Inka Rantakallio
I work as a postdoctoral reseacher at the University of Helsinki. My current project (Research Council of Finland, 2021–2024) focuses on hip hop, feminism, women rappers, gender, race, and whiteness.
I defended my PhD dissertation in Musicology at the University of Turku (2019). I hold an MA in Study of Religions, which I completed in the Intercultural Encounters Master's Programme at the University of Helsinki (2011). My PhD research dealt with Finnish underground rap and discourses of (new) spirituality and authenticity. My MA thesis from 2011 dealt with Muslim hip-hop identities.
I am also a music journalist/editor, DJ, TEDx speaker and feminist.
As a researcher, my affiliations include the activist music research association Suoni, the Nordic Hip-Hop Studies network, and European Hip-Hop Studies Network. I am a leading group member of the Finnish Youth Research Society's "Hip-Hop in Finland: Genres and Generations" Network. I am also a member of IASPM's (International Association for the Study of Popular Music) Nordic branch.
I have given several papers both in Finland and abroad related to hip hop, and have also lectured e.g. at the University of Turku, University of Helsinki, University of Jyväskylä, and in various popular settings across Finland.
My research interests include e.g. global hip hop scenes, gender & sexuality, feminism, underground music/club scenes, contemporary worldviews, and more generally the intersections of popular music and society.
I defended my PhD dissertation in Musicology at the University of Turku (2019). I hold an MA in Study of Religions, which I completed in the Intercultural Encounters Master's Programme at the University of Helsinki (2011). My PhD research dealt with Finnish underground rap and discourses of (new) spirituality and authenticity. My MA thesis from 2011 dealt with Muslim hip-hop identities.
I am also a music journalist/editor, DJ, TEDx speaker and feminist.
As a researcher, my affiliations include the activist music research association Suoni, the Nordic Hip-Hop Studies network, and European Hip-Hop Studies Network. I am a leading group member of the Finnish Youth Research Society's "Hip-Hop in Finland: Genres and Generations" Network. I am also a member of IASPM's (International Association for the Study of Popular Music) Nordic branch.
I have given several papers both in Finland and abroad related to hip hop, and have also lectured e.g. at the University of Turku, University of Helsinki, University of Jyväskylä, and in various popular settings across Finland.
My research interests include e.g. global hip hop scenes, gender & sexuality, feminism, underground music/club scenes, contemporary worldviews, and more generally the intersections of popular music and society.
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Papers by Inka Rantakallio
According to the web site’s official stance, if the lyrics and the artists follow the principles of Islam, then the music is permissible. Islamic hip hop is argued to be a positive alternative to mainstream hip hop, to strengthen a positive Muslim identity especially among Muslim youth by teaching Islam and to enhance a positive social change for example by fighting stereotypes. However, it becomes evident that many Muslim artists struggle to integrate Islam with artistic creativity as well as commercial success with religious beliefs. Muslims who make and listen to Islamic hip hop have to continuously defend the music to Muslims who shun it as forbidden and to non-Muslims who feel estranged by its religiousness. Muslim identity is constantly negotiated, multidimensional and situational.
Keywords:
rap music, Islam, music, Internet, identity
Drafts by Inka Rantakallio
Suomenkielisen räp-musiikin alkuajoista, 1980–90-luvun vaihteesta, muistetaan usein lähinnä huumoriyhtyeiksi leimatut artistit, kuten Raptori ja Pääkköset, joita vasten myöhemmät räp-artistit peilataan monesti uskottavammiksi, ”aidoiksi”, ja ”autenttisiksi”. Tällaiset räp-musiikin rajojen määrittelykysymykset siitä, mikä ylipäätään hyväksytään ”oikeaksi” räp-musiikiksi, artistin musiikillisen ansiokkuuden ja kantaaottavuuden korostaminen, sekä muut rajojen vetämiset esimerkiksi valtakulttuuriin kuuluvan räpin ja marginaalisempien räp-alakulttuurien välille, ovat olennaisia räpin autenttisuuteen liittyvässä keskustelussa. Näin vaikutetaan myös määritelmiin ”hyvästä” räp-musiikista.
Tässä artikkelissa tarkastelen suomalaista räp-lyriikkaa musiikin ja runouden leikkauspisteenä, eli miten suomalaisessa räp-musiikissa tietynlaiset lyriikan piirteet luovat räpistä omanlaistaan runoutta, sekä sitä, miten suomi-räppiä koskevassa kirjallisuudessa ja dokumenteissa on rakennettu diskurssia ”uskottavasta” ja ”aidosta” suomalaisesta räp-musiikista tietynlaisiin räp-lyriikan piirteisiin vedoten. Räp-sanoituksia tarkastellaan artikkelissa ensisijaisesti teksteinä, huomioiden kuitenkin samalla niiden soiva konteksti ja sen vaikutus sanojen tulkintaan. Aineistoesimerkkeinä artikkelissa hyödynnetään monipuolisesti eri räp-artistien sanoituksia. Erityisesti paneudun suomi-räpin omaperäisten marginaaliartistien, Euro Crackin ja Ameeban lyriikoihin, jotka osaltaan sekä rakentavat että kyseenalaistavat vallitsevia käsityksiä räp-lyriikan ”uskottavuudesta” ja ”aitoudesta”.
