I dagens samhälle känner allt fler unga ett utanförskap och hiphopen har blivit ett viktigt medel för att illustrera detta utanförskap. Syftet med uppsatsen är att belysa hur en motståndskultur kan komma till uttryck via musik. En textanalys på gangsterrappgruppen Kartellens låttexter har utförts för att klarlägga vilken motståndskultur gruppen uttrycker i texterna, samt vilka centrala aspekter denna kultur innehåller. För att besvara studiens frågeställningar har Howard S Beckers teori om avvikande och R W Connells teori om maskulinitet använts. I rapporten har även tidigare forskning kring gatukultur, hiphop och utanförskap behandlats. De centrala aspekterna i resultatet rör gatukultur, maskulinitet, utanförskap och de fiender som gruppen anser sig ha. Det finns påtagliga kopplingar mellan dessa teman och hur de påverkar varandra. Ett av de tydligaste budskapen Kartellen förmedlar i sina texter rör den politik som förs i Sverige och gruppens polisförakt. De har både blivit hyllade och kritiserade i media för sina låttexter som ofta innehåller grova våldsskildringar men som samtidigt belyser segregation och utanförskap.

The purpose of this thesis was to examine and explore themes within Swedish gangster rap lyrics. The method was content analysis with the purpose of coding content from every new gangster rap song released in Sweden 2019 to 2023 appearing in the top 50 lists each month in the archive “Swedishcharts.com”. The number of new songs released differed in quantity year to year, and the total number of Swedish gangster rap songs in every year combined was243 songs. The main themes appearing in Swedish gangster rap were discovered as: violence, guns, drugs, misogyny, gangs, and environment. There were also themes appearing that didnot appear as commonly such as: political awareness, police harassment, and ethnicity. The extent to which themes referring to criminality and violence resonated with media representations of the genre was not common. More likely, the subgenre could be interpretednarratively and critically to reveal depictions of difficult environments, with several aspects not mentioned in the media that potentially portray real experiences for the gangster rappers. In cases where the themes could resonate with the Swedish media representations, they were often expressed in a braggadocious or exaggerated way, with possible causes like protecting the authenticity of the genre or potentially articulating difficulties within society. A comparison with how violence and criminality refer to relevant themes in the content analysis showed a nuanced pattern as to whether the media representation of gangster rap was equivalent to criminal activity in society.

South Korea is internationally well known for its ethnic and cultural homogeneity, economic and technical success, and strong sense of nationalism. The peoples of South Korea have flourished economically after a series of colonizations, industrialization and political chaos. Over the past few decades, Korea has gained interest internationally for its entertainment industry through the Korean Wave (or Hallyu in Korean). Korean Wave is a term that refers to the increase in the popularity of South Korean culture since the late 1990’s due to Korean music, television shows and fashion. The Korean Wave first swept and captivated the hearts of citizens in East and Southeast Asia and now has expanded its popularity beyond Asia and has captivated millions of people all over the world. After a steady increase in cultural exports as a result of the Korean Wave since 2005, the Korean Tourism Organization (KTO) has realized the value in the exportation of Korean culture and goods and has now created programs that capitalize on this popularity and increase tourists South Korea. Korean popular music or K-Pop is a large and profitable aspect of the Korean Wave. According to CNBC in Move Over Bieber — Korean Pop Music Goes Global “The [k-pop] industry’s revenues hit about $3.4 billion in 2011, according to the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA), a government group that promotes the country’s cultural initiatives. K-pop’s exports also rose to $180 million last year — jumping 112 percent compared to 2010. Exports have been growing on an average annual rate of nearly 80 percent since 2007.” And that “for every $100 of K-Pop exports, there was an average increase of $395 worth of I.T. goods such as cell phones or electronics that were being exported” (Naidu-Ghelani). The exportation of K-pop music and cultural can be seen as an economic success story. But in fact, for the Black American community it is the exportation of cultural appropriation and the degradation of Black American culture. The Korean Wave is packaging, promoting and exporting a “window into Korean culture, society and language that can be as educational as a trip to Korea. South Korea is using the Korean wave to promote its traditional culture within Korea and abroad” (“Hallyu, the Korean Wave” 1). Despite South Korea’s strong sense of nationalism and cultural homogeneity, its pop music has a distinct Black American musical influence. Rap and hip-hop musical style/culture (which is distinctly affiliated with representative of Black Americans) is an integral, if not necessary, part of Korean popular music. The synchronized dance moves, attractive idols and “rap/hip hop” style draws in millions of fans from every walk of life all over the world. The “hip hop” dance moves, clothing and lyrics that dominate Korean popular music, however crosses the line of cultural appreciation and instead can be defined as cultural appropriation.

