will discuss the themes in my dissertation and how I developed my argument. After this, I will discuss which methodology was best suited for my area of study and how it helped me analyse my findings. The study will then move on to the main body of text; starting with the history of grime. Briefly discussing the influences of grime and a comparison between grime and British Hip-Hop. Followed by the second chapter which focuses on why grime has been appropriated by drawing comparisons between the appropriation of punk and grime. Finally, this last chapter will give examples of the media shift by looking at the language in newspapers and how they’ve reinforced specific ideologies.
Introduction
Over more than 15 years ago in the streets of Bow, East London, a movement was stirring and this movement is currently taking over the United Kingdom. Interestingly, whilst Grime became visible among its growing audience, the British public and particularly the media were not fond of this new urban genre. The media continuously labelled Grime as aggressive and violent, which led to a growing stigma being attached to the genre. How then, has Grime gone from being seen as a catalyst for knife crime, to the voice of the British youth? The new found audience of grime are the white middle class and they have taken quite a liking to the style of the music. It could be argued that white appropriation of grime music has led to it’s success.
This study will discuss the ways in which the white middle class have appropriated grime. The first chapter will be the literature review. Here I discuss the main themes in my study; Cultural appropriation, otherness and the myth of sameness. After this I will move on to my methodology which will be a critical discourse analysis. I will be exploring why I’ve chosen this method and how it has helped me construct my argument. I will then move on to my three chapters, the first being; the history of grime. It will briefly consider the comparison between grime and British Hip-hop, demonstrating that the roots of grime are solely British. After this, my second chapter will focus on the reasons why grime is being appropriated using Punk as a comparison. Lastly I will close my dissertation with demonstrations of how the media representation of Grime has changed and how the myth of sameness is represented in the media.
Literature review
This chapter will focus on my literature review. This literature review will cover the main themes that are prevalent in my study; cultural appropriation, otherness and the colour blind ideology. In this literature review I will explore the themes and how my findings helped me develop my argument. I will then go on to discuss any issues that were raised with these primary sources. Finally I will evaluate how this has helped me establish my argument.
This study focuses on the portrayal of grime music by the media and how this perception has changed in recent years. Through my analysis, I have found that the perception of grime was remotely negative, however in recent years it is has become overwhelmingly positive. This study will also explore why this shift has happened.
Cultural appropriation;
When I began conducting this study I was aware of how black music had been appropriated in the past and wanted to draw on examples to help me develop my argument. Often when cultural appropriation is discussed, people argue that it is a myth and is a by product of globalisation and cultural mixing. However one of the aims of this study is to demonstrate that cultural appropriation has a negative impact on the appropriated group and that it favours the dominant culture.
Moore (2003) claims “Presley’s appropriation resulted in a new type of expression a southern white who could combine R&B and C&W styles into “rockabilty” with an up tempo urgency that defined a youthful mass white audience” (Moore 2003: 50) highlighting the appropriation of the blues by the mass. The dominant culture here is favoured as Elvis has taken the recognition as the founder of Rock and Roll. The expression of the blues artists have been taken and sold for a commodity, the same way the expression of grime is being taken by the British public. This reading helped me construct my argument as it introduced me to the idea of appropriation of the expression of Black music. My argument was then developed by Greene (1999) as he states
“An examination of American popular music reveals patterns of Black musical innovation and communal creation, followed by dominant culture copying or imitation and appropriation, exist. In these patterns, the “appearance of whites in a black musical form has historically prefigured the mainstreaming of the form, the growth of the white audience, and the resulting dominance of white performers.” (Greene 1999: 371).
As Greene highlights how dominant culture has copied or imitated Black music, I was able to compare this to grime, as grime culture is being imitated by the dominant culture. The limitations of these readings are that they don’t discuss the appropriation of Black British music. Also they don’t touch on the idea that Black music can be appropriated by white individuals rather than artists. As a result of this; my research was extended to searching for sources that explained how Black music could be appropriated by individuals. Which led to me to the Colour blind ideology.
This ideology argues that whiteness is the norm in society and the presence of whiteness has been used to appropriate aspects of minority cultures — in this case; music. By adhering to the ideologies of the colour blind theory, white individuals are able to appropriate black music as they have disconnected the presence of race in Hip-hop. This ideology works well with my study as one of my main arguments focuses on how the media are now portraying grime to be the music of the British public. This argument is then developed by stating that the media are adhering to the colour blind ideology. In “Color-Blind Ideology and the Cultural Appropriation of Hip-Hop” Rodriquez (2007) discusses how White Americans have used this ideology to appropriate Hip- hop. Which is what is being demonstrated with the British public and grime music.
Rodriquez (2007) develops his argument by stating “Color-blind ideology is a remarkably flexible set of ideas that are used in a variety of ways to deny the reality of inequality. It draws on abstract, liberal notions of equality (“equal opportunity for all”) to disconnect race from the power relations in which inequality and racial discourses are embedded.” (Rodriquez 2007: 646) Roquirez then goes on to discuss how white individuals engage in this colour blind ideology, introducing the myth of sameness.“They have a deep emotional investment in the myth of ‘sameness,’ even as their actions reflect the primacy of whiteness as a sign informing who they are and how they think (Roquirez 2007: 646)”. The myth of sameness developed my argument further as it explained how white individuals engage with the colour blind ideology in order to appropriate black music.
