Braggadocio (rap)

Braggadocio is a type of rapping where the MC is "bragging and boasting"[1] and can include subjects such as physicality, fighting ability, financial wealth, sexual prowess, or coolness.[2] It is often heavily used in battle rapping,[1] and braggadocio lyrics can range from simply stating how skillful one is to employing complex literary techniques.[1]

The book How to Rap shows an example of complex braggadocio through Eric B. & Rakim's track "No Omega" from their Let the Rhythm Hit 'Em album.[3] MCs such as Murs, Guerilla Black, and Esoteric also suggest reasons in How to Rap for why braggadocio is so common in rapping, ranging from competitiveness in the old-school hip hop ethic, to the struggles of "young, black males in America".[3] MCs also feel that braggadocio is an important aspect of hip hop and rapping and that it can also be mixed with other topics to good effect.[4]

Rap's braggadocio—unlike other bragging by young men about sex, wealth, and physical strength—can also be about the rapper's artistic or poetic ability.[5]

The term did not originate as a rap term. The origins are very much older. The term is noted as having originated from the late 16th century, and denotes a boaster. It is from Braggadocchio, the name of a braggart in Spenser's The Faerie Queene. It is a composite of the word brag or braggart, and the Italian suffix -occio, denoting something large of its kind. Refer to the Oxford Dictionary for more details.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Edwards, Paul, 2009, How to Rap: The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC, Chicago Review Press, p. 25.
  2. ↑ Smitherman, Geneva (2000). Talkin That Talk: Language, Culture, and Education in African America. London: Routledge. p. 219. ISBN 0-415-20864-5. Retrieved 11/07/2009. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  3. 1 2 Edwards, Paul, 2009, How to Rap: The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC, Chicago Review Press, p. 26.
  4. ↑ Edwards, Paul, 2009, How to Rap: The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC, Chicago Review Press, p. 27.
  5. ↑ Bradley, Adam (2009). Book of Rhymes: The Poetics of Hip Hop. New York: Basic Civitas Books. p. 189. ISBN 0-465-00347-8.
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