Ozzy's Bråkmakargatan: An intermedial perspective on Malmö New Wave rap

I will analyse the role of the city in the music (and music videos, and live performances) of the Malmö New Wave rappers: Guleed, Adam Aden and Ozzy. These artists represent a new addition to a tradition in Sweden of rappers emphasising their connections to specific areas of Swedish cities. I will focus, in particular, on a televised performance of the song “Ozzy på Bråkmakargatan” (“Ozzy on Troublemaker Street”) by Ozzy feat. Timbuktu. This layered and detailed performance is built around a re-telling of a classic Astrid Lindgren tale, and it features lyrical references to other Swedish national heroes including the footballer Zlatan Ibrahimovic, plus popular musical conventions that encourage a kind of communal musical experience. Moreover, it builds the Lindgrenian saga out of and into the urban space in which Ozzy grew up (an area near Zlatan Court in Rosengård, Malmö), and the staging and choreography feature stylised versions of urban spaces and urban behaviours. I would like to discuss, from an intermedial perspective, the significance of the specific places that Ozzy produces and performs.