Hip-Hop Love Stories and the Construction of Socially Acceptable Urban Identities

Hip-Hop has historically existed as a male-dominated industry. Being a reflection of urban life and struggle, past Hip-Hop artists are forced to maintain a certain amount of masculinity so as to be accepted by their own urban communities. Old school rappers who spoke about love were often seen as tender or corny. As a result of this perception, the existence of love in Hip-Hop is a somewhat new concept.
Since the motion has gained recognition and support throughout the world, love has become an increasingly common theme in Hip-Hop poetry and music. On the other hand, the taboo still exists. Even now, Hip-Hop artists and artists present their love tales in a manner that lets them keep identities that are socially acceptable. Hip-Hop stories about love must nevertheless fulfill the masculine ideology in which the motion is rooted in order to be perceived as true and real.
The purpose of this analysis is to examine Hip-Hop adore narratives and the way artists present these love stories so as to build socially acceptable identities. I believe personal narratives are tightly tied to the construction of identities. It’s by way of personal narratives that people can recount life-changing occasions, realize socially appropriate behavior and create personal identities.
I have researched and studied several Hip-Hop love songs and examined the lyrics as poetry and text. In my study, I’ve found five common narrative forms employed by Hip-Hop poets to tell their love stories: contrasting, perceptual, religious, conversational and metaphoric. These five narrative forms are utilized not only to present the story correctly, but also to maintain favorable perception among a culture that might view this sensitivity as feeble or disrespectable. I plan to demonstrate each of these narrative forms and show how the poets utilize these to tell their love stories while demonstrating acceptable identities.
The Contrasting Narrative
Among the most common kinds of Hip-Hop love stories is that the contrasting narrative. Many artists use Hip-Hop music and poetry to tell stories about the negativity surrounding their urban environments. The contrasting narrative allows the poet to express his or her love story as a contrast to the negativity while constructing an acceptable identity because that negativity is actual and understood in urban communities.

A great introductory example to the contrasting narrative would be the next passage from Method Man’s”All I Need”:

Back when I was nothin’
You made a brother feel like he had been somethin’
That’s why I am with you to this day boo no frontin’
When the skies were grey
You would rub me on my back and say”Baby it’ll be okay”

In this tune, the poet uses the contrasting story to show his love for someone who stood by him “skies were grey.” He speaks of his love interest as someone who helped him get through troubled times, thus providing a positive contrast to his adverse surroundings.

Another example of the contrasting love story can be seen in this passage from Guru’s”All I Said”:
This world is mad, she is supposed to help me remain sane
Supposed to help with the pain, designed to help me maintain

In this song, Guru employs the contrasting story to share his perspective of what love should be. He admits that his”world is mad”, and that his love interest is the one individual who will make it bearable.

In”She Tried”, Bubba Sparxx uses the contrasting narrative to tell a story that actually recalls his love being there for him when he was in trouble with the law:

A traveling state girl, only workin’ them gifts
She is my queen, was a virgin I figure
But I ai not never ask and I ain’t never inform
But Betty had the money Whenever I went to prison

This song further illustrates the use of contrasting narratives to express love. Though the poet confesses spending a great deal of time in prison, Betty was always there to bail him out, again acting as a positive contrast to his problems
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The Perceptual Narrative
Another common narrative form of Hip-Hop love tales is the perceptual narrative. Like the contrasting narrative, the perceptual narrative is based round the negativity that surrounds the poet’s life. But instead of presenting this love for a comparison to that negativity, the poet uses this narrative to describe how that love changed their previously negative perceptions. This story form also enables the poet to construct a socially acceptable identity as a result of acknowledgement of the remainder of urban life.

In”Jazzy Belle”, Andre of Outkast utilizes the perceptual narrative to inform how his love changed his former perception of girls:

Went from yellin’ crickets and crows, witches and hoes to queen thangs
Over the years I had been up on my toes and yes I seen thangs…
Now I am willin’ to go the extra kilo-
Meter just to see my senorita get her pillow
On the side of my bed where no woman ever remain
House and doctor was the games we had to play with
But today it’s real Jazzy Belle…

In this song, Andre talks about a personal change of understanding caused by love. He admits that at once that he thought of women as”witches and hoes.” But”today it’s real”, and he’s got a new awareness of women as”queen thangs.”
Another great example of the perceptual narrative can be found from the following passage of Black Star’s”Brown Skin Lady”:

I don’t get many compliments, but I am certain
Used to have a complex about, gettin’ overly complex
You got me, willin’ to try, looked me in the eye
My mind is still in the sky, since you walked by

In this example, the poet admits to having connection difficulties, but informs of how love helped him to conquer these issues. The poet’s love interest helped him to alter his perception of love and fear of”gettin’ too complex”
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In”Ms. Fat Booty”, Mos Def further illustrates this point by demonstrating that the perception of additional men and talking to his love on how he is different:

Yo, let me apologize for the other night
I know it was not correct, but baby you know exactly what it is like
Some brothers don’t be comin’ right
I know, I am feelin’ you
Besides,’Can I have a dance?’ Ain’t actually that original

In this tune, the poet uses the perceptual story to admit that some guys”do not be comin’ right”, but he has a different perception of girls compared to these other guys.