The idea of sameness ties in all of the prevalent themes in this study. It explains how black music can be appropriated, drawing on evidence of otherness. “As the norm and the standard, white culture has no definition, only those who deviate from the norm have “culture”. And therein lies the toxicity of the construction of white as the (cultureless) norm: it serves as a basis on which to measure the humanity and social standing of others (Perry pg 60, 2001)”. Perry discusses the notion of whiteness. She argues that being white is the norm in society and anything outside of that is seen as the other. Therefore whiteness is seen as culture-less as this is the norm. As a result the other is usually seen as a threat. Since otherness is seen as a threat, it is then stigmatised in society and represented negatively in society and the media. Nevertheless it is essential to note that there are various ways of how otherness can be viewed. The first example of otherness is difference. ‘Difference and separation the Other is not like us. Inability or refusal to see similarity, continuity, etc” (Anon, N.D). The second is sameness “‘The Other is just like us. Inability or refusal to see difference and discontinuity.” (Anon, N.D). The appropriation of grime is demonstrating a shift in how otherness is being viewed. As there is a shift in otherness, there is a shift in media representation of grime. Although this helped me formulate my argument, it didn’t present me with examples of how otherness has experienced a shift.
Examples of Otherness
This inspired me to compare the appropriation of punk with the appropriation of grime. In the “L. A.’s “White Minority”: Punk and the Contradictions of Self-Marginalisation” Traber discusses the appropriation of punk. “The political benefits whites gain by choosing nonwhite marginality in their identity construction: “the decision to ‘pass’ as [an Other], to self construct an identity perceived by a white majority as less desirable, disrupts the assumptions of superiority that buttress white privilege and self-esteem.(Traber 2001: 42)”. My argument was furthered here as I found that there were distinctions between Punk and Grime music. As a result of this, I found that Punk was appropriated by the White middle class, which led to a shift in representation of Punk by the media. This is parallel to what is being demonstrated with Grime. By comparing Punk with Grime in my study, it further proves that Grime is being appropriated as there’s evidence of it being done in the past. In addition to this, there are several parallels between grime and punk which will be discussed further in this study
Methodology
This chapter will focus on the methodology that I have chosen. Exploring why I choose this specific method and how it helped me develop my argument. As the focus of this study is media representation the most appropriate research method is a qualitative method rather than quantitative. I say this because the qualitative research methods allow for interpretation. Central to my study is the observation of how the media have constructed the discourse of grime. It is for this reason as to why I felt that it wasn’t necessary to conduct interviews, focus groups or participant observation. This is because these forms of research methods aren’t conducive to understanding the way in which media have portrayed grime. Rather I felt that it was essential to use a form of discourse analysis to conduct this study. Discourse analysis’s centre of attention is language. It looks at how language is used in a discourse to convey a message.
Before defining what critical discourse analysis is, it’s essential that we first specify what discourse is and how it’s applicable to my study. Foucault would define discourse as” ways of constituting knowledge, together with the social practices, forms of subjectivity and power relations which inhere in such knowledges and relations between them. Discourses are more than ways of thinking and producing meaning. They constitute the ‘nature’ of the body, unconscious and conscious mind and emotional life of the subjects they seek to govern”
When I began conducting my study I pondered on the idea of using discourse analysis (DA) for my methodology. But after in depth reading I gathered that critical discourse analysis would be more suitable for this study. Discourse critical analysis differs from discourse analysis as discourse analysis merely looks at the language used in the text. Critical discourse analysis (CDA) deals with the ideologies that are set in the discourse and looks at the internal and external factors of the discourse. I believe CDA would work best with this study as it focuses on the themes in the newspapers and explores how these ideologies have changed over time.
CDA focuses on the power relations in society and how that affects discourse. CDA is also seen as the critical study of language as It also looks at the way in which language is used to reinforce the ideologies of those with hegemony. Fairclough (1999) states “Ideological power, the power to project one’s practices as universal and ‘common sense’, is a Significant complement to economic and political power, and of particular significance here because it is exercised in discourse(Fairclough 1999: 33)”. I think CDA is the ideal methodology to use for my research topic as it seeks to expose the elite in society and how they use discourse to favour and reinforce their ideologies. The aim of my research topic is to demonstrate how the media’s representation of grime has shifted by highlighting how it has been appropriated. By applying CDA to this study, it allows me to demonstrate how those in power have represented grime in the past and how this has shifted in order to favour their ideologies. The central idea to CDA is that it looks at language, ideology and power. As i’ve used CDA to research my topic I’ve been able to highlight who has hegemony, how they’ve used their power to reinforce ideologies and what language they’ve used in order to make that possible. I have chose this methodology specifically because I wanted to examine the ways in which newspapers changed their language to describe grime and it’s culture. By using CDA I will be able to demonstrate how the media have influenced the appropriation of Grime. “In the British media, the balance of sources and perspectives and ideology is overwhelmingly in favour of existing power-holders. Where this is the case — and it sometimes is not the case — we can see media power relations as relations of a mediated (NB media-ted!) sort between power-holders and the mass of the population. (Fairclough 1999: 51)”
This study aims to demonstrate how the language used in newspaper articles reinforce certain themes. By doing this I will be able to demonstrate how grime music has been appropriated as newspapers are reinforcing colour blind ideologies and myth of sameness in their article. and how this has changed the ideologies that are reinforced.“In Foucauldian discourse analysis texts are examined to expose the discoure(s) which inhabit them, and to reveal their ideological and regulative orientation.” (ph 155, Wooffitt). During this study, I have chosen particular newspapers to highlight the ideologies these newspapers reinforce. I’m using right wing publications to demonstrate that they have fixed ideologies on race and this is highlighted through the language used in their articles.
A limitation of this method however is that interpretation is subjective. If this study was carried out by someone else with opposing ideologies as me, they might obtain different results, thus proving argument to be false.
