A major point that I feel is necessary to address when it comes to hip-hop scholarship is the question of the subjective expansion upon the musical material, and the systematization of the analytical procedures when attempting to understanding rap's musical fabric. In short, is it ethically sound to use standard notation when it comes to analyzing rap music? Hip-hop scholars have been debating and slaving over the difficult question of deciding which are the best analytical and notation-based languages to use in the study of rap music.
A major area of study is rap "flow" mechanics, and the rhythmic idiosyncrasies of rappers (Adams, 2009), although an earlier article from 2007 pointed out the difficulty in cogently deciphering the relationship between text and music, and how best to understand this symbiotic relationship. Essentially, what is the relationship between text and music, and how can this be understood more coherently? Little has been definitively 'proven' on whether the music or text in rap (music) takes precedent in the analytical process. However, judging by the relatively absent amount of research on rap music's "musical" side, it can be relatively ascertained that many scholars are too heavily focused on the systematic deconstruction of rap texts, flows, and the sociological angle, and not enough concerned about instrumental considerations. As a Musicological student interested in this side, I am interested in seeing how the music of Russian hip-hop can be better understood as something worth studying, not as a compliment to larger considerations but something valuable in its own right. Thus, when I had found out about the Russian project "Hip-Hop Classica", an orchestra who deals with Old School Russian hip-hop, I knew that I'd stumbled upon something quite promising.
According to their VKontakte page (1), they describe themselves as providing, "instrumental cover versions of the iconic compositions of the Russian-language rap scene". The orchestra in question is the Globalis Symphony Orchestra, an orchestra formed in 1938 under the direction of conductor Konstantin Krimts, a well known conductor in the realm of popular music cross-overs. It is recorded in his obituary (2) that he worked with popular artists such as Zemfira (rock singer), Nikolai Baskov (cross-over artist), Valentina Tolkunova (Soviet/Russian singer), and had been instrumental in his participation in the "Invasion" rock festival.
The orchestra prides itself on its ability to "discover new forms of presenting modern as well as classical musical material" (3). Their projects are incredibly diverse, ranging from purely classical projects such as their 2009 project, "Music of the Great Dynasty" (4) (music of the Tsarist epoch), their 2010 project "King and the Jester" as part of that year's Invasion rock festival, as well as their 50th Anniversary of Viktor Tsoi performance, held in 2012, where they played alongside Oxxxymiron in a large-scale, audio-visual display (5). They also have four different formations of the group, a chamber group, a quartet, a "symphojazz" group, and a formal symphonic group. On top of these, they profess to having several more "small ensembles", and their list of accomplishments is extensive to the say the least. They profess that the main objective behind the orchestra's interest into hip-hop was prompted by the altruistic desire to excite people unfamiliar with hip-hop music about the workings of the genre. As they write, "The concept of the project originated as a musical event that could inspire the public, passionate about rap, with an interest in academic music."
The arranger behind the orchestrated rap music for the musicians is the Russian composer and arranger Irina Shreiber (6), whose relationship to music first began within the world of formal music education (7). First starting at Kursk Musical College, progressing to the Kemerovo State University of Culture and Arts, she began arrange pieces for chamber groups, later branching into film music, video game music, as well as children's content for toys and online marketing. However, she would eventually find herself involved with Hip-Hop Classica, and in an interview she notes the particularities of this position:
“It is not difficult, having knowledge of harmony and experience in improvisation. It is more difficult to grasp the main idea, the line of a rapper's composition. After all, the main focus is on speech. The work must be recognizable."
On July 22nd, after nearly two years of work, Globalis Symphony Orchestra released the first audio release of their instrumental works. Included on the release are five tracks which use songs from prominent 'Old School' names like Detsl, Caspian Cargo, Kasta, Max Korzh, and 25/17. More work must be done to understand the implications of this project, and the seminality of Globalis' work. I am excited to potentially write an article on the history of this group, their relationship with hip-hop music, and the analytical possibilities available via the reorchestration of hip-hop for instrumental forces. At present, outside of Anna Vilenskaya's work at ИМИ, there are no other groups seriously comprehending Russian rap music as a real musical style to be understood and conceptualized like any other. Therefore, it is time for Academic discourse to study how reorchestration effects "popular music" appreciation.
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