Subculture

In sociology and cultural studies, a subculture is a group of people within a culture that differentiates itself from the parent culture to which it belongs, often maintaining some of its founding principles.

Definitions

While exact definitions vary, the Oxford English Dictionary defines a subculture as "a cultural group within a larger culture, often having beliefs or interests at variance with those of the larger culture." As early as 1950, David Riesman distinguished between a majority, "which passively accepted commercially provided styles and meanings, and a 'subculture' which actively sought a minority style ... and interpreted it in accordance with subversive values". In his 1979 book Subculture: The Meaning of Style, Dick Hebdige argued that a subculture is a subversion to normalcy. He wrote that subcultures can be perceived as negative due to their nature of criticism to the dominant societal standard. Hebdige argued that subcultures bring together like-minded individuals who feel neglected by societal standards and allow them to develop a sense of identity.

Megadef

Megadef is Los Angeles underground rap group Styles of Beyond's second studio album, which was released on Spytech Records on September 9, 2003 after their 1998 installment 2000 Fold. The album's title is both an instance of wordplay, namely a portmanteau of the name of the band Megadeth with those of bands/labels/artists such as Def Leppard, Mos Def, and Def Jam Records, and a reference to the Hebrew term megadef (מגדף), the latter term referring to the violation of Jewish law committed by cursing the sacred name of God. Megadef was released only in an "explicit version" and was available as a download via iTunes and Amazon. The album was produced by the group members DJ Cheapshot and Vin Skully.

Background and composition

Megadef was a comeback album for S.O.B., after five years after their debut album 2000 Fold. The album was mainly self managed, and included only three featuring artists. They were 4-Zone, Apathy and Celph Titled. Mike Shinoda and Divine Styler who proved to be the back-bone of their debut album were not present for this installment. But they again joined in the process for their next installment, Razor Tag. Shinoda could not join for production (even though he did the artwork for this album), due to the work with American rock band Linkin Park for their block-buster hit album Hybrid Theory on October 24, 2000 and later, Meteora which was released parallel with this album. The reason for Divine Styler not being included in this album is not yet known. Unlike 2000 Fold, Megadef does not include samples of songs by other artists. It includes original composition by the group. The sixth and final single from the album, "Bleach", was also included in the first mixtape We Major by Shinoda's side project Fort Minor, as a Jimi remix.

Subculture (disambiguation)

Subculture may refer to: