Publication Type

Journal Article

Version

acceptedVersion

Publication Date

3-2022

Abstract

This paper explores how digital media can cause the representational value of rap artists to be transformed. Ubiquitous access to digital recording, production and distribution technologies grants rappers an unprecedented degree of representational autonomy, meaning they are able to integrate the street aesthetic into their lyrics and music videos, and thus create content that offers a more authentic representation of their (past) lives. Sidestepping the mainstream music industry, the digital enables these integrations and bolsters the hypercapitalist impulses of content creators. I illustrate these ideas through a case study of grime artist, Bugzy Malone, who uses his music to narrate his evolution from a life of criminality (selling drugs on the street; a ‘roadman’), to one in which his representational value is recognised by commercial brands who want to partner with him because of his street credibility (collecting ‘royalties’). Bugzy Malone’s commercial success is not predicated on a departure from his criminal past, but the deliberate foregrounding of it as a marker of authenticity. The representational autonomy provided by digital media can therefore enable artists to maximise the affective cachet of the once-criminal self.

Keywords

Digital media, grime, hypercapitalism, inter-representational value, roadman

Discipline

Criminology | Music

Research Areas

Humanities

Publication

Crime, Media, Culture

Volume

18

Issue

3

First Page

412

Last Page

429

ISSN

1741-6590

Identifier

10.1177/17416590211024322

Publisher

SAGE

Embargo Period

12-23-2021

Copyright Owner and License

Authors

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1177/17416590211024322

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