Template:HiphopgenreboxTemplate:Hip hop portal Hip hop music (also referred to as rap or rap music) is a style of popular music. It is made up of two main components: rapping (MCing) and DJing (audio mixing and scratching). Along with breakdancing and graffiti (tagging), these compose the four elements of hip hop, a cultural movement that was initiated by inner-city youth, mostly African Americans[1] in New York City, in the early 1970s. In 2006, rap music was the second-most popular form of music in the United States after classical music[2].
Typically, hip hop music consists of one or more rappers who tell semi-autobiographic tales, often relating to a fictionalized counterpart, in an intensely rhythmic lyrical form making abundant use of techniques like assonance, alliteration, and rhyme. The rapper is accompanied by an instrumental track, usually referred to as a "beat", performed by a DJ, created by a producer, or one or more instrumentalists. This beat is often created using a sample of the percussion break of another song, usually a funk or soul recording. In addition to the beat other sounds are often sampled, synthesized, or performed. Sometimes a track can be instrumental, as a showcase of the skills of the DJ or producer.
Hip hop began in The Bronx, located in New York City when DJs began isolating the percussion break from funk and disco songs. The early role of the MC was to introduce the DJ and the music and to keep the audience excited. MCs began by speaking between songs, giving exhortations to dance, greetings to audience members, jokes and anecdotes. Eventually this practice became more stylized and became known as rapping. By 1979 hip hop had become a commercially popular music genre and began to enter the American mainstream. In the 1990s, a form of hip hop called gangsta rap became a major part of American music, causing significant controversy over lyrics which were perceived as promoting violence, promiscuity, drug use and misogyny. Nevertheless, by the beginning of the 2000s, hip hop was a staple of popular music charts and was being performed in many styles across the world.
Term usage
The terms rap and rap music are often used to describe hip hop music; the terms rap music and hip hop music are generally synonymous, although hip hop music is usually the preferred term used to describe hip hop songs without vocals.
Hip hop music is also erroneously used at times to describe related genres of music, such as contemporary R&B, which are primarily sung, probably for increasing their commercial appeal; while singing is commonly present in hip hop tracks, the main vocal (if there are vocals) is always rapped.
Characteristics
Hip hop is a cultural movement, of which music is a part. The music is itself composed of two parts, rapping, the delivery of swift, highly rhythmic and lyrical vocals, and DJing, to compose either through sampling, turntablism, instrumentation or beatboxing. Another important factor of hip hop music is the fashion that originated along with the music.
Rhythmic structure
Beats (though not necessarily raps) in hip hop are almost always in 4/4 time. At its rhythmic core, hip hop swings: instead of a straight 4/4 count (pop music; rock; etc.), hip hop is based on an anticipated feel somewhat similar to the "swing" emphasis found in jazz percussion. Like the triplet emphasis in swing, hip hop's rhythm is subtle, rarely written as it sounds (4/4 basic; the drummer adds the hip hop interpretation) and is often played in an almost "late" or laid back way.
This style was innovated predominantly in soul and funk music, where beats and thematic music were repeated for the duration of tracks. In the 1960s and 1970s, James Brown (known as The Godfather of Soul) talked, sang, and screamed much as MCs do today. This musical style provides the perfect platform for MCs to rhyme. Hip hop music generally caters to the MC for this reason, amplifying the importance of lyrical and delivering prowess.
Instrumental hip hop is perhaps the lone exception to this rule. In this hip hop subgenre, DJs and producers are free to experiment with creating instrumental tracks. While they may mix in sampled rap vocals, they are not bound by traditional hip hop format.
Instrumentation & production
The instrumentation of hip hop derives from disco, funk, and R&B, both in the sound systems and records sampled and session musicians and their instrumentation used. Disco and club DJs' use of mixing originated from the need to have continuous music and thus smooth transitions between tracks. Hip hop Kool DJ Herc, in contrast, originated the practice of isolating and extending only the break—a short percussion solo interlude—by mixing between two copies of the same record. This was, according to Afrika Bambaataa, the "certain part of the record that everybody waits for—they just let their inner self go and get wild." (Toop, 1991) James Brown, Bob James, and Parliament—among many others—have long been popular sources for breaks. Over this one could and did add instrumental parts from other records, frequently as horn punches (ibid). Thus the instrumentation of early sampled or sound system-based hip hop is the same as funk, disco, or rock: vocals, guitar, keyboards, bass, drums and percussion.
