Analysing the pitch content of the rapping voice

Abstract

To date, scholars have engaged the rhythm of the rapping voice far more often than its pitch. I detail the construction of a corpus of pitch features of “post-Golden Era” emcees. Using tools of music analysis and intonational phonetics, I contrast these features with each other and with a corpus of speech. Distinctions between rapping and speaking amplify those between mainstream American English and African-American language; other distinctions position rapping closer to singing. These findings underlie close readings of three active emcees that demonstrate how details of pitch organisation can support broader aesthetic stances.