Hip-hop

Hip-Hop is a culture and art movements that originated in the early 1970s in the Bronx in New York. It consists of four main pillars, outlined by Afrika Bombaataa of the hip hop collective Zulu Nation as rapping, break dancing, DJing, and grafitti.

The Birth of Hip Hop

There is a story that the birth of Hip Hop was during a Birthday party in the west Bronx of New York City.  Clive Campbell or DJ Kool Herc of Kingston Jamaica was the one who kicked off the movement. He started DJing records at birthday parties in the early 1970s and was inspired by Jamaican DJ’s known as “selectors”.  He would do something called “toasting” which was talking over the spinning records. He watched how people would react to his music to find what people liked best. “I was noticing people used to wait for particular parts of the record to dance, maybe [to] do their specialty move.”  His technique which he called the “Merry Go-Round” was using two turntables to switch back and forth the same record to extend the “short drum break” this technique is now referred to as the “break beat.”  His sister's birthday party was the first time he had a huge crowd and a powerful sound system which started it all, he was the cornerstone of the “hip hop” movement six years before it was even labeled.

Hip hop continued to gain popularity in the 70s through block parties in NYC especially among young African Americans.  During the ’80s, more styles developed and spread to many countries besides just the United States.

Hip Hop Styles:

Old School:

• Techniques like  drum breaks and scratching were used
• More complex lyrics and rhymes to create “flow” and rhythm began to arise
• Usually was performed live but in 1979 a hip hop single called Rapper's Delight by The Sugarhill Gang was released and became a top ten hit worldwide
• After Rapper's Delight more music was released but usually had carefree type lyrics for parties
• 1982 Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five released The Message, an early example of socially-conscious hip hop which highlighted social issues

Golden Age:

• Mid 80’s
• Catchy melodic hooks
• Hard rock guitar got added to create a sub-genre called rap rock
• Political hip hop developed public enemy popularized this by promoting political change to solve issues with racism and other injustices
• In the early 90s, producers began using audio editing software thus creating alternative rap music such as jazz rap

Hardcore, Gangsta and G-Funk:

• Hardcore style often rapped about “gangster life”
• Explicit language
• Includes political hip hop
• Common themes: Funk rhythms and rapping about the dangers of drugs, crime, dropping out of school, partying, drugs and sex
• Mainstream sound of hip hop
• Hip-hop fashion evolves from more glitzy 80's trends to a a grittier, more confrontational style

 Mumble Rap:

• Emerged in 2010
• Talks about drugs, sex, cars, jewelry, partying, and gang violence
• Lack of meaning behind
• Many sentences ending in “yeah’, “uh”, or “aye”
• Its may be hard to understand what the songs are saying sometimes

Key Figures

Tupac Shakur

Tupac Shakur was one of the most influential figures of his time. He used his platform to bring awareness

☀

about several societal issues in which were occurring within the 90s. For example, Shakur’s song Trapped had touched upon what it’s like living in a black community at his time. He talked about stereotypes, injustices, perceptions, and his reality. This song caught the attention of it’s listeners because it was completely relatable to those who were living Shakur’s reality as well. More

Tupac's album All Eyez On Me ...

Tupac´s album All Eyez On Me :  The fourth studio album by the legendary rapper 2Pac (1971-1996), and the last to be released during his lifetime. The album features hits like "How Do U Want It" and "California Love". The album was released on February 13, 1996 by Death Row and Interscope Records, It featured five singles in all, the most of any of 2Pac's albums

A Tribe Called Quest

A Tribe Called Quest is an all American Hip Hop group that developed in Queens, New York in 1985. Many of A Tribe Called Quest songs depicted the groups fundamental focus of black empowerment, date rape, police brutality, and the usage of the "n" word.

Dr. Dre

Andre Romelle Young was born on February 18, 1965, known professionally as Dr. Dre. He is an American rapper, record producer, and entrepreneur. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and was previously co-owner of Death Row Records. He has produced albums for and overseen the careers of many rappers, including 2Pac, The D.O.C., Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Xzibit, Knoc-turn'al, 50 Cent, The Game, and Kendrick Lamar. He is credited as a key figure in the crafting and popularization of West Coast G-funk, a rap style characterized as synthesizer-based with slow, heavy beats. As of 2018, he is the third richest figure in hip hop, with a net worth of $770 million.