Although original hip hop music consisted solely of the DJ's breakbeats and other vinyl record pieces, the advent of the drum machine allowed hip hop musicians to develop partially original scores. Drum set sounds could be played either over the music from vinyl records or by themselves. The importance of quality drum sequences became the most important focus of hip hop musicians because these rhythms (beats) were the most danceable part. Consequently, drum machines were equipped to produce strong kick sounds. This helped emulate the drum solos on old funk, soul and rock albums from the late 1960s and early to mid 1970s. Drum machines had a limited array of predetermined sounds, including hi-hats, snares, toms, and kick drums.
The introduction of the sampler changed the way hip hop was produced. A sampler can reproduce small sound clips from any input device, such as a turntable. Producers were able to sample familiar drum patterns. More importantly, they could sample a variety of instruments to play along with their drums. Hip hop had finally gathered its complete band.
Many producers and listeners pride certain records for being hip hop lore and thus a good source of samples and breaks. To this day, producers use arcane equipment to replicate the same rough sound used in older records. This lends credibility to the records and serves as a historical reminder to the listeners of hip hop's origins.
History
The main historical eras of hip hop are the old school hip hop era (1970 to 1985), which spanned from the beginning of hip hop until its emergence into the mainstream, and the golden age hip hop era (1985 to 1993), which consolidated the sounds of the East Coast and the West Coast and transitioned into the modern era with the rise of gangsta rap and G-funk. The years after 1993 contain the hardcore hip hop, bling, and underground genres, which greatly define the modern era.
Hip hop arose during the 1970s at block parties in New York City, at which the DJs began isolating the percussion breaks to hit songs – "breakbeat" DJing. As hip hop became popular, performers began speaking while the music played, and became known as MCs or emcees. In 1979, the first two commercially issued hip hop recordings were released: "King Tim III (Personality Jock)" by the Fatback Band, and "Rapper's Delight" by The Sugarhill Gang; the latter became a Top 40 hit on the U.S. Billboard pop singles chart.
During the 1980s, hip hop began to diversify and develop into a more complex form. At the same time, more sophisticated techniques were developed, including scratching, and electronic recording. In the late 1980s, a number of new hip hop styles and subgenres began appearing as the genre gained popularity. Hip hop musicians collaborated with rock bands and spread out into the genres of conscious hip hop, jazz-rap and gangsta rap.
In the 1990s, a prolonged confrontation between the West Coast gangsta rappers and the resurging East Coast began. It would lead to the death of both Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G., in 1996 and 1997 respectively. In 1996, Cleveland-based rap group Bone Thugs-N-Harmony tied The Beatles' 32-year-old record for fastest-rising single with "Tha Crossroads," and in 2000, Scottish-American rapper Eminem's The Marshall Mathers LP sold over nine million copies and won a Grammy Award.
Musical impact
Aside from hip hop's great popularity, the genre has had an impact on most varieties of popular music. There are performers that combine either hip hop beats or rapping with rock and roll, heavy metal, punk rock, merengue, salsa, cumbia, funk, jazz, house, taarab, reggae, highlife, mbalax and soul. Teen pop singers and boy bands like the Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, Christina Aguilera, Jessica Simpson, and Britney Spears utilize hip hop beats in many of their most popular singles.
Hip hop has had an especially close relationship with soul music since the early 1990s. Indeed, today there is little recorded soul that does not feature some element of hip hop. This fusion, called nu soul, can be traced back to the late 1980s New Jack Swing groups, though it did not reach its modern form until the rise of performers like Mary J. Blige. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the hip hop influence grew more prominent in singers like D'Angelo, Lauryn Hill, Jill Scott and Alicia Keys.
During the '80s, popular acts like Run-D.M.C. used both hard rock and hip hop, especially in their genre-crossing, unprecedented smash hit "Walk This Way", performed with Aerosmith. Other performers, like Ice T and his band Body Count used hip hop, punk rock and metal, though the first band to combine metal with rap vocal techniques is said to be Anthrax. (Anthrax & Public Enemy's 1991 remake of "Bring The Noise" was a good example of the early rap-metal sound.) Other early adopters include Biohazard, Faith No More, Rage Against The Machine and Red Hot Chili Peppers). By the end of the 1990s, rap-metal grew both more popular and more derided by fans of both genres, with the rise of bands like Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit and Korn, who were called nu metal.
