Computer Technology

At the start of the century, the fact that Nelly’s “ Body on Me♫ ” reached the top of the charts in the R & B genre is a prime example of the advancements made in music technology by the hip-hop culture.

The integration of other African American popular music genres can sometimes make it difficult to place a song in a specific category—genres blur. However, the chief aim of hip-hop music identifies “Blackness” as a movement of a people.

As you listen to “Body on Me,” you will discover this song to contain an emcee (00:26–00:47 ), a singer (02:34–02:56 ), and the rhythmic and melodic flow from the rapper.

Structurally, and recalling the Ryan Leslie video, the introduction contains a repeated two-bar phrase. In addition, the second measure serves as an embedded motif in the hookAn appealing melodic phrase that drives the message in the song and is often important to a popular song's commercial success. of the piece. A hook can be identified as a phrase that drives the message in the song, much like a chorus that sums up the content of a verse.

The guitar enters at (00:18 ), and the intro is layered. Notice that the rupture occurs from (00:24-00:27 ) and builds up to the downbeat of the verse, sung by the emcee. From 00:27-00:33 , , the same material from the introduction has become four-bar groupings. Meaning, the idea notated above is repeated, and therefore, creates the standard four-measure phrase structure. At (00:40 ), we hear the embedded motif on the text, "body on me." Finally, we hear Nelly’s flow (00:49 – 01-21 ).

We will witness more of this type of integration, among other elements, as we continue to explore Black music in the twenty-first century.