Outline

1. INTRODUCTION: CHAMILLIONAIRE AND GANGSTER RAP

2. AAE FEATURES IN „BODY ROCK“   

2.1 (Shared) Features in Phonology 

2.1.1. Liquid vocalization        

2.1.2. Fronting of the velar nasal        

2.1.3. Word initial syllable deletion        

2.1.4. Contracted Word Forms        

2.1.5. Consonant Cluster Reduction        

2.1.6. th- sound        

2.1.7. Southern Drawl        

2.1.8. Summary        

2.2. (Shared) Features in Morphology and Syntax

2.2.1. Mutiple Negation and use of „ain´t“        

2.2.2. Lack of number concord        

2.2.3. Elisions of Subjects and Particles        

2.2.4. Aspectual markers „finna“ and „habitual be“        

2.2.5. Auxiliary Absence        

2.2.6. Summary        

2.3. Speech Events and Rhetorical Strategies

2.3.1. Rapping and Verbal Expertise        

2.3.2. Indirectness        

2.3.3. Signifying        

2.3.4. Woofing        

2.3.5. Call and Response        

2.3.6 Summary        

3. CONCLUSION      

4. BIBLIOGRAPHY

5. APPENDIX: LYRICS

1. Introduction: Chamillionaire and Gangster Rap

In the 1990s the gangster rap or, as some preferred to label it, reality rap became increasingly popular. These songs mirror the violence that drug dealing and related illegal activities had brought to black ghettos¹.

However, as rappers and producer soon
found out, the violence and sex depicted in the raps songs sold very well. Thus, the commercialization of rap brought about a growth of explicit records². Also musicians not really connected to the ghetto culture but eager to have some of the money that was in gangster rap jumped on the bandwagon. While in general the work of Chamillionaire cannot be classified as gangster rap, his song “Body Rock” clearly is an attempt at this popular genre. The rapper’s biography does not imply that he was extremely exposed to scenes like the ones he describes in the song. He appears to be born to committed parents³ and was in turn committed to them. He worked to support his family in jobs that his official biography lists in some detail to exclude any link to gang activities such as the ones in “Body Rock”⁴. Also the misogyny in the song contrasts with the rapper’s statement that he “ strives to constantly […] grow through […] his relationships⁵.

To deliver the message about his physical and sexual strength the rapper uses the topoi common to the gangster rap genre, but also the language he uses already give clear statement about his identity. This paper will explore the language that Chamillionaire uses in “Body Rock” and will be tried to determine in how far it can be characterized as African American English (AAE).