To conclude, the methodology that is suited best towards my area of study is CDA. The aim of this study is to analyse how the language used in newspapers reinforces particular ideologies and CDA will help me evaluate the themes in this study. CDA argues that language, power and ideologies are all interconnected. This is crucial to this study as I aim to examine how newspapers favour the white middle class.
The history of Grime music
Grime is one of the few musical genres that has a strong historical British background It has remained within its British roots and is commercially popular overseas. Grime has been influenced by various musical genres but it’s main musical influence is Garage. The birth of grime was the consequence of grime artists being pushed out of the garage scene and creating a genre that they could call their own.
Grime is often compared to British Hip-Hop as there are parallels with both genres. Though there are parallels, there is an evident difference between grime and British Hip-Hop and this is highlighted by their history. Historically, grime is a Black British music genre whereas British Hip-Hop has it’s origins in American Hip-Hop. It is because of this, that grime is seen as more credible as a British genre. Which correlates to why it has been appropriated as it viewed as more relatable than British Hip-Hop. Pirate radio played a significant part in the expansion of Grime and cemented an audience for grime. The development of grime was furthered by Risky roadz. Risky roadz helped to establish a loyal Grime audience. This chapter will provide a historical overview of Grime and explore how its history correlates with the appropriation of grime.
There have been many discussions relating to whether or not Grime and British Hip-Hop are synonymous leading many to believe that there isn’t a huge difference between the two. Although there are similarities, an exploration of the history of both British Hip-Hop and Grime is essential to explore this further. This will allow us to highlight the distinct difference between the two genres. The first genre I will be examining is British Hip-Hop.
British Hip-hop emerged long before Grime was created. It evolved in the late 1970s, soon after Hip-Hop emerged and grew in the United States of America (USA). Charry (2012) stresses that it is for this that British Hip-Hop artists emulated the sound of American Hip hop. At this point in time however, Black British identity was still evolving but the Jamaican Dancehall music scene and gaining popularity amongst the Black British community. ”George (1998:205) suggests that the UK has not produced many significant Hip-Hop MCs because of it’s pervasive Jamaican Dancehall culture, which would be a more attractive expressive form of music for Caribbean Brits rather than American Hip-hop (Charry 2012: 25)”.
British Hip-Hop artists used the same beats, lyrical technique and even the same slang used in American Hip-Hop. However, this music wasn’t popular amongst the British public which led to unsuccessful efforts in the mainstream. “Originally British artists mimicked American MCs in terms of the content of songs and even adopting American accents, greatly tarnishing their credibility. (Hip-Hop in the UK History 1970–2012 (N.D)”. The British public could not relate to British Hip hop’s style of music and it was not distinct enough to be called British Hip hop as argued by Beats, Rhymes and Life. Mitchell (2001) supports this argument by saying “It is for this reason perhaps, that British Hip-Hop can be considered to have failed where it has over enthusiastically imported African- American attitudes to Hip-Hop, along with music and style. There have been numerous attempts to forge a British version of rap drawing directly upon U.S models (Mitchell 2001: 910)”.
Despite being unsuccessful in the past, British Hip-Hop now has evolved and has adopted a British style, rather than mimicking American Hip hop.
Moving away from British Hip hop, I will now explore the history of Grime and how its history has led to its current success. Firstly Grime differs from British Hip-Hop as it emerged with a British localised sound. White (2016: 52) states that “Grime music is something of a puzzle: it is hyperlocalised, by which I mean it specifically relates to place and is it possible to hear the communities that make up East London past and present (White 2016: 52)”. But it is not only the communities that make Grime what it is today. The very essence of Grime is a combination of various types of music and influences fused into one to create a new sound.
This picture is a visual demonstration of the evolution of Grime and how its has been influenced by different sounds including Garage. This thought is supported by Zuberi & Stratton (2016) who claim that, “One of the clearest genealogies of the early evolution of grime from Jungle, drum n bass, and in particular the UK garage scene can be found in Michael Finch and Rollo Jackson’s account (in a radio interview with Derek Walmsley) based on their own (Media) collections (Zuberi & Stratton 2016: 196)”.
Garage included the same 4 x 4 kick drum pattern used by House music but also had a related 2 step pattern with both Jamaican influences and R&B style songs. By analysing this picture it highlights how grime is a plethora of several genres merged into one. It also demonstrates that all these genres are influenced by Jamaican Dancehall music. The Jamaican dancehall scene had a big influence on the emergence of grime further establishing a distinct British sound. “The post World War II migrants from the Jamaican countryside, adapted the sound system format for the enclosed spaces of England. By the start of the Twentieth century, Grime artists such as Wiley and Kano had extended the creative space of the Jamaican sound system and its constituent sound clash by rapping or ‘spitting’ over disrupted, disjoined beats. (From Rhythm and Blues to Grime: “Black Atlantic Exchanges and the Performance of Identity 2009)”. Coleman (2014) states, “The language of the Caribbean, and particularly of Jamaica, remains central. It’s immediate roots lie in the language of a wholly British creation; Grime a musical style that appeared at least for the wider public, in 2002. (Coleman 2014: 68)”. Grime differs to British Hip-Hop as the beats are faster and the tempo is that of various genres fused together.
The distinct British sound that is evident in grime is what makes grime more credible than British Hip-Hop.
As discussed, though various musical genres influenced the birth of Grime, Garage music was the main influence. Mason (2009) highlights how
”Grime emerged from the remnants of U.K garage, a very different scene popular in the late 1990s, bristling with bright, bubbly, melodies and sugarcoated vocals, underpinned by bouncy bass lines borrowed from the drum n bass scene (Mason 2009: 212)”. Mason then goes on to explain how the garage scene was seen as too optimistic for emerging grime artists. “U.K garage was the sound of pre-millennial optimism in Britain. But it was rendered obsolete by the new world disorder of fear, which has required a new, darker sounding track’. (Mason 2009: 212)”. Some Grime influencers, felt that garage didn’t quite fit the type of music they wanted to create. The Grime artists wanted to portray their reality in their music and Garage was not representative of their reality.