Syftet med denna studie är att, genom en netnografisk undersökningsmetod, få en större inblick för hur gängrelaterade brott och den kriminella livsstilen porträtteras i musikgenren gangsterrap. Materialet som analyserats består av 25 låtar av fem olika svenska rapartister på den sociala medieplattformen Youtube. Studien inkluderar även en analys av publikens reaktioner och gensvar på musikens innehåll, genom en analys av kommentarsfälten. Genom en tematisk analysmetod för att analysera det insamlade materialet var det möjligt för oss att identifiera betydelsefulla teman. Vidare har analysen genomförts med stöd av tre teoretiska ramverk: intrycksstyrning, kultivationsteorin och symboliskt kapital. Studiens resultat visar att gangsterrappens musikinnehåll består av skildringar av våldsam karaktär, förhärligande av riskabelt beteenden samt diverse referenser som kan relateras till gängkriminalitet i verkligheten. Analysen visar även ett övervägande neutralt förhållningssätt av publiken gentemot våldsamma illustrationer, och kriminella aktiviteter tycks sällan ifrågasättas. / The aim of this study is to obtain a greater insight of how gang-related crime and the criminal lifestyle is portrayed in the music genre gangster rap. Through a netnographic research method, 25 songs by five different Swedish rap artists on the social media plattform Youtube have been analyzed. The study also includes an analysis of how the audience reacts and responds to the content of the music, by examining the comment sections. Using a thematic analysis as a method for analyzing the collected data allowed us to identify important or interesting themes. Furthermore, the analysis was carried out with the support of three theoretical frameworks: impression management, cultivation theory and symbolic capital. The study shows that the music content consists of occurring depictions of violent nature, glorification of risky behavior and various references that can be related to gang crime in real life. The analysis also shows a predominantly neutral approach from the audience towards violent imagery, and criminal activities rarely seem to be questioned.

Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka relationen mellan svensk gangsterrap och kriminalitet hos unga män i svenska socioekonomiskt utsatta områden. Syftet är även att studera om hur kvinnosynen ser ut bland de unga männen och hur den speglas genom musiken. Studien genomförs med hjälp av semistrukturerade intervjuer där åtta olika unga män bosatta i socioekonomiska områden intervjuas och utgår från fyra sociologiska teorier: Sociala band, stigma, kapitalbegreppen och intersektionalitet. . Resultatet visade på att det finns en viss relation till gangsterrapen och de unga männens syn på kriminalitet och kvinnor. / The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between Swedish gangster rap and crime among young men in Swedish socio-economically vulnerable areas. The purpose is also to study what the view of women looks like among young men and how it is reflected through music. The study is conducted with the help of semi-structured interviews where eight different young men living in socio-economic areas are interviewed and are based on four sociological theories: social ties, stigma, capital concepts and intersectionality. . The results showed that there is a certain relationship to the gangster rap and the young men's views on crime and women.

Studiens syfte var att undersöka relationerna kopplade till svenska gangsterrappare och musikindustrin och på så sätt identifiera viktiga aktörer i nätverket. Ytterligare en del av syftet var att studera hur gangsterrapparnas eventuella gängtillhörighet speglades i nätverket. Detta gjordes genom en social nätverksanalys av data från Spotify. Studien utgick från två teoretiska perspektiv, vilka var teorin om differentiella associationer och social nätverksanalys. Resultatet visade att det främst var ursprungsaktörerna som hade högst centralitet, men att även flera skivbolag hade höga värden. Av detta kunde slutsatsen dras att skivbolagen hade en viktig roll i att binda samman nätverket. Angående gängmiljön kunde en viss polarisering ses, där en av de två gängkonflikterna som visade sig i materialet även speglades inom musikindustrin, medan detta inte var lika tydligt i den andra. Av detta kunde slutsatsen dras att gängkonflikterna inte alltid speglas inom musikindustrin. / The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships linked to Swedish gangster rappers and the music industry, and thus identify important actors in the network. The aim was also to examine how the possible gang connections of the gangster rappers were reflected in the network. The method that was used was social network analysis and the data was collected from Spotify. The study was based on two theoretical perspectives, which were the theory of differential associations and social network analysis. The results showed that it was mainly the original actors that had the highest centrality values, but that several record companies also had high values. From this, the conclusion could be drawn that the record companies had an important role in binding the network together. Regarding the gang environment, polarization could be seen to some extent, where one of the two gang conflicts that appeared in the material was also reflected in the music industry, while this was not as evident in the other. From this, the conclusion could be drawn that the gang conflicts are not always reflected in the music industry.

The main intention with this study has been to analyze which social identities and versions of the world young people construct within Swedish gangster rap and how to see this from a child cultural perspective. In addition, my goal was to analyze what functions the rappers and their songs assume in relation to their young audience. The analysis shows that the positions young rappers occupy in the songs are strongly linked to their need to gain status within their group. In addition, it becomes a peer culture where they create and share their identities and versions of the world. It is also through music that they question the authority of adults. It can also be seen that their poor childhood means that crime becomes, apart from rap, the only way they perceive to rise economically and socially. But the price for these achievements is high.