Genre is a way to categorize and make sense the types of works of music. With a given musical genre there are expectations from the listener that include theme, character types and sound.
There are artists that bridge two genres or have influences from genres that are not their own. Dermot Kennedy falls into the singer songwriter genre. When asked to describe him, I usually say that he is an Irish singer songwriter with folk influences. That definition does not encompass his music entirely. In interviews he is often asked about his hip-hop influences. Most people would not ask an Irish guy who is holding a guitar how hip hop has inspired him. He never claims to be a hip hop artist, he’s just an admirer of the genre. In an interview with iheart Radio he says, “I think what has always appealed to me in singer and songwriters, poets, and is super potent in rap, it’s just storytelling. If there is any influence on the record it’s just a production thing” (iheart radio, 2019). A lot of his music has R&B beats and bass drops which are common in the hip hop and rap world. One thing that distinguishes a hip hop beat from other types of music is its beats per minute. Hip Hop has a range of 60-100 beats per minute (Tempo and genre). He has songs that fall into that range, which could be why people bring up his hip hop influences.
Many rappers and hip hop artist write songs with themes including money, success, love, and loyalty. Dermot’s music does not touch on most of these topics, other then love. However, there is a type of rap that is more introspective and discusses real life problems and situations. A few rappers that fall into this category include Logic, J. Cole, and Mackelmore.
One of the artists he has mentioned wanting to work with from the rap genre would be J.Cole. J. Cole is no doubt a rapper, his music wouldn’t be confused for another genre. What these two artists have in common is that they both write about personal experience. The places and people referenced in their songs all have personal ties to them. The common themes that the two artists discuss are life’s hardships. They also talk about relationships and personal growth. Though these two grew up in different countries with vastly different childhoods, they each have a way of painting a picture for their audiences of their past experiences. What keeps Dermot out of the hip hop category would be in his delivery. Many rappers are known for the speed of their delivery, whereas Dermot belts out incredible notes and is not as concerned with fitting in his clever punchlines.
Until obsessively watching interviews with Dermot Kennedy, I never picked up on his hip-hop influences. Though I do now see how his music is inspired by the genre. He also claims to listen to rap music daily. Since rap is a genre he is such a fan of, it would be hard for it to not find its way into his personal work. Though I hope he sticks to his ballads that showcase his amazing vocals. I would not mind seeing him do a song with some of the rappers that have influenced his sound. I would say that the singer songwriter and rap genres do have strong ties in the way that the artists connect to their songs and write from personal experience. Dermot is an example of how the two genres can co-exist.
One song that shows off his vocal range is his song of For Island Fires and Family.
His song Power Over me was played for Travis Scott (a well known rapper and producer), Scott said he liked the song. The song does have a hip hop beat, it is a great example of how he blends his singer songwriter roots with his love of the hip hop genre.
Iheart radio. (2019, July 17). Iheart radio.
Tempo and genre. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://learningmusic.ableton.com/make-beats/tempo-and-genre.html
Elyse's Rhetorical Criticism Blog 
I liked how this basically set up the conversation about different genres and how Kennedy does that. Also how he listens to rap daily and he doesn’t make that type of music shows he is able to be inspired by other genres. His music also transcending the norm and actually going into ears who may not be expected to listen to it. Good job on this post keep going in the right direction.
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I really liked this post and how you pulled evidence that relates his music to hip hop. Personally, I wouldn’t have thought that Dermot Kennedy’s music was influenced by some rap and HipHop songs, but after reading your post I can here hints of these genres in his music.
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You do a nice job of addressing how the various parts of his music function here, looking to relationships with other genres. However, most of what you conclude is that he derives inspiration from rap. That’s a claim about invention (part of the canon) more than a genre relationship. I think you’re right that folk and rap share an introspective personal experience theme, and that’s related more to the narratives they tell. You’re starting to see how the methods can blur 🙂
I would recommend, when you revisit this for the final post, that you reframe it as considering invention, part of neoclassical, instead of genre. It will help pull out the bits about how we don’t really reclassify him due to delivery. Instead, you can focus on how he derives his inspiration, and simply cut the other portions.
Great job on this post 🙂
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