Time to Occupy: a Study of the Folk and Hip-Hop Song Lyrics of Musicians Who Performed at Occupy Wall Street New York City

The role of music in the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) New York (OWS-NY) movement is studied using fantasy theme analysis. This is a qualitative study that employed rhetorical criticism. The research questioning guiding this study is How have musicians\u27 song selections worked to encourage protesters to continue, and other citizens to start, rallying for the OWS cause? Lyrics from songs performed by six different musical acts at OWS-NY were analyzed. The lyrics provided a rhetorical vision that depicted wealthy men, bankers, CEOs, etc. manipulating the United States government and economy for their own personal gains. The use of folk and hip-hop music broadened the audience base for the movement. Technology lessened the impact of some of the lyrical messages. And the number of issues raised in the lyrics were found to make the goal and purpose of OWS difficult to pinpoint