In”Come Close”, Shared uses the perceptual narrative to say how love has made him change out of his old ways:

I want to build a tribe comedy you
Protect and provide for you
Truth is I can not conceal from you
The pimp in me
May have to die with you

Even though the poet used to be a”pimp”, a metropolitan term for a guy who romances a lot of women, he tells of his love interest has changed his activities and perceptions.

The Spiritual Story
A third common form of Hip-Hop love tales is what I like to refer to as the religious narrative. The spiritual story relies on the poet’s characterization of love for a sort of godly being, religious force or royalty, often with the sense that the story teller must protect that induce. The religious narrative allows the storyteller to construct a suitable identity by characterizing love as spiritual or perhaps even predetermined.

A great example of the spiritual narrative can be found in this passing of The Roots'”You Got Me”:

Somebody told me that this world was little
We use to Reside in Precisely the Same building on the Exact Same ground
And never fulfilled before
Until I’m overseas on tour
And peep this Ethiopian queen out of Philly
Taking courses overseas

Here, the poet uses the religious story to describe the time, place and feelings that his love was based on, speaking of them as if they were somehow meant to happen. He also refers to his love interest as”this Ethiopian queen from Philly”, employing the royal characterization so common in spiritual love narratives.

In”Love Language”, Talib Kweli additionally utilizes a religious narrative form and describes his love for a kind of royalty:

If they call you out of your name
Then that’s a different thing
Anything but Queen
I will go to war like a King

This case shows the protection aspect of common spiritual love narratives. The poet believes it’s unacceptable for anybody to”call you out your name”, or in other words, use derogatory language toward his love. If someone were to do so, he’d”go to war just like a King”, thus maintaining his masculinity.

In”Mind Sex”, Dead Prez uses the spiritual narrative to Discuss love Song:

African princess, tell me yo’ interests
Wait, let me guess boo, you probably like poetry
Here’s a little something I jotted down if I spotted you about
So let me take this chance

Within this song, the poet uses the spiritual narrative to tell a story about the introductory conversation he had with a love interest. He describes her as”African princess”, once again showing the inclination of poets using the spiritual narrative to refer to their love interests as royalty.

The Conversational Narrative
The fourth common form for Hip-Hop love stories is your conversational narrative. The conversational story allows the poet to recite or recreate a dialogue with his or her love and present it as play-like story about a particular love encounter. Conversational love narratives are usually characterized by introductory speech and compliments, and are most commonly used as tools to tell a story about a first impression or meeting. These narratives allow the storyteller to build a suitable identity mainly since they often include many smoothly-structured compliments, and make the poet look like a trendy ladies man.

A great example of the heterosexual love story can be found this passage from Dead Prez’ previously mentioned”Mind Sex”:

Pardon me adore but you look like my kind
Everything you doin’ tonight?
You should stop by the Website
We can, roll some weed play some records and speak
I got a fly place downtown Brooklyn, New York

In this example, the poet is reciting the conversation between himself and a love interest. As with many conversational narratives, it’s based around meeting somebody for the very first time. The poet is telling a story about a woman he met that”seem[ed] like my kind”. He then inquires”What you doin’ tonight?” , and follows with a listing of charming speech in an effort to create a social relationship with the girl.

In a similar storyline,”Beautiful Skin”, Goodie Mob utilizes the following conversational story to retell the initial telephone conversation he had with his love interest:

That is Carlito from a couple of days before, you sound tired
Forgive me when I have called you late
But what better time to associate mind-states?
Where can I start?
Has anybody ever told you’You got beautiful skin’?

This example further illustrates the usage of introductory language in conversational narratives. The poet asks his love interest if she would love to”associate mind-states”, or get to know each other. He then tells her that she’s”beautiful skin”, an often successful introductory complement given to girls.

Cee Lo utilizes the following conversational story in”Slum Beautiful”:

Look at you, unbelievably, brilliant beautiful you
You’re looking deliciously divine darling you really and truly do
The very thought of has got me running at the pace of love
Exploring everything about you from the ground to the God above

Within this song, the poet uses the conversational story to speak directly to his love interest through the tune. Note the broad range of compliments offered in this passage, as well as the allure, again demonstrating a frequent aspect of the conversational story.

