Final Year Project: Proposal

How the unprecedented rise of punk-rap/rock-rap crossovers can challenge the fragility of genre within a post-modern landscape

Rationale

For this project, I will be focusing on demonstrating how the rise of drill, trap music and minimalistic house in rage music has blurred the lines of what passes for post modern day Rap/Rock music, as well as what the Rap/Rock star looks like as the tastes of generation-z dictate the directions of the music environment. More specifically, this will explore the compositional & instrumental thematic surrounding the post-modern rise of ‘rage’ music and culture, and how the merging aspects of rock and rap instrumentations and themes that become one track, encourage reciprocated behaviors that are more so associated with the former as opposed to the latter when performed. This idea is Inspired by the transgressive artists that are pushing the envelope of their capabilities and breaking the constraints of what artists within a traditionally narrow category are capable of. The project I intend to embark on is inspired by the endeavors of post-modern musicians to incorporate a hybrid of aspects from multiple genres, with a specific focus on the relationship between rock and rap music.

During my time as a student, I have become more accustomed with the increasingly prominent nature of rage culture, indulging in the likes of Playboi Carti, Lil Yachty and Foushee, who are significant influencers in the direction of music for Gen-z hip-hop consumption. These artists are heavy influencers on my style and tastes and will be thoroughly referenced throughout my productions and mixes, as well as being key inspirations for the directions taken within my music writing/compositional content. Sonically speaking, I will focus on heavily driven instrumentation that will help demonstrate how the harmonic content of sub-genres like drill is an active part of the encouragement for artists to proactively break the boundaries of what typically defines genre to carve out both separate and more challenging lanes. I will also be thoroughly analyzing the producers/engineer’s these artists collaborate with, as well as how these technicians accommodate for their artists so that they can challenge the nature of genre within a post-modern era, and how these practices can help me evolve as a collaborative engineer.

My hypothesis is that the themes of the hip-hop/rock induced rage culture, is guaranteed to bring a more permanent merge to the rock rap hybrid genre. This will aim to be a fresh 21st century take on the rock-rap genre that became a driving influence in music during the 80’s rise of Run DMC and Beastie boys, and how drill, trap and bashment are second attempts for an original reclamation by African artists of a heavily genre.

My recent visitation to the crypt of wizard shop based in Hackney, was very inspiring and influential in guiding me towards finding potential thematic content I can revolve a punk-rap album, and what directions I would like to take in terms of stylistic visuals to accommodate a body of work that embraces a clash of two genres. With an incentive to encourage an audience response that isn’t synonymous with conventional rap music, there is opportunity to be had in exploring ways to deliver dark and socially challenging transgressive themes that are just as prominent in rock music as they are in the hip-hop landscape.

Aims and Objectives

Aims: Create a punk/rap project that challenges the fragility of genre in a post-modern age.

Research driven instrumentations that enforce elements of Rap and Rock music, ultimately manifesting punk-rap tracks.
Reference acapella tracks that can accommodate for both Rap & Rock vocal performances.
compose music that can challenge/expose the fragility of the post-modern-day concept of genre.
Research on how to create mixes in both stereo and atmos that each stay true to the sonic objectives of my tracks.
Create a body of work (album/EP/Mixtape/Beat tape) which reflects the endeavour I have embarked on in my rationale.
Thoroughly use reference vocals/tracks in order to accurately recreate instrumentals faithful to sub-genres such as drill and punk-rap.
Produce vocals/instrumentations that stay true to rap music whilst being delivered at the intensity of a rock song.

Methodology

My methodology will be split into 3 stages, each stage containing 2 phases. I will be working around practice-based research and conducting secondary research based on listening to the current landscape of Rap and Rock and where these genres clash, intertwine and cross over. My Methodology to produce my project for the majority will be based on secondary research regarding the current landscape of hip hop influencers who are taken risks in ambitious musical ventures, as well as selective reading material that illustrates how more recently emerging sub-genres are blurring the lines between our current conceptualisation of genre in a post-modern landscape.

Pre-production

Scoping

Upon consideration of my final year project, I made it imperative that I made my decision based on my prior experiences as well as what I want my future practice to be. I ventured my thinking towards games, films, and music productions, and where I wanted to expand my knowledge and experiences the most. I ended up concluding to myself, that the evolving genre’s defining the era of music in which I am living in are worth exploring further, especially with the new opportunities provided by the direction of urban contemporary music is being taken.