In Latin America, rapping was already known in the 1980s, in the form of toasting, a part of Jamaican ragga music. Rapped lyrics were already a part of soca music, for example. The growth of hip hop in the area, however, led to more pronounced fusions like reggaeton and timba. Similarly, in Africa, rapping-like vocals (such as Senegalese tassou) were already a part of popular music, and hip hop was easily adapted to popular styles like taarab and mbalax. Hip hop has also grown outstandingly in Cuba, with groups such as Anonimo Consejo, Doble Filo, Papa Umbertico, and the unique feminist lesbian duo Krudas.
One cannot underestimate the influence the genre has had over the numerous styles of electronic music. Hip hop's influence is well noticed in genres such as trip-hop, jungle, UK garage, grime and more.
Social impact
Hip hop music is a part of hip hop, a cultural movement that includes the activities of breakdancing and graffiti art, as well as associated slang, fashion and other elements. The popularity of music has helped to popularize hip hop culture, both in the United States and to a lesser degree abroad.
The late 1990s saw the rise in popularity of the "bling bling" lifestyle in rap music, focusing on symbols of wealth and status like money, jewelry, cars, and clothing. Although references to wealth have existed since the birth of hip hop, the new, intensified "bling bling" culture has its immediate roots in the enormously commercially successful late-to-mid nineties work (specifically, music videos) of Puff Daddy and Bad Boy Records as well as Master P's No Limit Records. However, the term was coined in 1999 (see 1999 in music) by Cash Money Records artist B.G. on his single Bling Bling, and the Cash Money roster were perhaps the epitome of the "bling bling" lifestyle and attitude. Though many rappers, mostly gangsta rappers, unapologetically pursue and celebrate bling bling, others, mostly artists outside of the hip hop mainstream, have expressly criticized the idealized pursuit of bling bling as being materialistic.
The widespread success of hip hop - specifically gangsta rap - has also had a significant social impact on the demeanor of modern youth. The sometimes egotistic and degenerate attitudes often portrayed in the lyrics and videos of certain hip hop artists have shown negative effects on some of their idolizing fans. While the attitudes of specific artists certainly do not represent the rest of the hip hop community, and the effect of lyrical content on youths who are part of the hip hop culture is debatable, very often such youths adopt the much glamourized "gangsta" persona while not being members of any gang. Often these personas incite anti-social behavior such as peer harassment, neglect towards education, rejection of authority, and petty crimes such as vandalism. While the majority of listeners are able to distinguish entertainment from lessons in social conduct, an evident pseudo-gangsta sub-culture has risen amongst North American youth.[citation needed]
Because hip hop music almost always puts an emphasis on hyper-masculinity, its lyrics have been said to reflect a homophobic mindset. It is often suspected that there are a great number of gay or lesbian hip hop musicians who do not come out of the closet, for fear of the decline of their career. Rumors of such have involved hip hop artists such as Queen Latifah, Da Brat, and several others. In 2001, the first annual PeaceOUT World Homo Hop Festival, which features performers by openly lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered rappers was held in Oakland, California, and the festival has continued on an annual basis since then. In 2003 the openly gay hip hop and rap artist Caushun, was signed to the label Baby Phat; however, his record was apparently never released. In 2005, the documentary Pick Up the Mic was released, focusing on LGBT hip hop performers.
Hip hop has a distinctive slang, that includes words like yo, flow and phat. Due to hip hop's extraordinary commercial success in the late nineties and early 21st century, many of these words have been assimilated into many different dialects across America and the world and even to non-hip hop fans (the word dis for example is remarkably prolific). There are also words like homie which predate hip hop but are often associated with it because of the close connection between recorded hip hop and the dialect used by many performers, African American Vernacular English. Sometimes, terms like what the dilly, yo are popularized by a single song (in this case, "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See" by Busta Rhymes) and are only used briefly. Of special importance is the rule-based slang of Snoop Dogg and E-40, who add -izz to the middle of words so that shit becomes shizznit (the addition of the n occurs occasionally as well). This practice, with origins in Frankie Smith's non-sensical language from his 1980 single "Double Dutch Bus," has spread to even non-hip hop fans, who may be unaware of its derivation.