“Grime is not about showing off. Grime is about aggression and anger and pain. When kids say they’ve got AKs and they’ve not even seen an AK! Fucking Garage, I did like Garage as well (but it was separate). Garage was Gay. Let’s just be honest Garage was Gay (Collins 2016: 5)”.
One of the founding fathers of grime; Wiley Kat created a song called ‘Wot Do U Call It’. In the song he describes how the garage music scene pushed out grime artists.
“Here in London there’s a sound called garage
But this is my sound, it sure ain’t garage
I heard they don’t like me in garage
Cause I use their scene but make my own sound.
The Eskimo sound is mine recognise this it’s mine (Wot do U call it, 2009)”.
Wiley here discusses how he’s taken the garage music style and made it into his own after being pushed out of the garage scene. His song, inspired channel 4 to make a short documentary exploring the new emerging sound of music that we now know as grime. “It’s basically explaining about the garage scene and how like they tried to push us out. The older garage heads they never really accepted him.’ ‘I think he’s now had enough and said look I’m gonna do my own scene, Eski or whatever you call it, it’s not garage’ “Wot do u call it documentary (2009)”.
Wiley being pushed out of the garage scene helped construct the foundations of grime.
Grime artists desired to make a clear distinction between Grime and Garage as the Garage music scene pushed the grime artists out. Grime was honest and vulgar, which is what attracted it’s following as it was different from every other British musical genre. It is for this reason as to why the media have appropriated grime. It’s brutal lyrics are now seen as political and it is now being portrayed as a music genre for the masses.
However, as Grime music began to surface it had started gaining a negative reputation from the media. Mainstream radio stations refused to play Grime music on their radio stations as it was seen as too crude and aggressive. As a result, pirate radio was conceived and became one of the key attributes of the growth of Grime . Waltz (2005) states “In urban areas, small pirate stations can become incredibly popular. In London, for example, the house, garage and grime scenes have their roots deep in pirate radio. Pirate radio was used as a way to grant exposure for the Grime artists (Waltz 2005: 39)”.
Zuberi & Stratton (2016) add “Grime’s early visual style was made up of shaky video cameras that captured claustrophobic scenes of MC crews crowded around the mic or passing it around, as they engaged in ‘live’ freestyle battles and ciphers in bedrooms, basement recording studios and pirate radio studios on the roofs of high-rises (Zuberi ( Zuberi & Stratton 2016: 198)”.
Interestingly, the relationship between grime and pirate radio was not one-sided. James (2015) discusses how pirate radio and grime influenced each other. Grime was made for pirate radio as it used a lot sounds that wouldn’t be heard on mainstream radio stations.In the same way pirate radio made grime as it gave the grime artists an audience and a following.
“Just as reggae was made with the sound system in mind, grime and dubstep started to be produced for the pirate radio. Dizzee Rascal, one of the best known proponents of the grime scene, attributes his composition through game consoles, police siren sounds and other non professional equipment as part of the ‘you could do anything’ possibility of pirate radio (cited in Bradley 2013: 382, James: 2015: 50)”.
Waltz (2005) highlights how pirate radio contributed to contributed to the growth of the So Solid Crew single ‘They Don’t Know’ . “For example the station Delight 103 (website.lineone.net/-delight/home.htm) is closely associated with the So Solid Crew collective, which eventually hit the mainstream charts with the single ‘They Don’t Know’ (Waltz 2005: 39)”
So how did grime eventually make its way to the mainstream? As well as pirate radio, grime clashes also led to the growth of grime music. Grime clashes consist of grime artists having battles against each other in order to determine who is the better artist. The grime artists felt that they needed to record these clashes and named it “Lord of the Mics” also known is also known as Risky Roadz. Lord of the mics helped establish grime culture. A large aspect of grime culture is MCing, which goes back to the UK Jamaican Dancehall scene. The grime artists then felt the need to perform this music, this led to them hiring out clubs to perform live clashes.
In summary, the aim of this chapter was to firstly; compare the history of British Hip-Hop and grime to clearly demonstrate that though there are parallels, these two genres are non-identical. In doing so, it is evident to see that the history of grime is remotely British. The second aim for this chapter was to identify the influences of grime. The evidence found that grime had been influenced by a plethora of British music genres. Although the main influence of grime music was garage, grime artists weren’t accepted in the Garage music scene as their vision for their music was to express the reality of growing up in a low socioeconomic area. This demonstrates that since the emergence of grime, it has always had a negative connotation up until currently. The last aim of this chapter was to demonstrate that Grime had been portrayed negatively by the media. Mainstream Radio and TV channels believed that Grime was too violent to be played on their stations. Thus, leading grime artists to find their own means of publicising their music which inspired the grime culture.
