i202 Fall 2010 School of Information, UC Berkeley

The methodical creation -- and subsequent illustration  -- of taxonomies can provide critical insight and analysis into both organizational and evolutionary qualities of a data set. Rap names lend themselves particularly well to taxonomical examination. Influenced by both strong community bonds (The Wu Tang Clan being the most prominent example) as well as fervent competition among peers, naming conventions in rap have further beneffitted from decades of rapid artistic evolution and cultural influence.

Where this representation falls short is in it's static nature. Adding time as an illustrative component would be greatly helpful in further illiustrating both the strong evolutionary and self-referencing qualities of rap.

As is the predominant issue with the current proliferation of pop-data-viz, I've noticed a few gaps in the graphic. Dangermouse is listed as "MC Dangermouse", and I'm unsure if he calls himself an MC or not. And it appears that Mad Professor hasn't been included, which is especially unfortunate for the academic nature of this blog post. While these vizualizations are typically helpful in more effectively illustrating meaning found in data sets, accountability and validity seem to have gone by the wayside with the modern day deluge of homegrown data viz. But like most things, it's an iterative process.

http://www.good.is/post/loving-the-grand-taxonomy-of-rap-names-infograph...