Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Thesis Format

Monograph

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy

Program

Media Studies

Supervisor

Keightley, Keir

Abstract

In a country that long failed to accept, include, and institutionalize R&B music as part of Canadian culture, musical artists Justin Bieber, Drake, and Jessie Reyez have successfully broken-down barriers by having successful careers as racially diverse Canadian R&B artists. This qualitative study surveys the literature on classifications of the R&B genre and of Canadian identities in popular media. The theoretical framework of discourse analysis is used to conduct a brief episodic history of Canadian R&B and to evaluate how the music genre “R&B,” is traditionally associated with people who have "Black" and "American" identities, and how a “Canadian” identity is traditionally associated with “white” and “folk” musical artists. I conclude that the ascription of racialized and nationalized identities is found to play a role in each artist's respective inclusion, exclusion, and/or authentication vis a vis R&B. I evaluate how Bieber, Drake, and Reyez each articulate “R&B-ness” and “Canadian-ness” to represent multiple, yet equally Canadian national narratives through their Canadian R&B artist lifestyle brands. In exploring ideas of national identity, intersectionality, digital celebrity, branding, and marketing related to contemporary Canadian popular music genres, the dissertation seeks to answer the question: How have the careers of Justin Bieber, Drake, and Jessie Reyez reinforced, complicated, and/or challenged hegemonic understandings of both “Canadian-ness” and “R&B-ness”? Through textual analyses of their social media posts, brand partnerships, interviews, music videos, and music lyrics, the dissertation traces out how multicultural Canadian artists Bieber, Drake, and Reyez broke into the music industry as “digital stars” (Harvey, 2017) by using online communication strategies, alongside traditional industry practices (such as networking with music industry gatekeepers). A particular focus involves Drake’s, Bieber’s, and Reyez’s brand partnerships and social media strategies, between 2019 and 2022, when the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the significance of online communications, and the Black Lives Matter movement encouraged changes to race-based music industry classifications. The dissertation includes insights from interviews conducted with 35 U.S. and Canadian marketing professionals and music industry executives in 2020. This study is applicable to explorations of how race, nationality, and music genre categories are classified, cultural branding, and contemporary marketing strategies.

Summary for Lay Audience

In a country that long failed to accept, include, and institutionalize R&B music as part of Canadian culture, musical artists Justin Bieber, Drake, and Jessie Reyez have successfully broken-down barriers by having successful careers as racially diverse Canadian R&B artists. This qualitative study surveys the literature on classifications of the R&B genre and of Canadian identities in popular media. This qualitative study explores the place of R&B music within Canadian culture. Through a brief episodic history of Canadian R&B, I examine how processes in classification systems group ideas of “R&B,” as a genre traditionally associated with people who have "Black" and "American" identities, and of “Canadian,” as an identity traditionally associated with “white” and “folk” musical artists. I determine how Bieber’s, Drake’s, and Reyez’s racialized and nationalized identities mediate their inclusion, exclusion, and/or authentication vis a vis R&B. I also evaluate how Bieber, Drake, and Reyez each represent multiple, yet equally Canadian identities through their Canadian R&B artist lifestyle brands. In exploring ideas of national identity, intersectionality, digital celebrity, branding, and marketing related to contemporary Canadian popular music genres, the dissertation seeks to answer the question: How have the careers of Justin Bieber, Drake, and Jessie Reyez reinforced, complicated, and/or challenged dominant understandings of both “Canadian-ness” and “R&B-ness”? Through textual analyses of Bieber’s, Drake’s, and Reyez’s social media posts, brand partnerships, interviews, music videos, and music lyrics, the dissertation traces out how these artists broke into the music industry as “digital stars” (Harvey, 2017) by using online communication strategies, alongside traditional industry practices (such as networking with music industry gatekeepers). A particular focus involves Drake’s, Bieber’s, and Reyez’s brand partnerships and social media strategies, between 2019 and 2022, when the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the significance of online communications, and the Black Lives Matter movement encouraged changes to race-based music industry classifications. The dissertation includes insights from interviews conducted with 35 U.S. and Canadian marketing professionals and music industry executives in 2020. This study is applicable to explorations of how race, nationality, and music genre categories are classified, cultural branding, and contemporary marketing strategies.

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