The appropriation of Grime: Why Grime is seen as the new Punk
Black music has been appropriated since it first originated, which is noticeable if we look at the Blues. The growth of Rock and Roll was birthed through the appropriation of Black music. Black expression has continuously been taken by White artists which has led to a growth in white audiences. The appropriation of grime however differs from the appropriation of the Blues. It’s expressions has not been taken by white artists but rather it has been taken by a white middle class audience. This appropriation has also occurred with Punk music. When punk first emerged in the UK it was stigmatised by society, which inspired negative representation of punk in the media. The otherness in Punk was used to separate punk artists and culture from the mainstream. Interestingly, it slowly began experiencing appropriation by the White middle class which led to positive media representations of Punk. The otherness in punk was then used to reinforce a myth of sameness between the punk artists and the White middle class. The appropriation of punk occurred by the White middle class denying their middle class privilege in order to relate to the pain that was expressed through punk. In the same manner, White middle class individuals are denying their class privilege and race in order to relate to Grime music. The otherness in grime is being ignored in order to reinforce the myth of sameness which can also be seen as the Colour blind ideology. This chapter will explore the appropriation of grime through a comparison with punk appropriation.
Before I explore into the topic of appropriation, it’s useful to define what cultural appropriation is and how it affects the appropriated group.
“Appropriation is defined as the illegal, unfair, or unjust usage or taking of something that belongs to someone else. So, when someone is accused of cultural appropriation, they are accused of taking or using elements of a culture to which they do not belong. In the context of the USA, cultural appropriation most often happens across racial lines, and features white people taking and using elements of a culture from people of color.” (Nicki Lisa Cole, 2017)’. It’s essential to stress that though cultural appropriation includes taking elements of a culture, these elements are usually seen as ‘cool’ or good. Cultural appropriation may become problematic when it solely takes what is seen as ‘good’ from a culture but ignores the negative aspects.
In recent times, this appropriation has become evident with the White middle class becoming one of grime’s biggest audience’s. They’ve taken the slang, the style of grime without addressing the bigger problems in British society. Grime is used a tool for expression and exposes how it feels to be Black and British whilst also addressing the stereotypes and violence that comes with that reality. Brensnahan (2016) discusses how African American music has also been stereotyped but some elements of African American music were seen as attractive. “African-American music has been criticized, ridiculed, and stereotyped since its beginnings. Yet, there is a level of attraction to the music and the culture surrounding it among various racial groups. Rachel Brensnahan 2017)”. When aspects of a culture are culturally appropriated, they are usually stereotyped before they are appropriated. The stereotypes of grime (being seen as violent and aggressive) were seen as a catalyst for violence in London. However it is the violence of grime that has now been politicized that is currently attracting a White middle class audience.
Greene (1999) argues when Whites appropriate Black music it leads to growth in a larger white audience.
“An examination of American popular music reveals patterns of Black musical innovation and communal creation, followed by dominant culture copying or imitation and
appropriation, exist. In these patterns, the “appearance of whites in a black musical form has historically prefigured the mainstreaming of the form, the growth of the white audience,
and the resulting dominance of white performers. (Greene 1999: 371) “. Evidently, this is occurring with grime. The appropriation of grime has led to a larger white audience which has inspired the positive portrayal of Grime in the media.
A number of white mainstream artists are known for taking music of black origin, stealing it and making it appropriate for the masses. Evidence of this is with Elvis. Elvis Presley is known as being the “King of Rock and Roll”. Contrary to popular belief it is known that he appropriated blues music and labelled it as Rock and Roll. Moore states (2009, pp. 34) “Presley’s appropriation resulted in a new type of expression a southern white who could combine R&B and C&W styles into “roackabilty” with an up tempo urgency that defined a youthful mass white audience”. Similar to the blues and other forms of black music the appropriation grime has led to a growth in a white audience. Nevertheless grime hasn’t been appropriated by artists, more so it’s the culture of grime that is being appropriated. The anger that these grime artists display in their music which correlates to the Black British identity is now being taken by the White middle class.
Grime is often compared to punk music, as both genres are portrayed as political and a sound for British youth. Punk was was the sound of the working class and expressed their views. In the same manner grime expressed the views of the black working class. Coope (2016) states that punk was created as teenagers were frustrated with the economic and social state of the UK. “The economy in the United Kingdom was in poor shape, and unemployment rates were at an all-time high. England’s youth were angry, rebellious and out of work. They had strong opinions and a lot of free time (Ryan Cooper 2016)”. Grime and punk music have several things in common. Similar to punk, grime was birthed from frustration. Both genres created these musical genres to express their resentment towards their realities. As well as this, the two genres are associated with a subculture. (Popular culture and revolutionary theory: understanding punk rock, N.D) furthers this point stating that “punk is specifically defined as a musical style with a closely associated youth subculture, belonging to the
specific sort of broader alternative culture movement opposed to the existing social order.”A subculture can be defined as a culture within a culture that rejects the norms of society. Being Black British cannot be defined as subculture however Grime can be defined as a subculture. A large aspect of Grime culture is engaging in illegal activity which can be seen as a rejection of norms society (Popular culture and revolutionary: Understanding punk rock, N.D)”. shows how punk was more than mere music it was a subculture that purposely aimed to reject the mainstream. “The broad sub-cultural expression in Britain of thousands of white “lower class,” primarily male youth, includes not only music but also expressions in their clothing, language and outlook toward society. Many punks put on a calculated “dumb” look, reflecting the common attitude that no acceptable foreseeable future exists for them (Popular culture and revolutionary:(N.D)”. Grime culture is also expressed through clothing and language. A number of slang words in grime originate from Jamaica and the clothing associated with grime (mainly tracksuits and hoodies) were seen as threatening.
