A fly country girl, just workin’ them gifts
She's my queen, was a virgin I guess
But I ain't never ask and I ain't never tell
But Betty had the cash every time I went to jail
This song further illustrates the use of
contrasting narratives to express love. Though
the poet confesses spending a lot of time in
jail, Betty was always there to bail him out,
again acting as a positive contrast to his
troubles
.
The Perceptual Narrative
Another common narrative form of Hip-Hop love
stories is the perceptual narrative. Like the
contrasting narrative, the perceptual narrative
is based around the negativity that surrounds
the poet’s life. But instead of presenting this
love as a contrast to that negativity, the poet
uses this narrative to explain how that love
changed his or her previously negative
perceptions. This narrative form also allows the
poet to construct a socially acceptable identity
due to the acknowledgement of the negativity of
urban life.
In “Jazzy Belle,” Andre of Outkast uses the
perceptual narrative to tell of how his love
changed his former perception of women:
Went from yellin’ crickets and crows, witches and hoes to queen thangs
Over the years I been up on my toes and yes I seen thangs
Now I’m willin’ to go the extra kilo-
Meter just to see my senorita get her pillow
On the side of my bed where no girl ever stay
House and doctor was the games we used to play
But now it’s real Jazzy Belle...
In this song, Andre talks about a personal
change of perception caused by love. He admits
that at one time he thought of women as “witches
and hoes.” But “now it’s real,” and he has a new
perception of women as “queen thangs.”
Another great example of the perceptual
narrative can be found in the following passage
of Black Star’s “Brown Skin Lady”:
I don't get many compliments, but I am confident
Used to have a complex about, gettin’ too complex
You got me, willin’ to try, looked me in the eye
My head is still in the sky, since you walked on by
In this example, the poet admits to having
relationship issues, but tells of how love
helped him to overcome these issues. The poet’s
love interest helped him to change his
perception of love and fear of “gettin’ too
complex.”
In “Ms. Fat Booty,” Mos Def further illustrates
this point by demonstrating the perception of
other men and speaking to his love on how he is
different:
Yo, let me apologize for the other night
I know it wasn't right, but baby you know what it’s like
Some brothers don't be comin’ right
I understand, I'm feelin’ you
Besides, “Can I have a dance?' ain't really that original
In this song, the poet uses the perceptual
narrative to acknowledge that some men “don’t be
comin’ right,” but that he has a different
perception of women than these other men.
In “Come Close,” Common uses the perceptual
narrative to express how love has made him
change from his old ways:
I want to build a tribe wit you
Protect and provide for you
Truth is I can't hide from you
The pimp in me
May have to die with you
Although the poet used to be a “pimp,” an urban
term for a man who romances a large number of
women, he tells of how his love interest has
changed his actions and perceptions.
The Spiritual Narrative
A third common form of Hip-Hop love stories is
what I like to refer to as the spiritual
narrative. The spiritual narrative relies on the
poet’s characterization of love as a kind of
godly being, spiritual force or royalty, often
with the feeling that the storyteller has to
protect that force. The spiritual narrative
allows the storyteller to construct an
acceptable identity by characterizing love as
spiritual or perhaps even predetermined.
A great example of the spiritual narrative can
be found in this passage of The Roots’ “You Got
Me”:
Somebody told me that this planet was small
We use to live in the same building on the same floor
And never met before
Until I'm overseas on tour
And peep this Ethiopian queen from Philly
Taking classes abroad
Here, the poet uses the spiritual narrative to
describe the time, place and emotions that his
love was founded 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,” using the royal characterization so
common in spiritual love narratives.
In “Love Language,” Talib Kweli also uses a
spiritual narrative form and refers to his love
as a kind of royalty:
Now if they call you out your name
Then that's a different thing
Anything but Queen
I'll go to war like a King
This example shows the protection aspect of
common spiritual love narratives. The poet feels
it is unacceptable for anyone to “call you out
your name,” or in other words, use derogatory
language toward his love. If someone were to do
so, he would “go to war like a King,” thus
maintaining his masculinity.
In “Mind Sex,” Dead Prez uses the spiritual
narrative to talk about love introductions:
African princess, tell me yo' interests
Wait, let me guess boo, you probably like poetry
Here's a little something I jotted down in case I spotted you around
So let me take this opportunity
In this song, the poet uses the spiritual
narrative to tell a story about the introductory
conversation he had with a love interest. He
refers to her as “African princess,” once again
showing the tendency of poets who use the
spiritual narrative to refer to their love
interests as royalty.
