I have random ways of thinking about things. Most of the time I keep them to myself because I don’t want people to know how deep my weirdness goes. 😎 For example, I think that Narrative Inquiry is to Phenomenology as Cardi B is to Nicki Minaj. 👀 Hear me out!

When Nicki started, the hype was all about (yes her body 🙄) but more about her skills as lyricist. She was on songs with mostly men folk who were on your favorite Ashy’s top 5. We didn’t know much about her life (current or past) beyond what was curated by her label and PR team. What I mostly heard was that Nicki deserved her “success” because she had the “skills” to back it up. She was a “real” rapper.

Cardi, on the other hand, one could argue that her “success” was highly based on the public connecting with her on a personal level. (Read: we know ALL her business. 😉) We know her, we like her and we are all rooting for her to win. We know her name is Belcalis. We watched her every week on LHHNY, she’s from the South Bronx, she pays cash for cars and trucks she can’t actually drive, her daughter’s name is Kulture. My point is that we know more than Cardi’s rapping abilities.

Now sure you can find out more info about Onika. The information just wasn’t a normal part of her brand until more recently. The conversation was about if she was a real rapper.

Okay, my point? 🤷🏾‍♀️

In simple terms...

Phenomenology comes down to defining a thing. In this case, what is a rapper and would we qualify Nicki as a real rapper. We review songs and Nicki’s features and compare it to a general definition to determine if she’s a legitimate rapper. Thus, this also reinforces our definition of what a rapper is.

Narrative Inquiry is more about the context. Yes, we are interested in rappers AND we want to know more about who they are, their motivations, histories, fears, desires, where did they grow up, who are they dating, etc. Because ALL those things influences who Cardi is as a rapper. Not just her flows or use of metaphors.

Umm...yup. If you’re interested in learning more, I’ll be hosting a live video on Sunday at 11:30 talking (in a more academic manner) about phenomenology and narrative inquiry. Put your email below and I’ll send you the details. 🤓