Thought the years he made many great works and some of the most well-known songs are the next episode and keep their heads ringin'. they have made a big impact in the hip hop industry.

Queen Latifah

Queen Latifah is an Grammy Award-winning rapper, record producer, and actress. Her song U.N.I.T.Y. gave her the great success she needed to become the person she is today.

Migos

Migos is a rap group composed of three rappers by their more well known stage names of Quavo, Offset, and Takeoff. This rap group essentially started a musical genre of their own that people label as “mumble rap.” Their style is popular due to its flow that uses ad-libs to rhyme quickly and creatively. Many rappers have caught on and started producing similar music; some of them are Rich the Kid, Famous Dex, and Playboi Carti.

Donald Glover

Donald Glover is the star and creator of the FX TV original comedy "Atlanta" and also raps under the name Childish Gambino.

Childish Gambino

Donald McKinley Glover Jr. was born in September 25, 1983. He is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, director, rapper, singer, songwriter, and DJ. He performs music under the stage name Childish Gambino and as a DJ under the name mcDJ. Glover is most notable for his 2018 song and music video "This is America."

Missy Elliott

Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott is a world-renowned rapper, producer, and songwriter that is known as one of the women that paved the way for women rappers in the hip-hop industry. Writing songs for various artists such as Whitney Houston, Mel B, and Raven-Symoné, creating hits for not only them but her as well winning multiple Grammys and accolades that prove just how important Missy is to the hip-hop industry.

Key Hip-hop Albums

N.W.A: Straight Outta Compton

N.W.A also known as "Niggaz Wit Attitude" was a rap group that formed in the late 1980s. They were a group of men from Compton, California fed up with the crime and police brutality plaguing their neighborhood. N.W.A had to deal with a ton of controversy due to their music explicit nature that gave a sense of glorification towards drugs, crime, and disrespect for women and law enforcement. Their music, in turn, was banned from many radio stations in America. In 2015, director F. Gary Gray created an interpretation of N.W.A's life and the Straight Outta Compton album. The movie emphasized the difficulty and hardships of life in South Los Angeles in late 1980's, and the cultural, political and social impact that the album had on its listeners.

Mos Def: Black on both sides

Mos Def, a rapper from Brooklyn, New York released Black on Both Sides in 1999, and it became one of the greatest socially conscious albums of all time. Mos Def's incredible lyricism over smooth beats discusses environmental issues and socio-economic issues throughout the black community.

Kendrick Lamar: Alright

“Alright” is a song written and sung by American Rapper Kendrick Lamar. It features Pharrell Williams who sings the chorus. This song is from Kendrick Lamar’s third album called To Pimp A Butterfly.

Kanye West: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

On November 22, 2010, Kanye West released his fifth album, titled My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. The album, which was considered the best album of 2010, and to some, the best album ever created, featured many high profile musicians such as Bon Iver, Jay-Z, Pusha T, Rick Ross, Kid Cudi, Nicki Minaj, John Legend, and Raekwon, among others.

Jay-Z and Kanye West: Watch the Throne

This collaborative album was released on August 8, 2011. Among this album are many guest appearances and voice contributions from other notable hip-hop artists such as Beyonce, Kid Cudi, and Frank Ocean. This album expanded on the dense production style of Kanye West's 2010 album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Watch the Throne incorporates orchestral and progressive rock influences, unconventional samples, and dramatic melodies in its sound. There are many themes exhibited in the album such as fame, materialism, power, and political/socioeconomic. There Watch the Throne Tour became the second highest grossing hip-hop tour in history and their album earned seven Grammy Award nominations in addition to being certified platinum in the US. The album received generally positive reviews from critics earning an average score of 76 out of 100.

The Fugees- Ready or Not

The Fugees is a three person hip hop group that combines rap, R&B, and reggae sounds. The Fugees first started when two members met in high school in South Orange, New Jersey and then meeting their third member later on through other people. Their second album, The Score, was a top hit in the 1990s reaching the pop hits and selling over five million copies. more

Snoop Dogg - Murda Was the Case

Snoop dog is a 46 year old American rapper who had his moments of fame much earlier in his career. Although Snoop is still an icon in the rap community, a lot of his more popular music was from his early career. This was because he was getting a lot of publicity from the murder trial he was involved in. Months after his arrest hid debut album, Doggy Style dropped. One of the songs, Murda Was the Case, stuck out to his fans because of an ongoing trial.

