In the Language Bank: Inka Rantakallio

Who are you?

I am Inka Rantakallio, PhD, a researcher and lecturer in musicology at the University of Helsinki. Until the end of July 2025, I worked on the Suoni research association’s ”” project. I am the editor-in-chief of Mene ja tiedä, an online magazine published by the Young Academy Finland, and one of the three editors-in-chief of Musiikki journal.

What is your research topic?

From 2021 to 2024, I was funded by the Research Council of Finland as a postdoctoral researcher. My project focused on Finnish female and non-binary rap artists and themes of gender, feminism, race, and whiteness. I was interested in how feminism, gender, and race/ethnicity affect artist identity and artistic expression, and how the norm of whiteness affects Finnish rap music. My interest stemmed strongly from my own background, as I have worked as a music journalist and DJ alongside my research career and have thus become acquainted with and performed alongside several female and non-binary rappers.

My research data consisted of music and music videos, participatory observation at concerts, and artist interviews. My project produced information on how female and non-binary rappers are carving out space in the rather heterosexist and male-dominated hip hop genre, and how white and non-white artists negotiate race and gender norms in relation to Finnish and international hip hop culture. My project also brought visibility to non-male artists and the norm of whiteness, which had previously received very little attention in hip hop research. I also critically reflected on my own position as an “insider” in my research articles published on the project.

How is your research related to Kielipankki – the Language Bank of Finland?

This Research Council of Finland project was the first project focusing on Finnish female and non-binary rappers, so I wanted to  for possible future research projects. The Language Bank offers reliable long-term storage for interview transcripts. 

Selected publications

Rantakallio, Inka (2021). . Etnomusikologian Vuosikirja 33: 67–93.

Rantakallio, Inka (2023) Who Is Heard and Who Gets to Belong in Hip-Hop? The Counterspaces of Women and Gender Minority Rappers in Finland. Teoksessa P. Dale, P. Burnard, & R. Travis (toim.), Music for Inclusion and Healing in Schools and Beyond: Hip Hop, Techno, Grime, and More. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 356–382.

Rantakallio, Inka (2025). Researcher as Minority and Majority: Hip Hop Feminist Epistemologies. Teoksessa K. Ramstedt, S. Välimäki, K. Ahlsved, S. Mononen (toim.), Music, Research and Activism: Prospects and Projects in Northern Europe. Bristol: Intellect, 17–28.

Rantakallio, Inka & Andrea Dankić (2025). .

Rantakallio, Inka (2025). .

Corpus

The  consortium consists of a group of Finnish universities along with CSC – IT Center for Science and the Institute for the Languages of Finland (Kotus). FIN-CLARIN helps the researchers of Social Sciences and Humanities to use, refine, preserve and share their language resources.  is the collection of services that provides the language materials and tools for the research community.