In recent decades, technological developments that have increased communication channels among cultures on a global scale have contributed to the emergence and spread of various music genres. One of these is rap music, along with the hip-hop culture that has developed with it. Rap music, which often expresses reactions to social conditions and to a quest for identity, holds a significant place in the formation of subcultures, particularly among youth. Due to its rebellious ethos, rap music can influence the attitudes of young people toward drug use, in both positive and negative ways. Drug users, who break away from the dominant cultural norms of society, form a distinct drug-based subculture characterized by its own language, clothing styles, lifestyles, and musical preferences. Rap music, which is the focus of this study, is considered a subcultural form of music making with a unique identity. This research analyzes rap songs that both encourage and criticize the drug subculture. A total of fourteen songs, seven promoting and seven opposing substance use, were selected and analyzed using the content analysis method, with reference to their availability on YouTube. In conclusion, the study compiled statements from both groups that either reflect or criticize drug use.
This article critiques traditional Southeastern European1 music history for its reliance on Eurocentric, binary, and human-centered paradigms. Proposing a framework rooted in posthumanism and New Materialism, the study reconceptualizes music as a dynamic assemblage of distributed agency between human and non-human actors. Central to this approach are Karen Barad's concept of intra-action-where musical entities are co-created through their entanglement-and the notion of entangled memories, which privileges embodied and oral traditions over static archives. By applying these concepts, the article challenges rigid national narratives and highlights the region's music history as a continuous process of hybridity and cross-border exchange. Methodologically, the author advocates for multi-sited ethnography and collaborative performance to capture these complex musical ecologies. This approach offers a more inclusive, noncentric lens for understanding the interconnected cultural landscape of Southeastern Europe.
In the recentyears the theme of migration has received significant attention worldwide becoming a global process. Migration can be categorized as temporary or permanent. This particular study encompasses both modalities that are in intrinsic relationship with social and economic factors. Furthermore, an analysis of migration through the prism of culture, tradition and identity provides ground for investigating transformation of cultural models and their characteristics. The present research is specifically focused on the Macedonian population. To facilitate a more competent insight and comparative analysis two distinct periods, which were characterized by substantial migratory movements, have been observed: the mid-20th century (1930s-1940s) and the early 21st century (2010s-2020s), The selected periods have consequently determined the choice of geographical areas, specifically countries that were "desired" primary destinations during each respective period. To enhance understanding, the analysis was further constricted and focused on two urban centers that hosted or currently host large and significant Macedonian diasporic communities: Belgrade and Sydney. The most significant processes and effects, resulting from the undertaking of Macedonians in these researched environments, have been established through the actions and activities of migrants and the diaspora community. The intangible culture serves as a pivotal category with a specific emphasis on dance. The body, a fundamental vehicle and embodiment of cultural characteristics, is adopted as an analytical unit in this analysis. The investigation of the dancing body is justified by identification of the inextricable link between identity and culture. Based on the obtained findings, the research defines models that reflect all characteristics of the studied groups, their distinguishing forms, as well as their ultimate functions. This approach provides an expanded understanding of Macedonian culture and identity transmission processes within the countries of immigration.
This paper examines the evolution of Kosovo's song festivals through the perspective of two pivotal events: Akordet e Kosov & euml;s (organized by Radio Television of Prishtina) and the RTK Song Festival (organized by Radio Television of Kosovo). Though both originated from the same media institution, their transformation from the former to the latter was decisively shaped by Kosovo's political history. The study focuses on four interrelated aspects: the narrative of cultural continuity, the transformation of song festivals, their role in constructing Kosovo's musical heritage, and their broader socio-cultural significance. Beginning with Akordet e Kosov & euml;s in 1963-the first major Albanian song festival in the former Yugoslavia, the paper traces its role in Kosovo's music landscape. Special attention is given to the socio-political circumstances that made the history of festivals, and indeed Kosovo's musical development as a whole, uniquely specific, being largely conditioned by non-cultural factors such as political upheavals and social transformations. Methodologically, the study is primarily qualitative and historical, employing documentary and content analysis to identify patterns, themes, and contextual factors that have shaped the development of the festival. his paper investigates the roots, development, and discontinuity of the first festival and the emergence of the second, at once similar, yet profoundly different. Ultimately, the study of these festivals offers key insights into the dynamic interplay between cultural expression, political shifts, the ongoing formation of Kosovo's artistic identity, and future perspectives.
The Ottoman Empire reigned in the Balkans from the second half of the 14th until the beginning of the 20th century. During their reign of over 500 years in Serbia alone, almost all aspects of life and tangible and intangible cultural heritage were strongly influenced by the Ottomans and the Turkish, in general, oriental way of life. These living circumstances and constant socio-political challenges greatly influenced the national and ethnic identities of Serbs, Albanians, Turks, Roma, and Gorani, residing in and outside of the territory of today's Republic of Serbia, leading to political and turbulent events throughout history. The current territorial and ethnic disputes in the province of Kosovo and Metohija are a result of the last wars and conflicts in the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the 1990s and early 2000s. The impact of acculturation and cultural influences among diverse ethnic groups due to migration and socio-political situations has long been a topic of interest for researchers. This has led to a multifaceted perspective on ethnicity, identity, and tangible and intangible cultural heritage. This article will concentrate on an ethnochoreogenetical exploration and movement analysis of the dances K & imath;l & imath;& ccedil;, Kala & ccaron;, Kala & ccaron;ojna, and Kolloqoj from the area of Prizren, which Turks, Serbs, Albanians, Roma, Aromanians, and Gorani have practised while presenting that ethnic and national identity through common dance history and practice can be fluid and hybrid, particularly in politically disputed and disrupted regions such as the province of Kosovo and Metohija.