Censorship issues
Hip hop has probably encountered more problems with censorship than any other form of popular music in recent years, due to the use of sexually and violently explicit lyrics. It also receives flack for being anti-establishment. For example, Public Enemy's "Gotta Give the Peeps What They Need" song was edited without their permission, removing the words "free Mumia". [3] The pervasive use of curse words in many songs has created challenges in the broadcast of such material both on television stations such as MTV, in music video form, and on radio. As a result, many hip hop recordings are broadcast in censored form, with offending language blanked out of the soundtrack (though usually leaving the backing music intact), or even replaced with completely different lyrics. The result – which quite often renders the remaining lyrics unintelligible or contradictory to the original recording – has become almost as widely identified with the genre as any other aspect of the music, and has been parodied in films such as Austin Powers in Goldmember, in which a character – performing in a parody of a hip hop music video – performs an entire verse that is blanked out.
Roger Ebert wrote:
"Rap has a bad reputation in white circles, where many people believe it consists of obscene and violent anti-white and anti-female guttural. Some of it does. Most does not. Most white listeners don't care; they hear black voices in a litany of discontent, and tune out. Yet rap plays the same role today as Bob Dylan did in 1960, giving voice to the hopes and angers of a generation, and a lot of rap is powerful writing."[4]
World hip hop
Although hip hop music originated in the United States, it has spread throughout the world. Hip hop was almost entirely unknown outside of the United States prior to the 1980s. During that decade, it began its spread to every inhabited continent and became a part of the music scene in dozens of countries. The spread of the music was intertwined with that of hip hop culture - as elements such as breakdancing gained popularity, so did rappers and hip hop groups.
Europe
Hip hop first appeared in France in 1979, just as the genre was achieving some success in the US. By 1982, a number of hip hop radio stations had appeared, including Rapper Dapper Snapper, Luke "phunk" Neilson and the future star DJ Dee Nasty made his first appearance. That same year saw the first major hip hop concert, the New York City Rap Tour, sponsored by Europe 1 and featuring Afrika Bambaataa, Grandmixer DST, Fab 5 Freddy, Mr Freeze and the Rock Steady Crew.
By 1983, hip hop was a notable part of the French music scene. Dee Nasty's Paname City Rappin', released in 1984, was the first French hip hop record. France produced a number of native-born stars, such as IAM and Suprême NTM, though the most famous French rapper is probably the Senegalese-born MC Solaar.
In Europe, hip hop was the domain of both ethnic nationals and immigrants. Germany, for example, produced the well-known Die Fantastischen Vier as well as several Turkish performers like the controversial Cartel. Swedish hip hop emerged in the mid 1980s and by the early 1990s a lot of "ethnic Swedish acts" like Looptroop, "immigrant acts" like The Latin Kings and mixed acts like Infinite Mass switched from English to rapping in "Rinkeby Swedish", a pidgin language of sorts, when they were making records for the domestic market. The Netherlands' most famous rappers are The Osdorp Posse, an all-white crew from Amsterdam, and The Postmen, from Cape Verde and Suriname. Italy found its own rappers, including Jovanotti and Articolo 31, grow nationally renowned, while the Polish scene began in earnest early in the decade with the rise of PM Cool Lee. In Romania, B.U.G. Mafia came out of Bucharest's Pantelimon neighborhood, and their brand of gangsta rap underlines the parallels between life in Romania's Communist-era apartment blocks and in the housing projects of America's ghettos. The Parazitii group has become one of the most popular in Romania, with their lyrics reaching social, political and anti-censorship themes. Serbia is one of the better known rap states in europe, thanks to the rappers like Gru, Ajs Nigrutin (Bad Copy), Marchelo, VIP and others. In Croatia, rap became very popular in the late 1990s with the rise of Tram 11, Bolesna Braca and other rappers who focused on social issues. Also in Bulgaria during the late '90s the crew "Rubber Heads" (Gumeni Glavi) was formed, which included Misho Shamara, Dreben G, Konsa and more. In 2000 another Bulgarian hip hop label was created and it was called Sniper Records, including famous names like Spens, DJ Stancho, Slim, Shosho and more.
