Surplus Vocalities; Narrative Identity Construction within Australian Gutter Rap

This presentation explores the intersection of identity and Australian hip hop, focusing on gutter rap—an abrasive style of music characterised by lo-fi production, unlicensed beats, and harsh, nasally vocalisations. As a genre, its distinctly non-commercial origins can be traced back to the "Sydney Searchez," a hip-hop trio whose name refers to the elusive "searcher" subculture, currently associated with Western Sydney's public housing communities since the mid-2000s. Drawing on Howard Becker's (1982) concept of "art worlds" and Steven Threadgold's (2020) Bourdieuian conception of 'affective affinities,' I examine how gutter rap serves as a medium for underclass identity construction amidst issues of race, gender, and social class, creating new musical socialities in collaborative low-income social fields.

Methodologically, the presentation begins with a historical overview of Western Sydney hip hop and musical identity formation, followed by a narrative-oriented theoretical approach to delve deeper into case studies of key gutter rap songs by several artists within this musical field, situated around semi-structured interviews. In this respect, I illustrate how narrative techniques deployed by gutter rappers reify self-identity and challenge stigma surrounding the neoliberal 'underclass' discourse, creating counter-signifying practices that reflect distinct forms of 'micro-resistance' within highly stratified socioeconomic spaces. As such, the presentation aims to illuminate the complex social dynamics at play and underscores the genre's significance in understanding contemporary post-colonial Australian identity from a 'ground-up' perspective.