![]() Gilbers is adding the finishing touches to his thesis in the Homebase studio at the Simplon pop music venue. ‘2Pac absorbed and adopted each and every West Coast trait so thoroughly that he ended up sounding like a West Coast rapper on steroids.’ ‘2Pac was clearly making a point by ensuring that he sounded more western than those originally from the West.’ He was clearly making a point by ensuring that he sounded more western than those originally from the West.’ Gilbers plays me two different fragments and it’s hard to believe that I’m listening to the same person in both. This rapid surge coincided with his signing of a major contract with Death Row Records, the largest hip hop label in the west, at the time when his rivalry with the East Coast scene was at its height. The change was gradual at first, but speeded up suddenly around 1995, when his vowels became much longer – longer, even, than those of the original West Coasters. ‘I discovered that after he moved, his vowels got longer, more like the vowels of other rappers on the West Coast. Gilbers soon realized that there was a wealth of source material available to him: hundreds of music recordings and interviews that were easy to sort into chronological order, which meant that he was able to trace the development of 2Pac’s speech in minute detail. ![]() So, I thought I would look at how 2Pac used speech as an expression of his new identity.’ His trademark: extended vowels You represent your neighbourhood, your city. ‘Within hip hop, it matters hugely where you come from. At the age of 24, by which time he had become a figurehead of the West Coast scene, he publicly antagonized the rap scene in New York and found himself being vilified by the very people he had grown up with. For a rapper, this was a move as drastic and controversial as a top-ranking football player defecting to a rival team in another city. Having grown up in New York, he moved to California when he was 17. For 2Pac, these connections were even more significant than for other rappers. ![]() In hip hop, language, culture and identity are always closely intertwined. Wouldn’t it be great if he could combine his personal interests with linguistic research? The track Thug Style, in which 2Pac (stage name of Tupac Shakur) raps about belonging to neither the West Coast scene nor the East Coast scene, gave him an idea. Gilbers, who, as well as being a linguist, is also a rapper, was looking for an inspiring topic for his doctoral research. Text: Eelco Salverda, UG Communication Office/Photos: Henk Veenstra ambassador Pete Hoekstra – of the relevance of his research. He had to work hard to convince others – including U.S. His research topic, namely the way in which the famous rapper adjusted his speech to forge a new identity for himself, was initially met with scepticism. 13 September is also the date on which Steven Gilbers will be awarded his doctorate. 2Pac went down in history as the Che Guevara of hip hop. 13 September marks the 25th anniversary of rapper 2Pac’s death, following an assassination attempt.
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