The negative connotation that was attached to both Punk and Grime music whilst they were relatively new prompted the media to portray both of these genres negatively. (Popular culture and revolutionary theory: understanding punk rock, N.D) highlights how punk was portrayed in the media. Bennet & Waksman (2015) highlight this by stating “Our attention is drawn to three main characteristics of the British
press’ coverage of punk — Moral Panic, Aesthetics and Manipulation — as they were exhibited by The Times and The Daily Mail “God Save the Queen”. Media coverage of the punk music in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. 33
Daily Mail. Tabloid press is generally known for its sensationalized coverage based on moral panic
figures accompanied by outrageous headlines, as can be represented by the Daily Mail.” (Bennet & Waksman 2015: 281)
Bennett and Waksman (2015) also note that punk music was appropriated by the white middle class. “In any case, beyond the emergence of punk, many middle class youth have appropriated it’s musical styles even philosophies” (Bennet & Waksman 2015: 281)
The white middle class appropriated Punk music by changing their perception of otherness. Otherness can be defined as “Other” and “otherness” are technical terms used in the social sciences and humanities for the way people tend to view others (people or nature) that are dissimilar and separated Anon N.D)”.
The otherness in punk that was being appropriated was social class. Unlike grime as the otherness that is being appropriated is social class and race. The appropriation that is being demonstrated with Grime which is similar to punk is a shift in how otherness is being perceived. Whilst Punk and Grime were emerging, the otherness in the music was seen as different.“Difference and separation the Other is not like us. Inability or refusal to see similarity, continuity, etc (Anon N.D)
However the otherness experienced a shift in perception. The otherness went from being perceived as different to being seen as relatable. “The Other is just like us. Inability or refusal to see difference and discontinuity (Anon N.D)”.
Tremblay & Duncombe (2011) explain this further “The political benefits whites gain by choosing nonwhite marginality in their identity construction: “the decision to ‘pass’ as [an Other], to self construct an identity perceived by a white majority as less desirable, disrupts the assumptions of superiority that buttress white privilege
and self-esteem (Trembay & Dunombe 2011:91)”. By the White middle class denying themselves of their privilege, they are able to see the other as the same as them. Which can be defined as the “myth of sameness”. This myth of sameness is allowing the white middle class to appropriation Grime. However unlike Punk, Grime is the expression of an intersected group; the Black working class.
Perry (2001) argues that whiteness is seen as the norm “As the norm and the standard, white culture has no definition, only those who deviate from the norm have “culture”. And therein lies the toxicity of the construction of white as the (culture-less) norm: it serves as a basis on which to measure the humanity and social standing of others” Perry (pg 60, 2001). As whiteness is the norm, the other in relation to ethnicity is seen as cultured. Therefore, the white middle class appropriate Black music as it’s seen as cultured.
Rodriquez (2006) however argues that when Black music is appropriated, the White middle class do not want to be Black. “Whites who pick up on African American
styles and music do not necessarily want to be black; they seek to acquire
the characteristics of blackness associated with being cool (Rodriquez 2006: 649)”. This is evidently occurring with grime. The white middle class who are appropriating Grime don’t want to be Black they want to adhere to the coolness that is associated with the Grime culture.
He then furthers this by introducing the colour blind ideology. Rodriquez (2006) states “Color-blind ideology is a remarkably flexible set of ideas that are used in
a variety of ways to deny the reality of inequality. It draws on abstract, liberal
notions of equality (“equal opportunity for all”) to disconnect race from
the power relations in which inequality and racial discourses are embedded. (Rodriquez 2006: 646)” This colour blind ideology is evident with the appropriation of Grime as it ignores the racial inequality that is faced in the UK.
This inability to see the race in Grime, disregards the culture of Grime. The ideologies that are central to grime are violence, masculinity, anti-classism and anti-racism. This is an example of the colour blind ideology has been established in appropriating Grime.
To conclude, the appropriation of Black music has long occueed. Using the examples of Blues, this was appropriated by Elvis and as a result of this he was labelled the King of Rock and Roll. This is also the reason as to why rock and roll had such a large white audience. Though black music is often appropriated, the way in which grime is being appropriated differs from how black music was appropriated in the past. Looking at punk music, punk music was appropriated by the white middle class. In the same manner grime is being appropriated in this way.
The demonstration of sameness in Newspapers and the Media’s obsession with Stormzy.
This study has explored the causes for the appropriation of Grime and how appropriation of Grime has developed. It’s essential that this study explores the examples of how the media’s portrayal of Grime has shifted and how this has led to the appropriation of the genre. Previously, this study introduced the colour blind ideology and the myth of sameness. This chapter will demonstrate how the media’s portrayal of Grime is favourable due to the colour blind ideology and the myth of sameness. I have specifically chosen newspapers that are right wing or centre right, as these are the newspapers that have represented Grime artists negatively in the past.
It’s important that we note, that the political stance of the newspapers being examined are right wing or centre right. This study choose these particular newspapers as the ideologies of race in relation to the right tend to be negative. Thus, by choosing these newspapers, the myth of sameness will be evident as the newspapers are ignoring their privilege and their political stance. The first article that will be examine an article published by the Telegraph in 2006, when grime music was still on the rise. It was located in the comment section of the newspaper under “personal opinion”. Even though it’s stated that it’s the personal opinion of the writer, the discussions in the comment section , support their political views. The article is titled “Carrying a Knife Is No Longer the Exception — It’s the Rule” (Telegraph, 2006). Before I delve into the main discussion points of the article, I will analyse the title. Headlines are written to draw in an audience. What is being used to attract the audience here is the notion of fear and moral panic. Bailey(The writer) is describing what is (according to him) a serious issue in the UK; knife crime.
