New Online Reference: Rap Stats, Interactive Tool to Plot Frequency of Words Appearing in Rap Lyrics

RapStats was recently launched as a new service from the people who bring us the RapGenius database of lyrics for more than 50,000 rap tracks back to 1988.
From the Rap Genius Blog:

Rap’s history has been traced many ways — through books, documentaries, official compilations, DJ mixes, university archives, even parties. But until now you haven’t been able to look at the development of the genre through its building blocks: the actual words used by emcees.
We introduce Rap Stats, a tool to plot the frequency of words appearing in rap lyrics from 1988 through the present day.
Rap Stats lets you explore, in surprising detail, the histories of regional genres, slang, trends, and more.

Read the Complete Blog Post (Useful and Interesting!)

A Bit More From the WSJ:

The database, free and intuitive to search, produces feverline charts in Rap Genius’s black interface. You can search for individual words or phrases up to three words long, and you can search for multiple words or phrases at once by separating your terms with commas. You can also share graphs via Facebook and Twitter.
The new feature is more than just a fun diversion—it’s a tool for gathering and sharing cultural evidence, says Shawn Setaro, editor-in-chief of Rap Genius. “You can see the rise of regional trends going national, and changes in subject matter over time” as displayed in the charts, Mr. Setaro says.

Direct to Rap Stats

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