The Disruptive Force of Multilingualism in Karpe’s EP “Omar Sheriff”

Through its artistic-musical production, the rap/hip-hop duo Karpe represents the postmigrant condition in Norway, recounting some of the conflicts, negotiations and ambivalences that are taking place within Norwegian society in relation to migration phenomena. The objects of analysis in this article are some of the tracks contained in the 2022 EP Omar Sheriff. This artistic work can be defined as diasporic pop, both in terms of its themes, which revolve around roots, family, identity and belonging, and in terms of its linguistic and melodic blending. Particular attention will be paid to different types of multilingual practices, which demonstrate how the monolingual paradigm is no longer able to represent the transnational character of Norway today. The use of multiethnolect and the combination of Norwegian with other languages are some of the expedients chosen by Karpe to launch an attack on the linguistic and ethnocultural hegemony of the discourse founded on Norwegianness.