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Yanking It (or ‘Pimps Don’t Fake Accents’)

article 0091 added 27.02.05 words Nik Drou

I never tried to pretend I had an accent that I never had” Public Enemy ‘Reggie Jax’
I got inspired to talk about this after finding out about a great website called www.heroesofukhiphop.com, a fairly comprehensive reference guide to British Hip-Hop from 1985 to about 1994. After a time spent flicking through the many audio samples that are available on the site, the main thought that occurred to me (aside from how insane Hip-Hop production used to be) was “Christ! They didn’t half yank off a lot in those days, didn’t they?” It’s one of the things that British Hip-Hop would often get ridiculed for in the outside press, and in my opinion was one of the contributing factors to the scene’s lack of proper representation in the media. However, it’s hopelessly naļve to think that the fine art of imitating America began with British Hip-Hop. British Popular Culture, as well as the majority of the rest of the World, has been heavily influenced by the output from America, purely due to the fact it gets more coverage around said world in comparison with any other country (but that’s, like, sooooo obvious really). A large amount of British pop acts sing with American accents (most explicitly with the likes of Busted, but also with more ‘legitimate’ groups such as Ash and Lost Prophets) to the point that you don’t really notice anymore, and TV shows like Coupling do borrow heavily from American sitcoms like Friends and Will and Grace, such as their garish colour schemes and absence of ethnic minorities. But I guess the real point is, is this really as bad a thing as some might make out? Does it really matter? Or is it an indicator of something far worse?

Busted Bringing the case back to UK Hip-Hop, you could probably split Yank-offs (that’s the term I’m using and I’m sticking to it) into two separate categories: There are those where it basically amounts to how they pronounce their words, and is mainly a result of them growing up with American Hip-Hop, using it as an overt reference point for how they should sound when rapping. They are either unaware that they’re even doing it, or feel it’s unimportant, as they’ve grown comfortable with their own delivery. Then there are those where it’s a more conscious decision, with them not only imitating the accent but copying mannerisms, patterns and subject matter. Often, the reason given for this behaviour is as a way of appealing to an American audience by giving them something familiar, and that ultimately they’re doing the scene a service. This idea may have some truth in it (you only have to look at the Americanised music videos of practically every UK Act trying to break through) but it’s a rather bleak summation that the only way we can appeal to Americans is to sound and act like them. Another reason I’ve heard is that they want to stick to an ‘authentic’ Hip-Hop sound, seeing as though America is the birthplace of Hip-Hop, what could be more authentic than that, right? Besides, not everyone raps the way they talk, and there are many out there who sound like they’re from London when they really aren’t. Plus, isn’t the whole thing meant to be in some way a performance and therefore not taken too literally? Or is that just a trite liberalism subverted by cynical types hoping to get fame by sucking on another man’s style? Hmm.

This kinda leads back to where I started about old school UK emcees mostly sounding American. It’s rather difficult to talk about that with any real authority as I wasn’t there at the time, although I do have a vague recollection of listening to Rebel MC and Silver Bullet round my cousin’s house in 91 (“20 seconds to complyyyyyy!!”). But the accent is a factor that a lot of older Hip-Hop heads conveniently brush over when they put the old rose-tinted specs on regarding how great it was. You may have complaints about how fake the scene is now, but surely it was even more fake then? At least now, any act attempting to yank-off tends to be shunted into a niche corner of the market, leaving the Jehsts and the Braintaxes to put their shit out without really being affected by them if they wished, although Yank-off Acts such Big Brovaz still manage to get more press attention and chart success (at least they did at one point), but then they aren’t really Hip-Hop so we don’t have to worry about them. Whereas in the late 80’s/early 90’s, the percentage of British acts with American accents was too great for the average fan to really avoid it. Of course, the difference is that, when it came to Hip-Hop, it was arguably a more naļve time. For many the appropriation of the accent was no different from the appropriation of dress code, Hip-Hop phrases or B-Boy stances. It was simply how people sounded if they rapped; at least that was the perception for many. Since that time, British Hip-Hop as a scene became defined enough to have its own signifiers that are not only separate from those in America, but firmly grounded in the reality of British life. This is why nowadays Yanking is seen as more of a crime, as it undermines the attempt by British Hip-Hop to be taken seriously in the eyes of the media as a valid cultural expression.

Big Brovaz A small little factor that can’t be forgotten in all this is of course the old Stark, Staring Mad American Cultural Hegemony/World Domination Conspiracy Factor, sweeping the globe as we speak (not that I’m paranoid or anything). Without getting into politics, this basically amounts to America controlling everything, running amok putting McDonalds everywhere, bombing the places they sold weapons to, and generally becoming the new red guy with horns for every post-9/11 born-again Revolutionary Emcee who thinks he’s Ben Elton, only even less funny. So where does the Yank-off fit in all this? Well, if they’re not being the aforementioned Revolutionary (and therefore refusing to twig that all-important irony), then they simply serve as a mere symptom of all this. A reminder of how that little hobby of yours that meant so much has been co-opted practically beyond redemption by the aspects it was initially a reaction against. In this current climate, America is arguably more resilient towards influence from other cultures than ever before, meaning outside Acts tend to need to correspond with American trends and styles in order to gain success there. Saying that though, a lot of acts that attempt this fail miserably (Craig David? Daniel Bedingfield? Atomic Kitten? I watch too much TV).

There are still those who believe that a fake accent is not enough to dismiss an act outright that might otherwise have something worthwhile to say, or at least pretty good beats. Speaking for myself, a fake accent puts up an invisible barrier between me and the act. This is compounded by the fact it’s usually only there through either ignorance or cynicism towards art, two qualities that I don’t admire. I can always find an act out there who doesn’t fake their accent in some way, so we don’t need to think about it really. I’m also not too keen on those with fake London accents, or even exaggerated regional accents, though a part of that is through the need for emcees to be vocally extroverted or dominating when grabbing the Mic, stressing their vowels and so on. So, to try and wrap this up briefly, the trouble is not so much with people Yanking it, as there will presumably always be people doing that. The trouble is in how readily they are accepted by the media and the record buyers as culturally legitimate. Don’t be too quick to judge people, but don’t get suckered in either. We already compromise too much in our day-to-day lives, which the music is, to an extent, meant to be a respite to. The last thing we need in our music is another dose of compromise, especially one as unnecessary as this, and I’m out.
- Nik Drou