The Metaphoric Narrative
This fifth kind of Hip-Hop love stories is possibly the most fascinating. It’s the metaphoric narrative. The metaphoric story is used when the poet speaks of love in a metaphor of some kind. The most popular and socially acceptable form of metaphoric narrative is using Hip-Hop as the metaphor. Many followers of the movement view Hip-Hop as a driving force of love and happiness in their lives. Thus, many metaphoric love narratives revolve round Hip-Hop itself.

A Fantastic example of such a metaphoric narrative is the following passage from Black Eyed Peas'”Rap Song”:

Yo, she got hips to hop
And she ai not goin’ pop
She like a record that I want stone
When I’m rollin’ in my ride cruisin’ down my cube

In this example, the poet really utilizes a exceptional play on words and speaks of a love interest as a Hip-Hop metaphor. He relates this person into”a record that I wanna stone”.

The team further extends the metaphor at the following passage:

She’s a beat that makes me want catch the mic
She like the lyrics that I wanna recite
She like the old school mic with the cable
You can bring your records and I’ll bring the turntable

Again, the poet relates his love attention to other things he and his viewers adore, such as”old school mic with the cable”, reciting lyrics and spinning records on a turntable.

Another Fantastic example of the metaphoric narrative is in The Roots'”Act Too… Love of My Life”:
Learnin’ the ropes of ghetto survival
Peepin’ out the situation I had to slide through
Had to watch my spine my front and my sides also
In regards to gettin’ mine I ai not tryin’ to assert
Occasionally I’dn’ta forced it if it wasn’t for you
Hip-Hop, you the love of my life and that’s true

This passage is unique because it utilizes both the metaphoric and contrasting narrative practices. The poet describes Hip-Hop as”the love of my life”, while simultaneously showing how that love created a positive contrast to the demanding”ropes of ghetto survival”. The poet admits he”wouldn’ta made it if it was not for you”, demonstrating his love for Hip-Hop was and was a driving force in his life.

And that leads us into the very popular metaphoric Hip-Hop love narrative of our time. In”I used to Love H.E.R.”, Common Sense uses the metaphoric narrative to express his love for Hip-Hop. He starts off the narrative with the following passage:

I met this girl, when I was ten years old
And what I loved most she had so much soul
She was old school, when I was a shorty
Never knew throughout my life she would be there for me

In this example, the poet starts off telling a story about a girl he met when he”was ten years old”, and the way she was always there for him. The poet continues to use the metaphoric narrative to speak of the girl, including the good times and hardships that they faced together. Not until the end of the poem does the listener actually realize that the entire song is a metaphor. The song ends with the next passage:

I see rappers slammin’ her, and takin’ her into the sewer
However, I’ma take her back hopin’ the things ceased
Cause who I’m talkin’ bouty’all is Hip-Hop

Within this song, the poet used the metaphoric story to tell a story about the love of his own life, the struggles she faced, along with his desire to save . In the long run, he admits that this love isn’t a real person, but rather his love of Hip-Hop.

The presentation of Hip-Hop love narratives is a really difficult endeavor. To be able to talk about love and still construct a socially acceptable urban identity, artists have a tendency to employ one of the five effective love narrative types. I believe that our society’s analysis of Hip-Hop culture and music is lackluster at best. The Hip-Hop adore narratives presented above can provide a great basis for linguistic and sociolinguistic studies. Not only are they presented in an assortment of styled narrative forms, but they also include deep thought, understanding and evaluation of the urban environment that characterizes an increasing majority of American culture. Throughout the analysis and study of these love narratives, linguists could come to a better comprehension of and appreciation for its Hip-Hop vernacular, literature and, ultimately, culture.

Works Cited / Discography
A Tribe Called Quest. People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm. Jive Records, 1990.
Black Eyed Peas. Bridging the Gap. Interscope Records, 2000.
Black Star. Mos Def & Talib Kweli are Black Star. Rawkus Records, 1998.
Bubba Sparxx. Deliverance. Interscope Records, 2003.
Common. Electric Circus. MCA Records, 2002.
Common Sense. Resurrection. Relativity Records, 1994.
Dead Prez. Let’s Get Free. Relativity Records, 2000.
Goodie Mob. Still Standing. La Face Records, 1998.
Guru. Jazzmatazz Streetsoul Vol. 3. Virgin Records, 2000.
Method Man. Tical. Def Jam Records, 1994.
Mos Def. Black on Both Sides. Priority Records, 1999.
Outkast. ATLiens. La Face Records, 1996.
Outkast. Stankonia. La Face Records, 2003.
Talib Kweli & DJ Hi-Tek. Train of Thought. Rawkus Records, 2000.
The Roots. Things Fall Apart. MCA Records, 1999.