Kanye West - The College Dropout

The College Dropout is the debut album by famous American rapper and producer Kanye West. It was released on February 10, 2004, by Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records.This album was a high -isk high reward project for Kanye, because his lyrics differed from the traditional gangster persona that hip hop was known for. It is widely known as one of the greatest Hip Hop albums of all time.

Kanye West: The College Dropout and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Kanye West is a rapper and producer who released two albums called "The College Dropout and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" which were released in 2004 and 2010. "The College Dropout" shows the different types of choices people make and "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy"explores the dark side of being a celebrity. [1]

Hip-hop Timeline

80's Conscious Hip-hop

Music videos were a key in hip-hops conversations with the general public about sociopolitical and socioeconomic issues. One particularly poignant example would be Public Enemy's 911 is a Joke. In this song, Public Enemy touches upon one part of the black society's disadvantages in the community, which is how 911 reacts to calls from them, and they describe how they feel like 911 is almost non-existent.

Conscious Hip-hop Revival

Kendrick Lamar and J Cole are two of the most influential and well know rappers that brought back Conscious Hip-Hop revival. Conscious Hip-Hop is the time when rappers talked about social economic and social political issues. Kendrick Lamar's Album Good Kid, Mad City was most notable in bringing back the socioeconomic issues into hip-hop music.

The Fugees is a three person hip hop group that combines rap, R&B, and reggae sounds. The Fugees first started when two members met in high school in South Orange, New Jersey and then meeting their third member later on through other people. Their second album, The Score, was a top hit in the 1990s reaching the pop hits and selling over five million copies. more

Hip Hop Controversy

The Hip Hop Wars: What We Talk About When We Talk About Hip Hop-- And Why It Matters is a book by Tricia Rose and this short article defines some of the meanings of hip hop and how it came to be so popular nationally and globally. These controversies are ongoing and seem to highlight the fact that the words hip hop rappers use are violent and are a representation of their lives and that what they say directly holds truth to what they have done. more

The Backlash Surrounding N.W.A

N.W.A., a rap group consisting of Ice Cube, Eazy E, Dr, Dre, DJ Yella, and MC Ren, proved to be a controversial group in the late 80's and early 90's when the group arose to stardom. Their realistic view on drugs and gangs left their songs to be banned on many radio stations,however, despite this, their second studio album Straight Outta Compton, reinvented the genre of rap.

With the release of their protest song, Fuck tha Police, N.W.A. became the source of hatred,specifically upon white upper/middle-class people. The song made the LAPD and FBI despise them, later refusing them security at public events. The Minnesota Attorney General, Hubert Humphrey III, threatened to prosecute any record stores that sold the albums to minors, claiming that it negatively impacted minors- however he did not have the power to go through with his threats. The song, Fuck Tha Police, was banned from public libraries, the radio and public retail chains, despite this, N.W.A. refused to tone down their message of the realities of being black in America. After the unlawful beating of an unarmed man, Rodney King, by officers in LA, Fuck Tha Police became a rallying cry for those protesting racial profiling and police brutality.

Though some of their lyrics prove to be problematic, others provide insight into living in Compton, in the midst of gang rivalries and a drug epidemic. The group eventually parted ways in the early 90's, but not before leaving their mark on the future of hip-hop. The members all had successful careers as solo artists, despite the public rivalry between the members. The cold water between members of the group eventually subsided, sans Eazy E, who unfortunately died in 1995 after a battle with AIDS.

Today, the legacy and controversy of N.W.A, proved to have set the foundation of future hip hop music in the United States. Their brutally honest lyrics reinvented the rap scene, and many future successes of the genre can be accredited to them.

Bibliography

“Hip Hop Is Born at a Birthday Party in the Bronx.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 16 Nov. 2009, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/hip-hop-is-born-at-a-birthday-party-in-the-bronx.https://www.thedailybeast.com/when-nwa-terrified-white-america