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Rhyme or Reason: Framing Lyrics as Rap versus Poetry and its Effects on Aesthetic Emotion
Location: East Ballroom
Mentor: Dr. Simon Howard
Previous research has shown there are biases against rap music, where people perceive it as a higher threat to society and more offensive when compared to other genres with similar themes. These biases have consequences, as rappers are taken to court and tried over the subject matter in their verses. A common practice in legal settings to resolve these prejudices is to justify the artistry of the songs by analyzing the lyrical content as written poetry. However, little psychological research has assessed whether stripping the lyrics away from the beat and vocal delivery has an effect on the aesthetic emotions evoked by the piece. This is important to consider due to existing research demonstrating that music and poetry evoke different emotions in audiences when representing the same content. To begin to examine this relationship, we had participants either listen to a rap verse or read the lyrics as poetry, and gauged their aesthetic responses. Results revealed that listening to rap music evoked more aesthetically pleasing emotions, whereas the poetry form was seen to be more ugly and intellectually challenging. This indicates that the framing in which lyrical content is presented influences emotional responses. Results, implications, and future directions are discussed.
