Harmonic, Syntactic, and Motivic Parameters of Phrase in Hip-Hop

Kyle Adams

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Musicology and Musical Analysis Diverse Music Education Insights Music History and Culture

Abstract

This article builds on existing scholarship, both in art music and in popular music, to craft a conception of “phrase” in hip-hop. After briefly contextualizing my ideas, I describe in detail three parameters that can define hip-hop phrases: harmony, syntax, and motive, with examples of each. I then present two in-depth analyses of verses showing how these parameters interact with one another. Finally, I address the necessity and advantages of applying “phrase” to this repertoire.

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References

2006Elements of Sonata Theory 2005Making beats: the art of sample-based hip-hop 2006Elements of sonata theory : norms, types, and deformations in the late eighteenth-century sonata 1998Classical Form 2000Rap music and the poetics of identity 1991Phrase Rhythm in Tonal Music 2009On the Metrical Techniques of Flow in Rap Music 2002What to Listen For in Rock

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2021Segmentation, Phrasing, and Meter in Hip-Hop Music 2020Leaders of the New School? Music Departments, Hip-Hop, and the Challenge of Significant Difference 2024Embodied Expression in Popular Music 2025Linguistic Complexity and Socio-cultural Patterns in Hip-Hop Lyrics

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