Rap opera
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| Rap opera | |
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| Stylistic origins |
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| Typical instruments | Turntable, vocals, drum machine, sampler, synthesizer, beatboxing, bass guitar |
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A rap opera or hip hopera or sometimes urban opera[citation needed] is a musical work in hip hop style with operatic form.[1] The terms have been used to describe both dramatic works and concept albums, and hip hopera has also been used for works drawing more heavily on contemporary R&B than hip hop.
Contents
Etymology[edit]
The word hip hopera is a portmanteau of hip hop and opera. An early use of the phrase was a 1994 album of that name by Volume 10 (although not a concept album). The first dramatic production to use the term was a 2001 telefilm by MTV, titled Carmen: A Hip Hopera, directed by Robert Townsend and starring Beyoncé Knowles and Mekhi Phifer.
The word received increased use after 2005, in describing R&B singer R. Kelly's Trapped in the Closet series.[2]
Examples[edit]
- Graffiti Blues (1992), the first known rap musical to be produced[3][4]
- A Prince Among Thieves, a 1999 concept album by Prince Paul, telling the story of a young rapper struggling for a break
- Deltron 3030, a 2000 science fiction concept album
- Carmen: A Hip Hopera, a 2001 film based on the 19th-century opera
- Trapped in the Closet (2005–2012), a series of songs and videos by R. Kelly, recounting a string of events following a one-night stand
- Two of Lin-Manuel Miranda's musicals, In the Heights (2007) and Hamilton (2015), have been characterized as rap operas.
- The Incredible True Story by Logic
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Snorton, C. Riley (2009). "Trapped in the Epistemological Closet: Black Sexuality and the 'Ghettocentric Imagination'". Souls. 11 (2): 99. doi:10.1080/10999940902910115. ISSN 1099-9949.
- ^ Sumanth Gopinath (19 July 2013). The Ringtone Dialectic: Economy and Cultural Form. MIT Press. pp. 246–. ISBN 978-0-262-01915-6.
- ^ Felecia Piggott McMillan (2005). The North Carolina Black Repertory Company: 25 Marvtastic Years. Open Hand Publishing, LLC. p. 76. ISBN 978-0-940880-74-0.
- ^ Heffley, Lynne (November 7, 1992). "Rap Opera 'Graffiti' Addresses Plight of the Youth". Los Angeles Times.
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