KOMODIFIKACIJA I KULTURNA INDUSTRIJA: RAZUMEVANJE TREP FOLKA I „GASERSKOG“ STILA U SRBIJI I POSTJUGOSLOVENSKOM PROSTORU
COMMODIFICATION AND CULTURE INDUSTRY: UNDERSTANDING TRAP FOLK AND ‘GASER’ STYLE IN SERBIA AND BEYOND

Summary/Abstract: The capitalist market system of post-industrial society gradually encompasses all social relations as it subsumes the entirety of social and cultural realms under its profit-making logic. Music is also deeply immersed in economic transformations of society and is a significant determinant of youth identities and style. In this study, we analyze the origin and characteristics of trap folk music and gaser style among young people in Serbia and the former Yugoslav region. In order to better understand the peculiarities of the new music genre and the style associated with it, we primarily analyze the importance of commodification and the cultural industry. Methodologically based on a qualitative analysis of popular trap folk songs, visual representation and slang among the most popular trap folk artists, our study points to the presence of global consumer culture and political apathy among young people in the Balkans, which also reflects the formation of fluid identities without visible authenticity and deeper meaning. Despite the apparent absence of political resistance, we conclude that class affiliation is an important determinant of the emerging gaser style and identity, which is not the case in post-subcultural sociological discussions about youth subcultures.

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