Books by Inka Rantakallio
The study’s data consist of field research (ten interviews, observation at concerts and in social media 2013–2017), and sonic and audiovisual material (recordings, three music videos). Theoretically, the study draws from religious studies theories on Western alternative spirituality and atheism, popular musicology, hip hop studies, and theories on musical authenticity. Methodologically, the study relies on ethnographic data collection, discourse analysis, and close reading.
The study indicates that while the four Finnish rappers emphasize the individuality of their worldviews, their views reflect a mixture of ideas and traditions present in contemporary Western religious landscape, including non-dualistic Eastern religions, New Age environmentalism, and scientific atheism. The artists also outline an aesthetic for their music and underground rap more generally as defying rap music, pop music, and music industry norms, as independent music making, and as drawing from alternative electronic genres and deeper philosophical content. The artists construct authenticity by claiming that their music reflects their personal worldviews and aesthetic preferences.
Further, the study increases understanding about the interrelationship of rap and postmodern worldviews and advances research on the connections between popular music and religion.
Talks by Inka Rantakallio
According to the web site’s official stance, if the lyrics and the artists follow the principles of Islam, then the music is permissible. Islamic hip hop is argued to be a positive alternative to mainstream hip hop, to strengthen a positive Muslim identity especially among Muslim youth by teaching Islam and to enhance a positive social change for example by fighting stereotypes. However, it becomes evident that many Muslim artists struggle to integrate Islam with artistic creativity as well as commercial success with religious beliefs. Muslims who make and listen to Islamic hip hop have to continuously defend the music to Muslims who shun it as forbidden and to non-Muslims who feel estranged by its religiousness. Muslim identity is constantly negotiated, multidimensional and situational.
Keywords:
rap music, Islam, music, Internet, identity
Suomenkielisen räp-musiikin alkuajoista, 1980–90-luvun vaihteesta, muistetaan usein lähinnä huumoriyhtyeiksi leimatut artistit, kuten Raptori ja Pääkköset, joita vasten myöhemmät räp-artistit peilataan monesti uskottavammiksi, ”aidoiksi”, ja ”autenttisiksi”. Tällaiset räp-musiikin rajojen määrittelykysymykset siitä, mikä ylipäätään hyväksytään ”oikeaksi” räp-musiikiksi, artistin musiikillisen ansiokkuuden ja kantaaottavuuden korostaminen, sekä muut rajojen vetämiset esimerkiksi valtakulttuuriin kuuluvan räpin ja marginaalisempien räp-alakulttuurien välille, ovat olennaisia räpin autenttisuuteen liittyvässä keskustelussa. Näin vaikutetaan myös määritelmiin ”hyvästä” räp-musiikista.
Tässä artikkelissa tarkastelen suomalaista räp-lyriikkaa musiikin ja runouden leikkauspisteenä, eli miten suomalaisessa räp-musiikissa tietynlaiset lyriikan piirteet luovat räpistä omanlaistaan runoutta, sekä sitä, miten suomi-räppiä koskevassa kirjallisuudessa ja dokumenteissa on rakennettu diskurssia ”uskottavasta” ja ”aidosta” suomalaisesta räp-musiikista tietynlaisiin räp-lyriikan piirteisiin vedoten. Räp-sanoituksia tarkastellaan artikkelissa ensisijaisesti teksteinä, huomioiden kuitenkin samalla niiden soiva konteksti ja sen vaikutus sanojen tulkintaan. Aineistoesimerkkeinä artikkelissa hyödynnetään monipuolisesti eri räp-artistien sanoituksia. Erityisesti paneudun suomi-räpin omaperäisten marginaaliartistien, Euro Crackin ja Ameeban lyriikoihin, jotka osaltaan sekä rakentavat että kyseenalaistavat vallitsevia käsityksiä räp-lyriikan ”uskottavuudesta” ja ”aitoudesta”.
The study’s data consist of field research (ten interviews, observation at concerts and in social media 2013–2017), and sonic and audiovisual material (recordings, three music videos). Theoretically, the study draws from religious studies theories on Western alternative spirituality and atheism, popular musicology, hip hop studies, and theories on musical authenticity. Methodologically, the study relies on ethnographic data collection, discourse analysis, and close reading.
The study indicates that while the four Finnish rappers emphasize the individuality of their worldviews, their views reflect a mixture of ideas and traditions present in contemporary Western religious landscape, including non-dualistic Eastern religions, New Age environmentalism, and scientific atheism. The artists also outline an aesthetic for their music and underground rap more generally as defying rap music, pop music, and music industry norms, as independent music making, and as drawing from alternative electronic genres and deeper philosophical content. The artists construct authenticity by claiming that their music reflects their personal worldviews and aesthetic preferences.
Further, the study increases understanding about the interrelationship of rap and postmodern worldviews and advances research on the connections between popular music and religion.