“There’s always an exception to the rule” is often referred to when something is not seen as a norm in society. By using this sentence to describe knife crime as “the rule” it informs the readers that knife crime is increasingly becoming worse in society. The readers may automatically have an image of young people carrying knives in the UK, before they’ve even read the full body of the text. The general theme of the article states that knife crime is the result of a violent society and he goes on to argue that music is also a culprit of why knife crime has increased in the UK. “Ultimately, this is a cultural problem. Young people today are exposed to violence very early. The perpetrators of such behaviour have become their role models: 50 Cent, Eminem, and elements in the ‘grime’ music scene. This music doesn’t just glorify violence — it breeds resentment and jealousy.” (The Telegraph 2006). Notice how Bailey describes knife crime as a cultural problem and then goes on to argue that music plays a significant part in creating this problem. The music that he attaches to knife crime is music of black origin, in particular grime. The reader may now will attach a black face to the young person carrying a knife. The Telegraph have used their ideologies of race to reinforce the idea that grime has a negative influence on young people.
The second example is an article published by The Evening standard published in 2010. Titled as “The Secret World of Gang Slang” (Evening standard, 2010). The article is then followed by a photograph. Kress and Van Leeuwen (1999:370 cited in cited in Thomas P.14) state “One factor affecting perception of an image is the distance from which the objects are being viewed. Kress and Van Leeuwen define six distances when discussing people: 1. Intimate distance — can view the head only 2. Close personal distance — can view head and shoulders 3. Far personal distance — can see the person from the waist up 4. Close social distance — can see the entire person 5. Far social distance — the person is viewed ‘with space around [them]’ 6. Public distance — four or five people can be viewed.” (Anon, N.D)
The photograph is of a young black male who lost his life to gang crime and is a photo at an intimate distance. This then connects the reader to the individual and causes the reader to have sympathy for the individual. It also tells the reader that there is a correlation with this secret gang world and black men. The article explores the rise of slang in the urban city areas in London and makes the case that this rise of slang is linked with gang culture. The article also briefly discusses grime. By choosing to place grime into the article it connects the reader within the idea that grime is synonymous with gang culture and violence.
“A hybrid of the various patois spoken by immigrants who have come to London over the past few decades, contemporary street slang has its etymological roots firmly in Jamaican patois, so much so, in fact, that it has become known in certain circles as “Jafaican” — and is the slang of choice for many black British hip-hoppers, grime MCs such as Dizzee Rascal (from Bow), wannabe gangsters or even white middle-class suburban kids.” (The Evening standard 2010) When the writer mentions White middle class children using slang he uses the word “even”. Denoting that gang culture isn’t something that white middle class children usually partake in. However, it is common for it to be used by grime artists. This confirms to the audience that grime music isn’t something that is usually listened to by white middle class individuals. Thus, making it clear that grime is being appropriated by white middle class as it’s not the norm for them to admire grime culture.
The next example that will be explored an article written by the Sun newspaper. The article was positioned under the section titled “Why Music Must Share Blame for Broken Britain”. Before the readers have even began surveying the text, this section has connected the readers with the idea that the music some individuals listen to affects society.
The article begins with the title “After 12 Hours of Gangsta Rap I Could Have Knifed Someone”. The use of the verb “knifed” is graphic which demonstrates the writer’s view on grime music. By using this graphic verb in the headline, it’s connecting the reader to the idea that grime culture is dangerous. This is then followed by the writer explaining his experience with grime music and how it has an affect on society. “After listening to this hybrid of hip-hop and garage music, I wanted to kill someone. I wouldn’t, of course, because I don’t have a violent nature.” (The Sun, 2008) The use of the word ‘nature ‘in this context implies that those who make and listen to grime music are innately violent. After Adebayo (the writer) explains how violent grime music is, he then states that parents are concerned about the new emerging genre. “Parents worry about the music their kids listen to, particularly the lyrics of rap and grime music.” “Black music gets the blame — but it wasn’t always like that.The lyrics kids are listening to are a million miles away from the songs their parents remember singing along to when “black” and “music” together weren’t such dirty words.” (The Sun, 2008) The writer doesn’t shy away from the idea that it’s black music that has caused mayhem in Britain. The words used in this article such as ‘aggressive’, ‘violence’ and ‘knifed’ are used to evoke fear and cause a moral panic. All of these examples have been explored sharing a common theme; violence and aggression. The otherness in grime music has been used to justify crime while the political message in grime is seen as graphic and a way of spreading chaos.
Now I will move onto how newspapers have reinforced the myth of sameness in relation to the Rapper Stormzy. For my first example, we will be exploring an article that was analysed in the previous chapter. “Grime Music is Now the Sound of British Youth and Things Are Only Beginning.” (The Independent, 2015). This headline is featured with a photograph of Stormzy in the background. By using the picture of Stormzy in the background it indicates to the readers that Stormzy is one of the pioneers of this new British sound.
It also suggests to the readers that British public will be able to make a connection with him. The article then goes on to discuss how grime has grown over the years, stating this is an exciting time for grime music. The writer then speaks to the editor of GRM daily who claims “Stormzy is the perfect character to be the underdog coming through. I feel like anyone young can relate to him. Even if you don’t come from that background and you’re not in that world, you can relate to him.” (The independent, 2015). Notice how the editor of GRM daily says “anyone” can relate to him, reinforcing this myth of sameness. This is then developed by the editor stating, “even if you don’t come from that background, you can relate to him.” The editor highlights the difference between Stormzy and his audience. His background is unlike the background of his white middle class audience. The colour-blind ideology is reinforced here because the editor acknowledges that his background is opposed to his audience’s background. However she believes that the audience will still be able to relate to him. Ryan (2007 p.618) argues that the colour blind ideology tells white individuals to ignore race. “According to this colorblind ideology, then, race and ethnic distinctions can and should be ignored and people should be treated in an identical manner.” Thus, this colour blind ideology allows the white middle class to appropriate Stormzy’s music.
The next example will focus on an article published by the daily star.
