From Appropriation to Translation: Localizing Rap Music to Finland

Abstract

This article explores the Finnish rap-music scene by using a sample of music videos released between 1998 and 2010. The main aim is to investigate how rap music has been transformed and localized to fit the Finnish context. The topics of the songs (lyrics), the staging of the music videos (visualization), and musical background influences were categorized and analyzed. I argue that rap's localization has not proceeded in a straightforward fashion in Finland, but consists of multiple parallel and intertwining processes. Rap artists balance between the origins of the hip-hop culture (appropriation), the local contexts (localization), and the increasing trend of mixing music genres (hybridization). The result is a diverse Finnish rap-music scene, in which artists carry different identifications and create links with specific audiences.