The Importance of Using Pop Culture References when Writing Rap and Hip-Hop Lyrics by Jason Tyler

One of the most common techniques used by signed artists when writing rap and hip-hop lyrics is to use pop culture references. Study any artist’s lyrics and you’ll find cultural references scattered throughout their verses. A pop culture reference is when an artist 'name checks' something that is part of modern day culture usually by way of metaphor or simile. There are many examples of what references to use eg sports stars, videogame characters, and television characters etc, basically anything that your audience may be familiar with. Here are two examples and with each one the cultural reference is underlined and explained:

‘When I stroll through the hood kids don’t dare jump me,
Coz I’m tougher than M Bison on level nine difficulty,’

Anyone whose played videogames in the last ten years knows that M Bison is the last boss of Street Fighter 2, and a particularly tough one at that. This line states that I’m tougher than him on the maximum difficulty setting. Using this line will make the listener think ‘yeah, I remember him! wow that’s clever!’ and grab their attention. Here’s another example:-

‘I’m a Dope MC, the killer punch thrower,
Knocking you out like I’m Rocky Balboa,’

This line references the famous fictional boxer Rocky Balboa. Again this line will catch people’s attentions due to the fact that everyone knows who he is!

Below is a list of pop-culture references that will go down well when writing rap and hip hop lyrics:-

-TV and Film: eg TV and film characters, locations, shows etc

-Celebrities: eg celebrities and what they get up to

-Music: eg artists and songs

-Videogames: eg videogame characters, locations, vehicles etc (see the first original example)

-Literature: eg characters and events from novels, comics etc

-Historical People/Events: eg various people and events from the past eg The Vietnam War,

-Sport: eg sports starsteamsvenues

-Political Figures: eg people involved in politics

-Landmarks: eg famous landmarks and places

-Companies and Businesses: eg famous companies and brand names

It’s hard to pin point exactly why they work well in rap and hip hop lyrics, but it seems that hearing something mentioned in someone’s lyrics that you personally know about just seems to grab your attention. One TV program which is well renowned for its use of pop culture references is Family Guy. Every episode is packed with references to pop culture ranging from Star Wars characters to famous celebrities. This is why the show works so well. If you really want to write commercially successful raps then it’s important that you use these in your raps so the audience can connect with you.

It’s important to note that you should use cultural references that your intended listening audience will understand. If you’re writing commercial hip-hop which is aimed at teenagers then referring to an obscure seventies TV show will not work well as they won't understand what you're referring to. On the other hand if you’re writing intelligent hip-hop it would work better as you’ll be writing for a mature older audience. Also the same applies to location. If you’re a British emcee you should stick to British cultural references as your target audience will appreciate them more. There’s no point name checking that famous ice hockey player as most British people won’t be aware of him!

Where to Find Effective Cultural References

Anyone raised in a certain culture will already have a wealth of references available to use, but then again you’re limited by what you know. Someone who isn’t really into sport will not know much on the subject and therefore won't be able to use as many sport related cultural references as other emcees. Remember the wider the range of cultural references you use the more people you’ll be able to connect with. The best place to find potential pop culture references by far is the website www.wikipedia.org.

For those of you don’t know Wikipedia is an online encyclopaedia where anyone is allowed to update the pages. It contains articles on just about anything. By looking through this you can find everything you need to know on just about everything- from pop star’s controversies to TV program characters! I normally have a Wikipedia session every week where I grab my rhyme book then start browsing through Wikipedia looking for any ‘references’ I can use in my rhymes. When I do find something interesting I make a note of it in my rhyme book. I don’t always come up with full bars, but the important thing is the ideas and punches are there. I normally come back later and turn these ideas into full bars. I can then use these bars when I come to write full rap verses.

Stay tuned for more articles on writing rap and hip-hop lyrics