Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Jake Chapman
Enter the Rodeo: An investigation into the Rrap concert environment
Organizational Communication Capstone Project
University of Portland
Spring 2015
Supervised by Professor Alexa Dare, Ph. D.
Abstract
Although the musical concert has been and remains a primary
area of public discourse, little research has been conducted into the
actual concert experience itself. This is a pilot study into the world of
the rap concert and how rap artists interact with the audience. This
study was conducted using semi- structured interviews of two rap
concert attendees, and observational work at two separate rap
concerts held at the Roseland Theatre in Portland, Oregon. This project
revealed that within the rap concert setting there are set norms for
behavior that dictate how people behave depending on location and
distance from the stage, Also audience members share a deeper
connection with musicians when they are able to see the musicians
facial expressions. After this study, further research could be
conducted to investigate how musicians are affected by the energy
and interactions of audience members.
Introduction
Music has been a primary means of communication since before
proliferation of spoken language. It has given rise to social reform and
given voice to those without the power to be heard and for many
continues to be a primary form of self-expression and artistic ability.
Perhaps one of the most invigorating feelings is that of being in an
audience, waiting to see you favorite musical group perform live in
Problem Statement
This literature review is a preliminary glimpse into the rap
concert scene and how it is that the audience experiences such
concerts. This is a prevalent area of study because the rap concert
setting is a large, under researched public forum with vast economic
importance to music performers and venue owners alike. Rap music
continues to gain popularity and the rap culture is one that more and
more people aspire to. The wide influence of the rap culture and the
draw of this rap lifestyle is something that is covered in a limited way,
however via applying previous research into musical interaction,
interactions of artists on stage, and research into distances associated
with music listening, some insight can be drawn into the rap concert
scene and how audience members experience this large social event.
Through previous research into the cues that performing artists offer to
Group Identification
Attending musical concerts can often be a hectic experience
filled with flying elbows, raucous fans and worse, a terrible view of the
artist. In a concert setting, personal space is limited and there can
often be a prevailing tendency to get to the front of the crowd, closest
to the performing artist. Previous research into the area of social
distance has yielded a number of different theories, such as group
attachment and social identity theory and realistic group conflict
theory, both of which found that the inclination toward shorter social
distances are based in the tendency to identify with that group and to
have a sense of connectedness with that group (Vedlitz & Zahran,
Critical Evaluation:
Previous literature investigating facets of rap concerts is
generally scarce. The primary focus of most of the literature that
revolves around rap chronicles its use in ethnic groups and amongst
minority groups. Other reach has also touched on its uses for these
During the first concert experience one of the primary mantras of the
performing artist, his posse and the MC was that of Fuck the Police.
This theme was repeated explicitly throughout the concert experience
both through the artist simply saying this phrase to the audience and
eliciting call and response, and even gesturing to the audience as if
gesturing at the unjust institution he was referring to:
The artist was extremely impassioned by the political and social issues
that he brought up, yelling into the microphone and pointing into the
audience, as if pointing at the very person or institution that he was
referring to in his song or political rant. (Observation) The audience
responded with hollers and fists in the air, as if actually present at
some sort of political rally. Many audience members were able to share
in the emotions of the others, even those who may not have had the
same views as the rapper reacted with the audience, hollering and
acting as part of the group. I too acted this way, even though I have
never suffered oppression form the police. This reaction seemingly was
The rapper also referred to relevant current events that personified the
injustice that he preached to the crowd, referring to the recent
shooting of Michael Brown and the killing of Eric Garner in New york,
these issues truly resonated with the audience as they reacted with
raucous applause and violent hand movements such as pumping fists
in the air, raising the middle finger and jumping in response to these
calls for action from the artist.
The audience also reacted more when the artist began to get into his
own music, bouncing around the stage, showing a lot of energy. He did
this through moving around the stage, bobbing to the music and
occasionally pointing the microphone at the audience for them to fill in
the lyrics. Also he stared powerfully into the audience raising his index
finger in an accusing way, as if pointing at the very person or
institution that he was referring to in his song or political rant. At these
times the audience reacted with raised hands waving to the music, as
well as some who were bobbing aggressively to the beat, most of this
exaggerated action took place in the very dense middle of the
audience where it was difficult to move around.
To reach the front, enter the rowdy area, and for a lot of audience
members, to truly be part of the performance they must elbow and
shove their way to the front. In such a hectic setting there is little room
for politely brushing past people, let alone for courtesy. Yet many go
even further, elbowing those around them in an effort to gain space, as
if it were some form of capital. The audience was not something that
added positively to the experience but instead took away from it.
For this portion of the investigation, audience feedback plays an
essential role. The first person that I interviewed will be referred to as
L for the remainder of this investigation. L could be considered as a
less active audience member, although her testimony comes from the
center of the rap concert, they spent the majority of their time
dealing with the other audience members as opposed to enjoying the
concert experience in its entirety. The second interviewee will be
referred to as D. D is a different audience member who could be
described as active. He enters the concert venue and is not worried
Figure 2: Images from the Young Thug & Travi$ Scott Concert