Catherine Shieh
The French language Hip-Hop genre has undergone one of the most interesting and complex transformations amongst other genres of music in the past few decades. In Montreal, the rap scene reflects the city’s location within North America (predominantly English) and inside the province of Quebec (dominated by French), as well as other diverse immigrant communities. Sarkar and Allen studied the multilingual code-switching in Quebec rap and cited in an interview:
“Montreal style… is the only place where you have a cultural mix like that, whether it’s English, [Haitian] Creole, then French, but all the same as Quebec French” (2007).
The mixture of language in the music industry has contributed to the rise of a new unique subculture known as Franglais (French + English) and the French traditionalists of Montreal are afraid the bilingual nature of these songs and its ideologies could threaten the future of the French language and culture within the province.
Among the bilingual rappers of this generation are Loud, FouKi and the Dead Obies. They have received backlash from columnists such as Mathieu Bock-Coté from Le Journal de Montréal who says, “Franglais is a slippery slope toward Anglicization. These bourgeois-bohemian adolescents who think speaking English or Franglais will make Montreal into a New York are deluded because it is the French language that gives the city its cachet” (Soupcoff, 2020). Bilingual artists rapping in Franglais are known to face serious political and social challenges. Quebec’s music industry is heavily subsidized by the Provincial government, but only if artists and record companies are producing music in French. Some groups have lost subsidies from the Provincial government for Francophone artists because it did not reach at least 70% of its lyrics in French. Many rising artists severely depend on these types of grants and need to carefully ensure they meet the French word count requirements in their song. For the sake of language and cultural preservation, bilingual rappers are constantly rejected and are treated unfairly by Commercial French radio stations.
For bilingual artists, rapping in multiple languages allows for more creativity. In terms of rhymes, it opens the world to more lyrical possibilities and a better rhythmic flow. In my opinion, Montreal being one of the biggest multicultural cities of our country, the music should reflect the state of our modern cultural evolution and space. Sadly, the music industry is still dominated by cultural elites, that are white Francophone artists, and they will continue to suppress the rise of this subculture. Music has long been used by many as a tool to expose social injustices. By restricting and limiting an artist’s freedom to express as they desire, are we preventing the evolution of sociocultural growth?
References
Hornberger, N. H., & McKay, S. (2010). Sociolinguistics and language education. Multilingual Matters.
Sarkar, M. and Allen, D. (2007) Hybrid identities in Quebec hip-hop: Language, territory, and ethnicity in the mix. Journal of Language, Identity, and Education 6 (2), 117–130.
Soupcoff, M. (2020). Marni Soupcoff: What’s worse – unilingual labelling or contracting … National Post. Retrieved September 22, 2022, from https://nationalpost.com/opinion/marni-soupcoff-whats-worse-unilingual-labelling-or-contracting-covid-19
Van Herk, G. (2018). What is sociolinguistics? 2e Chichester, West Sussex, UK: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Hi Catherine! French hip-hop in Montreal is fascinating. As you mentioned, not only does this genre include lyrics in English, but also Haitian Creole and French, and this sometimes all at once. This type of code-switching reflects the linguistic diversity of Montreal where multiple languages are used, due to the high rate of immigration, but also where French and English remain dominant. It is not uncommon for Montrealers to use both French and English within the same conversation, or to code-switch in more than just these two languages given that their interlocutors are able to understand. I don’t think artists are wrong in wanting to represent this code-switching, but I don’t think the provincial government is wrong in wanting to protect the French language either. Perhaps, a compromise is in order. Good post!
-Victoria
Hey Catherine!
I think your post is very interesting because it concerns language and art from a musical perspective. I agree with you that Montreal is in a unique position because of the strong multicultural influences, and that as a result artists have the possibility to integrate their cultural background into their art. I think it very valuable that young artists want to include their cultural roots into song, especially if they can find a way to merge their ancestral language with French, the official language of their province. I do not want to hinder artistic progress, but I do on the other hand understand the need to encourage Francophone artists. Francophones have been discriminated against for decades by monolingual anglophones, and I believe that encouraging French lyrics can help francophones maintain their cultural identity. One problem is that it is tempting to want to sing in English because most of the music we hear on the radio comes from popular anglophone singers. However, I think the government wants to give incentives to younger artists to resist succumbing to the dominating anglophone music industry. Some francophone singers may believe they have no choice but to turn to English lyrics to succeed, but with government support, they can continue using their first language of French throughout their musical career.
– Marina Koutsis
Hi Catherine! I completely agree with you on this unique perspective on ‘bilingual music’ in Montreal.
Even so, it’s difficult to say how Montreal’s bilingualism has influenced musical existence.
I also believe that the rhythm of this interaction should be found in various communication tools in the future, along with a variety of SLA options in this bilingual context.
Di Niu
Hi Catherine!
This is a very insightful post. Montreal is a definite hub for multilingualism and how it has made its way into the art that comes out of our city. I find this allows for the youth of Montreal to have a chance to identify with and see their languages and cultures in music. Music is indeed a great way to share culture and language!
It also reflects the reality of the language spoken in the city. It is really neat to be able to see our constant code-switching language that is spoken, also known as, Franglais, used in music.
Alison D.