Hip-Hop: Concept of Formulas
Erika Kamph
Popular Culture
Professor Burriss
September 12, 2016
As I explore the concept of formulas
on my chosen pop culture item, hip-hop music, I will be discussing the
categories of conventions and inventions and how these relate to hip-hop music.
In popular culture, conventions are parts of the culture that remain the same
and do not change and can and are repeated over and over. Whereas inventions
are new parts or processes of popular culture that create change.
So in the hip-hop music industry,
the convention formula is the basic process of creating hip-hop music. Someone
writes the lyrics to a song and adds the notes of the music to the song. This formula is repeated over and over by not
only hip-hop musicians but all musicians that create songs. Where the invention
formula comes into play is the style of the instruments or technology used in
the music and the lyrics of the song that go along with the actual music. As
technology is used more and more in the music industry – the convention formula
is growing even more in the popular culture of hip-hop music. Also because each
piece of music is unique – even voice changes are an invention because new
styles are being created by new artists.
Now that I understand the concepts
of formula in popular culture I pay more attention to the makeup of popular
culture items and trends. I appreciate
the inventions by new musicians that have new sounds because it opens what I
like to hear. And in watching TV, I like to watch romantic movies, but I can’t
believe how many shows have a convention of the same old story – girl meets
boy, girl and boy fall in love, and girl and boy live happily ever after. Now I
watch for the formula invention – how interesting can the story be told with
the same old story line.
To conclude I’ve always said if I
could just invent the next popular toy or item, I would be rich. Little did I
know my future product is a formula of popular culture - invention.
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