Research & Development

I’ll focus on aspects of musicality that break the usual boundaries/constraints that are associated with their acts, whether it be rap musicians who are willing to deliver their vocals over rock instrumentations, or performers who are more daring to explore entirely alternative sounding projects to what they have become synonymous with. With the trend of multi-genre ventures becoming ever more increasing, there is plenty of data and online patterns to draw from before having to do any data collection of my own. It would be a viable method of investigation to collect some of my own data on the public consumption of rock and rap music to draw some of my own findings on the accuracy of my interpretation on the trajectory of genre blending the digital age of music.

Besides for the nuances of modern-day genre, much of the research that I will be doing will also be aimed at my technological prowess when it comes to using audio software such as Ableton, as well as developing my ability to understand the need for effective vocal chain set ups, and the plugins used to process and mix these vocals to an industry standard.

Production

Track Production

Besides for theoretical and historical content, I am also incentivised to invest in reading practical secondary resources regarding mixing my project in Ableton. With the addition of ‘Ableton Live 8 and Suite 8’ into my literature survey, this book will be the key documentation for understanding the professional practice in using Ableton as the DAW to mix my track in.

As for the compositional content, most of my tracks will be created and arranged in FL (fruity loops) before being imported into Ableton for a final mix. This is due to the amount of experience I have in creating within the Fruity Loops, whilst also being conscious of the extensive capabilities of Ableton Live’s mixing functionalities.

Vocal Production

I will also be deeply investigating methodology about recording vocals and processing them to a professional industry standard, as this is an area, I am particularly novice in. This will involve looking at the industry standard plugins used for effective vocal processing, along with the hardware necessary to deliver a clean and consistent vocal dub across the abundance of tracks that I will be producing and performing over.

Post-production

Post-production Process

This stage is where the final polishing of my tracks is carried out, which involves ensuring that my tracks are part of an entirely clean mix, before taking them to a thoroughly thought-out mastering chain appropriate for the genre of my tracks.

Whilst the finalising of my tracks is underway, I will be looking to create a visual representation of my project, staying faithful to the themes of a rock/rap hybrid album that was established in my introduction to this writing. This will be inspired by a mix of the rage culture artistry I have already come across, with an intent to bring in elements that are synonymous with punk rock and metal.

Review/Reflection

Once my material is finished and available for consumption, I will critically disseminate my ability to carry out the process reflected in this methodology session, as well as make explicit critiques of my decisions made throughout the project that affected my ability to reach my goals lined up within the aims and objectives.

Literature Survey

Mackintosh, K. Reynolds, S (2021). Neon Screams: How Drill, Trap and Bashment Made Music New Again, Watkins Media

Fore-worded by Simon Reynolds, Neon Screams takes an intricate look at the variety of new urbanised genres that have become prevalent up to the 2020s. Neon Screams is a post-modern piece of literature that encourages and incentivises musical futurism. Using the embrace Auto-Tune in the late 2000s as the reference for his starting point, Mackintosh explores the last decade of the music landscape, giving praise to the innovation of modern genres that are still exploring the sonic capabilities. Mackintosh establishes a new pantheon of pioneers and innovators. Offering dizzying insights into the likes of Future, Young Thug, Migos and Vybz Kartel, Neon Screams is an essential document in helping audiences to understand how technological developments are being used to revive and recreate genre. Neon screams is an honest attempt to illustrate the limitless potential of future music under developing technological marvels. This book will help me understand the thinking processes made by the current prevalent artists, who are dictating the vocal styles heard throughout urban contemporary music today.

Robinson, K, and Huston, S (2013). Ableton Live 8 and Suite 8, Routledge

This book entails methods on creation, production as well as live performances using the capabilities of Ableton’s design. Giving insight into its non-linear aspects, the book also attempts to emulate the software’s ingenuity, by offering a read that be referenced time and time again in any order. This book provides essential practices, professional quotations along with intricate detail into the hidden capabilities of Ableton’s vast design, and will be an must have tool for me as I strive to become more familiar with Ableton’s vast mixing tools and technical capabilities.

Waddell, G (2013). Complete Audio Mastering: Practical Techniques. 1st edition. New York: Macmillan Education.