The Conversational Narrative
The fourth common form for Hip-Hop love stories
is the conversational narrative. The
conversational narrative allows the poet to
recite or recreate a conversation with his or
her love and present it as play-like story about
a specific love experience. Conversational love
narratives are typically characterized by
introductory speech and compliments, and are
most commonly used as tools to tell a story
about a first meeting or impression. These
narratives allow the storyteller to construct an
acceptable identity mainly because they often
include many smoothly structured compliments,
and make the poet look like a cool ladies man.
A great example of the conversational love
narrative can be found this passage from Dead
Prez’ previously mentioned “Mind Sex”:
Pardon me love but you seem like my type
What you doin’ tonight?
You should stop by the site
We could, roll some weed play some records and talk
I got a fly spot 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 is based around meeting someone
for the first time. The poet is telling a story
about a girl he met that “seem[ed] like my
type”. He then inquires “What you doin’
tonight?,” and follows with a list of charming
speech in an attempt to create a social
relationship with the girl.
In a similar narrative, “Beautiful Skin,” Goodie
Mob uses the following conversational narrative
to retell the first phone conversation he had
with his love interest:
This is Carlito from a couple of days ago, you sound tired
Forgive me if I've called you too late
But what better time to relate mind-states?
Where could I begin?
Has anyone ever told you ‘You got beautiful skin’?
This example further illustrates the use of
introductory language in conversational
narratives. The poet asks his love interest if
she would like to “relate mind-states,” or get
to know each other. He then tells her that she
has “beautiful skin,” an often successful
introductory complement given to women.
Cee Lo uses the following conversational narrative 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 speed of love
Exploring everything about you from the ground to the God above
In this song, the poet uses the conversational
narrative to speak directly to his love interest
through the song. Note the wide range of
compliments offered in this passage, as well as
the charm, again illustrating a common aspect of
the conversational narrative.
The Metaphoric Narrative
This fifth form of Hip-Hop love stories is
possibly the most fascinating. It is the
metaphoric narrative. The metaphoric narrative
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 around
Hip-Hop itself.
A good example of such a metaphoric narrative is
the following passage from Black Eyed Peas’ “Rap
Song”:
Yo, she got hips to hop
She like a record that I wanna rock
When I'm rollin’ in my ride cruisin’ down my block
In this example, the poet actually uses a unique
play on words and speaks of a love interest as a
Hip-Hop metaphor. He relates this person to “a
record that I wanna rock”.
The group further extends the metaphor in the following passage:
She like a beat that makes me wanna grab 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 yo
Again, the poet relates his love interest to
other things he and his audience love, including
“old school mic with the cable,” reciting lyrics
and spinning records on a turntable.
Another great 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 back my front plus my sides too
When it came to gettin’ mine I ain't tryin’ to argue
Sometimes I wouldn'ta made 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
techniques. The poet refers to Hip-Hop as “the
love of my life,” while simultaneously showing
how that love created a positive contrast to the
tough “ropes of ghetto survival”. The poet
admits that he “wouldn’ta made it if it wasn’t
for you,” showing that his love for Hip-Hop was
and is a driving force in his life.
And that leads us to the most 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 just 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 how she was always there for him. The
poet continues to use the metaphoric narrative
to speak of this girl, including the good times
and hardships 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 following passage:
I see rappers slammin’ her, and takin’ her to the sewer
But I'ma take her back hopin’ that the stuff stop
Cause who I'm talkin’ bout y'all is Hip-Hop
In this song, the poet used the metaphoric
narrative to tell a story about the love of his
life, the struggles she faced, and his desire to
save her. In the end, he admits that this love
is not a real person, but instead his love of
Hip-Hop.
The presentation of Hip-Hop love narratives is a
very difficult task. In order to talk about love
and still construct a socially acceptable urban
identity, artists tend to implement one of the
five successful love narrative forms. I believe
that our society’s analysis of Hip-Hop music and
culture is lackluster at best. The Hip-Hop love
narratives presented above could provide a great
basis for linguistic and sociolinguistic
studies. Not only are they presented in a
variety of styled narrative forms, but they also
include deep thought, perception and analysis of
the urban environment that characterizes an
increasing majority of American society. Through
the analysis and study of these love narratives,
linguists could come to a greater understanding
of and appreciation for the Hip-Hop vernacular,
literature and, ultimately, culture.
For more information and to contact the author, click on the author’s name at the top of the page.
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Hip-Hop has historically existed as
a male-dominated industry. Being a reflection of
urban life and struggle, past Hip-Hop artists
have been forced to maintain a certain level of
masculinity in order to be accepted by their
urban communities. Old school rappers who talked
about love were often viewed as soft or corny.
Because of this perception, the existence of
love in Hip-Hop is a fairly new concept.
