Naomi Jouan

Revue d’Études Françaises
N^o 25 (2021)
p.105-113
DOI : 10.37587/ref.2021.1.09

Urgence et violence comme procédés de rapprochements dans le rap français

Naomi Jouan

Lyrics of French rap set the stage for a communication context tied to the demand for truth (or at least an illusion of truth), manifesting through the exaggeration of danger, the radicalization of hatred toward the powerful, and the urgent need to change the status quo. In rap, the role of verbal violence is to “create sensitivity toward those times where the orators and their audience collide with the danger of hatred and heartbreak, and its consequences” (Pecqueux, 2004). Verbal violence in rap is not a transfiguration of any other violence, but rather an artistic approach toward eliciting emotion from the listener. This violence is principally language-based and makes it possible to create two “clans”: those who are targeted by the rapper’s hatred versus those who are on his side. The use of slang and slurs yields at once the creation of a positive ‘us’ (encompassing the listeners, friends, family, neighborhood, etc.) and the ostracization of a negative ‘them’ (the police, the government, the rich, etc.). With the support of texts by several rappers including Furax Barbarossa, Niska, Dooz Kawa and VALD, we will attempt to show how colloquial language allows the rapper to play between reconciliation and rejection. 

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