“Stormzy Opens Up on Battle with Depression to Help Fans in Powerful Confession.” (DailyStar 2017) The headline uses soft language expressing to the readers that this is a sensitive topic. It connects the readers with the audience as they feel sympathy for him. The headline is then followed by a sub-heading “Stormzy has opened up about his battle with depression in an effort to get fans to speak out.” (DailyStar, 2017).
By adding why he wanted to speak about his depression, it allows all readers to relate to him. The article is then featured with a video of the artist discussing grime. The writer than adds, “despite his confident demeanour, the rapper — real name Michael
Omari — has revealed that he has suffered from mental health problems.” (DailyStar, 2017). By referring to the artist by his real name it further connects the readers with the artist. A photograph of the rapper smiling is then followed with the caption “brave”. The photograph used is at an intimate distance. The caption along with the photograph allows the audience to see Stormzy as courageous for his actions. “One of the tracks on Stormzy’s latest album, Lay Me Bare, mentions the 23-year-old’s experience of depression.” (DailyStar, 2017) By stating that one of Stormzy’s songs discusses his experience with depression, the readers will then be intrigued and want to listen and support his music as he discusses something that is of importance. The idea of sameness is represented in this article as the article is attempting to state that mental health is an issue that affects everyone in the same way. However what the article doesn’t acknowledge, is that Black individuals are more likely to face mental health issues. “In general, people from black and minority ethnic groups living in the UK are: more likely to be diagnosed with mental health problems” (Anon, N.D). Mental health here is used as way of reinforcing a colour blind ideology in order to make whites individuals relate to his music.
The final article I will be examining, is an article written by the Telegraph. Titled “The Midlife Guide to Stormzy”. The headline informs the readers that this article is targeted to an older audience. This then tells the readers that individuals of all ages are able to relate to Stormzy, once again reinforcing the idea of sameness. A photograph of Stomzy follows. It features him in a suit, laughing on the Brit Awards red carpet.
This photograph connects the readers to Stormzy before the article has even begun. The article is then followed by general questions about the artist. The first being:
“Q: Has someone inserted a Z in there by mistake?
A: Nope, Stormzy is the name of the biggest UK music artist at the moment — in both sense of the word; he is 6”5in tall — that your children are glued to on YouTube.” (The Telegraph, 2017).
Using the word “biggest” suggests to the readers that Stormzy has a huge influence on British music. It’s important to note that the target audience for the Telegraph are the middle class. So, when the writer states “your children” he’s stating that middle class youth are fans of his music. Making the readers relatable to Stormzy
“Q: Oh dear, another fame-obsessed youth with a smartphone instead of talent?
A: Credited with being a pioneer of grime (a genre of urban music typified by rapid breakbeats and born in Britain, not something that requires Stain Devils) he’s won a load of awards, and has 50 million views on his videos and, oh, loves his mum.” (The Telegraph, 2017).
The writer acknowledges that grime was once defined as urban, highlighting its growth and shift in representation. By adding that he loves his mum, it allows the readers to relate to him as he’s seen as a family man. Thus, developing this myth of sameness.
Q: Wait, what?
A: Unlike rap artists that have gone before him, his songs are filled with lines such as, ‘I wanna make my mum so proud’ and ‘I take care when I water my plants’. He hugs his mum in his videos and talks openly about his strong Christian faith.” (The Telegraph, 2017).
When the writer states, “unlike rap artists that have gone before him”, he highlights how the otherness in grime was portrayed. It is evident that the otherness in grime here was stigmatised, as he argues that Stormzy’s music features positive messages.
The myth of sameness is demonstrated here.
Though Stormzy’s music does feature positive messages, his music discusses racism in the UK and growing up in poverty; essentially issues that affect Black british individuals. By stating that Stormzy’s music is different to grime artists in the past, it’s taking the otherness in grime and using it reinforce the idea of sameness.
In summary, Stormzy is an example o the media’s portrayal of sameness in relation to grime music. It is evident when looking at articles discussed about Stormzy that there has been a shift in media representation of grime. Most of the articles surrounding Stormzy are positive compared to how the grime artists were portrayed by the media in the past. The otherness in grime in relation to Stormzy and his music is being ignored in order to reinforce a colour blind ideology. This colour blind ideology has allowed the White middle class to appropriate Stormzy’s music. In the past, Grime was seen in the media as hostile because it was associated with violence. The media have taken the aspect of violence and represented it in a positive demeanour.
Conclusion
To conclude, this study has given a detailed explanation as to why there has been a shift in the media representation of grime. It explored three main theories; Cultural appropriation, otherness and colour blind ideology and all of these theories provided a reasonable explanation as to why Grime has been appropriated. The first section; the literature review was essential as it outlined why the themes in my study helped me develop my argument. It also highlighted how the themes in my study interlink with each other. The methodology helped construct my argument as CDA highlights how language and ideology are interconnected. This was relevant towards this study as it helped demonstrate how the language used in newspapers reinforced the myth of sameness which led to the appropriated of Grime. The main argument was clearly demonstrated through the three chapters. Through exploring the history of Grime, it was evident to see that the roots of Grime are inherently British. Which briefly explains why it’s now seen as the sound of Britain. This then led to the second chapter which compared grime to gunk. Punk was seen as the sound of the British youth, though when it first emerged it was stigmatised by the media, similarly to grime. It was then found that Punk was appropriated by the White middle class by them reinforcing the myth of sameness. Lastly the final chapter provided examples of the media shift of Grime. Drawing on examples from tabloid papers to clearly demonstrate that Grime has been appropriated by the White middle class. Thus, this study clearly explained why there has been a shift in the media representation of grime music.
References
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