Jam(s) of the Day – Mapping Social Networks and Technology in the Rap Game

Yesterday a friend of mine out in San Francisco sent me a link to this song called “Hit Me On Twitter” by Mistah F.A.B., and it sent me off on a train of thought about the use of various social networking sites in recent rap jams. Even more broadly, it made me start to think about all of the songs that heavily feature some new, cool, technology in the chorus. Does this sort of usage cause a rise or decline in popularity of the social network/technology? Or does it only occur once the social network/technology has reached a certain societal saturation level? I honestly think that it might be possible to reconstruct the evolution of technology, and the popularity of that technoolgy within the culture, by “reading” rap songs.

I’m sure that this has already been contemplated by various stoned white dudes over the years, and I’m not about to try to get into it on a Thesis Paper level of research or detail, but here’s a couple of examples (in text or video) of what I’m getting at, starting with pagers, just to get the conversation started:

Big L – Lyric from “Ebonics”:

“Hit me on the hip means page me”

Lil Scrappy & G’$ Up – Cell Phone Watch:

J-Shin ft. T-Pain – Send Me an Email:

(Anyone who watches A Shot At Love on MTV will notice the Tila Tequila cameo in there)

Brandon T. Jackson ft. T-Pain (?) – What’s Yo Myspace:

(haha I love the part where he starts naming hot celebrity females that he wants to become friends with on Myspace: “Lindsay Lohan, put me in your Top 8!”…also this always comes up as T-Pain, but that just doesn’t sound right to me. Dude ALREADY has a song about emails… one is enough)

Mistah F.A.B. – Hit Me On Twitter:

And honestly, I compiled that list just off the top of the dome. I think this needs to be explored further. Someone want to call up Marcyliena Morgan at Harvard and get her on the case? I smell a best-seller here.

Know any other songs that would fit the bill? Then post it in the comments, already!

-Drew