Lyrics and luxury: exploring the UK African Diaspora’s cultural currency through UK rap
Murai, Watīrī (2024) Lyrics and luxury: exploring the UK African Diaspora’s cultural currency through UK rap. PhD thesis, University for the Creative Arts.
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This thesis examines the interplay between United Kingdom (UK) rap music and luxury fashion brands, focusing on the cultural currency of the UK African diaspora. UK rap represents the cultural wealth generated by contemporary Black Britain. My research investigates luxury brand mentions in UK rap lyrics, how luxury-related lyrics amplify forms of community cultural wealth and lived experiences and how brand mentions magnify Black masculine and feminine constructs. What distinguishes the UK’s rap intersection with luxury brands from the long-established relationship between
US rap and the luxury fashion world? My research uncovers this difference and illuminates unique aspects of UK rap, such as its distinct allegiance to the tracksuit. As a chosen methodology, I combined content analysis of UK rap song lyrics with in-depth and semi-structured interviews with key industry professionals. My findings revealed how personal relationships between UK rap artists and luxury brand creative directors have played a role in integrating UK rap into the luxury fashion sphere. My research reveals that luxury brand lyrical mentions are not solely intended for product or brand placement, but rather serve to enhance aspirational expressions.
These lyrical expressions encompass a blend of elements: achieving success, gender, sexual connotations, working-class experiences, and fashion identities. However, it is important to acknowledge that these mentions also serve commercial motives. Despite this, UK rap is founded on authenticity and assuredness of heritage,
keeping a constant ear to the streets, resulting in relatability. The role of the fashion stylist has proven to be relevant in the said interplay, which I establish as a cultural intermediary that draws on UK rap artists' identities to convey realness. The authenticity embedded in UK rap appeals to luxury brands. However, are UK rap artists the beneficiaries of the UK rap and luxury brand interrelationship? My thesis advocates for Black ownership
within the luxury fashion space as a decolonial method to effectively preserve Afro-diasporic cultural currencies. UK rap demonstrates the cultural influence that luxury brands must associate with to access demographics that follow UK rap culture. Despite their marginalised backgrounds, UK rap artists provide brands with immense cultural relevance and coolness, specifically within the Generation Z groups. UK rappers are representations of
aspirations being attainable for working-class youth by virtue of their success, asseen through their associations with the luxury fashion world. They are Afro-diasporic protagonists, the voices of the minoritised.
Thesis submitted in partial requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, University for the Creative Arts, Farnham.
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