Covering a broad range of mastering topics, Gedre Waddell goes to great depth in detail on the many topics regarding the professional mastering process. With a repertoire of audio professionals giving praise to the documentation of these practices, giving a universally digestible access to the step-by-step process of mastering that can extend across a multitude of hardware and DAW’s. It critically illustrates the necessary processes needed to realise the potentials of vocal recording. This resource will be one that I will refer to regularly on since I have very little previous history of undertaking the mastering process prior to this proposal.

Scope and constraints

In terms of measuring the achievability of my project, there are several software and hardware components I am going to need to realise my project.

While I am becoming more capable of mixing in Ableton, there is an incentive for me to refine my skillset within the DAW, and I have a numerous set of vst’s good for composing my music in FL studio. I am comfortable in the tools I am in possession of that can help me manifest post-modern rock-rap instrumentals.

Where I may struggle is finding performers who meet the criteria for what I am looking for. Should I fail to find somebody to fill this role, I will be obligated into buying my own Microphone as well as autotuned software to record the vocal performances myself. While I am guaranteed to mix my tracks in stereo, I will need additional software and hardware as well as training for me to realise my project in the surround format of Dolby Atmos.

Impact

As an Englishmen with Ashkenazi heritage, my privilege and lack thereof must be kept in mind during my endeavour. It’s imperative to be considerate in my productions and research into two musical genres that both derived from African cultures. To speak on, record, as well as be a contributor to two genres with heavy African influences, acknowledging that the rock music genre was very much taken by caucasian’s before being made mainstream for their audience, is the first step in making this documentation an accurate representation of the history of these genre’s and how they relate to one another. It’s important to do these two-dominating genres justice to their true origins without blurring the lines of what could be considered as cultural appropriation.

Besides keeping within ethical boundaries, it’s important to consider the information provided by my research when carrying out my discipline as a music producer. Using the insights that can be drawn from the cross comparison of the genres in question, can help me double down on keeping the thematic content I am pursuing consistent with my aims. Having a thorough understanding on the history and evolution of popular music culture, can prove very significant in my understanding on how best to continue traveling along the gradient of progression that has been set out throughout the last half century.

Within the context of drill and punk-rap music, sub-genres I aim to lean towards to prove my hypothesis, heavy uses of sampling are a common theme. Its important that my sampling choices assist rather than compromise the genre bending aspects of my musicality, and that it is done ethically under the laws of copyrights. Whilst satirical aspects of musicality are becoming more common across hip hop acts as well as sound palettes, its important for me to not lose sight of retaining professionality in how I conduct myself in the production of my project.

Resources

At home I have the relevant equipment needed to compose and mix instrumentation, using the available tools provided by the fruity loops and Ableton DAW’s, and a Focus rite audio interface equipped with a Scarlett red microphone, as well as various VST’s that can assist in composition, mixing and postproduction aspects of building my tracks.

What I may need to invest in is a suitable recording microphone, as well as vocal processing software such as auto-tune if it transpires that I am required to record my vocals at home. Further more if I want to create Dolby Atmos mixes for the songs I made, I’d require access to studios that can provide a surround playback system in order to obtain a reliably accurate reference to these mixes beyond a simple binaural headset.

Timetable

Bibliography

Mackintosh, K. 2021. Neon Screams: How Drill, Trap and Bashment Made Music New Again. Repeater Books.
Robinson, K. and Singletary, H. Ableton Live 8 and Suite 8. [Online] Available at: https://learning.oreilly.com/library/view/ableton-live-8/9780240812281/. Accessed 13 December 2023.
Waddell, G. 2013. Complete Audio Mastering: Practical Techniques. 1st edition. New York: Macmillan Education.
Hirsh, S Learning Vocal Production: Hip-Hop. 2016. Carpenteria, CA: linkedin.com. [Online] Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/learning/vocal-production-techniques/welcome?u=56744289
Demski, E. “It’s Tricky to Rock a Rhyme: Rap-Rock and the ‘Purification’ of Genre, 1980-2000.” [Online] Accessed 26 October 2023.
Keyes, C.L. 1996. “At the Crossroads: Rap Music and Its African Nexus.” Ethnomusicology 40(2): 223–48. [Online] Available at: https://doi.org/10.2307/852060.
Dillman Carpentier, F., Knobloch, S., and Zillmann, D. 2003. “Rock, Rap, and Rebellion: Comparisons of Traits Predicting Selective Exposure to Defiant Music.” Personality and Individual Differences 35(7): 1643–55. [Online] Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-8869(02)00387-2.