ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the language of rap texts that should be analysed as representative of a socially inevitable linguistic handicap, rather than as a form of poetic expression. Far from containing any aesthetic value, the words used by rap artists are limited to a sort of social symptom in which societal failures and linguistic deficiencies are exposed. For many young people living in France's most deprived neighbourhoods, rap music represents a way of liberating the language that they have felt banned from using by the educational institutions they attend, a way of reclaiming their right to free speech. Rap texts enact multiple linguistic transgressions compared with the lexical, grammatical and prosodic norms proscribed by the Academie Francaise. As such, the production requires effort, time, analysis and critical reflection which undoubtedly explains why so many rap artists usually need several years in order to create their work.
