Ever wondered who used the word ‘beef’ first? Or which American city’s rappers use the most polysyllabic words (who hasn’t wondered that?). Well, Tahir Hemphill is going to start charting all the answers in his swish project ‘The Hip Hop Word Count: A Searchable Rap Almanac’:
The Hip-Hop Word Count (HHWC) is a searchable ethnographic database built from the lyrics of over 40,000 Hip-Hop songs from 1979 to present day.
Head here for full details. Can’t wait for the dancehall almanac.
[via Dutty Artz]
