Two Corpus-Based Approaches to Rap Flow

Abstract

This commentary compares and contrasts the two articles within this issue that describe a corpus-based approach to rap music (Condit-Schultz, 2016; Ohriner 2016). Beyond their technical differences, these studies mutually converge on the concept of "flow" as a window into the technical problems of analyzing rap music, and the results of the two studies complement one another. The comparison of these essays allows a unique insight into the methodological alternatives available within corpus-based research. I also attempt to briefly contextualize these essays within the history of the field, and to outline what I believe their significance to be as contributions to the musicology of rap music.