Since the year 2000 rappers such as Dizzee Rascal, GurneyMack and Hemy have emerged in the UK.
Latin America
In Puerto Rico, Vico C became the first Spanish language rapper, and his recorded work was the beginning of what became known as reggaeton. Rap in Puerto Rico was at a popular high in 1989, when Vico C entered the charts with his super hit La Recta Final (The Final Stretch), which gave him worldwide fame.
During the diversification of hip hop in the 1990s, Santi Y Sus Duendes and Lisa M released a single ("Soy Chiquito (No Inventes Papito, No Inventes)") in the Dominican Republic, which gave birth to merenrap, a fusion of hip hop and merengue.
In Mexico, popular hip hop began with the success of Calo in the early 1990s. Later in the decade, with Latin rap groups like Cypress Hill on the American charts, Mexican rap rock groups, such as Control Machete, rose to prominence in their native land.
An annual Cuban hip hop concert held at Alamar in Havana helped to popularize Cuban hip hop, beginning in 1995. Hip hop grew steadily more popular in Cuba, due to official governmental support for musicians.
Hip hop has become increasingly popular in Brazil in the last 20 years, where it is called "hippy hoppy." The b-boys and girls, DJs, rappers, and graffiti writers have traditionally organized themselves into what they call crews, which also perform community service and work to organize young people in their neighborhoods to pass on the art and social consciousness.
Asia
In Asia, the Philippines is said to have developed the first hip hop scene in all of Asia and the Pacific islands.[citation needed] The birth of Filipino hip hop music, or Pinoy Rap, occurred in the early 1980s with songs by Dyords Javier ("Na Onseng Delight") and Vincent Dafalong ("Nunal"). The genre developed slowly during the 1980s but soon hit the mainstream with Francis Magalona's debut album, Yo! which included the nationalistic hit "Mga Kababayan" (My countrymen). Magalona, who rapped in both English and Tagalog became a pioneer in the genre and a superstar as a result. Mainstream stars rose to prominence in the Philippines, led by Michael V., Rap Asia, MC Lara and Lady Diane, and in Japan, where underground rappers had previously found a limited audience, and popular teen idols brought a style called J-rap to the top of the charts in the middle of the 1990s.
Israel's hip hop grew greatly in popularity at the end of the decade, with several stars emerging from both sides of the Palestinian (Tamer Nafer) and Jewish (Subliminal) divide; though some, like Mook E., preached peace and tolerance, others expressed nationalist and violent sentiments.
Africa
In the early part of the decade, breakdancing became the first aspect of hip hop culture to reach South Africa, where the crew Black Noise established the practice before beginning to rap later in the decade. Black Noise's raps, starting in 1989, provoked a ban by the apartheid-era government, which lasted until 1993. Later, South Africa produced its own distinctive style in the house fusion kwela.
Elsewhere in Africa, Senegalese mbalax fusions continued to grow in popularity, while Tanzanian Bongo Flava crews like X-Plastaz combined hip hop with taarab, filmi and other styles.
Canada
North of the U.S. border, in Canada, hip hop became popular thanks to home-grown rap artist Maestro Fresh Wes in the late 1980s. His single, "Let Your Backbone slide", dominated the charts for over a year. In the early '90s, more artists such as Michee Mee and The Rascalz established themselves in the growing Canadian urban music scene, primarily located in the diverse backdrop of Toronto and Vancouver. More recently, rappers such as Choclair, Saukrates, Kardinal Offishall, Sweatshop Union, Hugh "MC Son" Ryan, Black Jays, Jelleestone and K-OS have become household names in the Canadian urban music scene, although they have failed to earn mainstream recognition south of the border in the U.S. market.
Media
Hip hop has major American magazines devoted to it, including The Source, XXL and Vibe. For a long time, BET was the only television channel likely to play much hip hop, but in recent years the mainstream channels VH1 and MTV have played hip hop more than any other genre. Many individual cities have produced their own local hip hop newsletters, while hip hop magazines with national distribution are found in a few other countries. The 21st century also ushered in the rise of online media, and hip hop fan sites now offer comprehensive hip hop coverage on a daily basis.
Music samples
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Notes
- ^ Bambaataa, Afrika. "Bambaataa's Statement". Retrieved 2006-06-10.
- ^ Holladay, Ron (2006). "The Great Rap Revolution--Hip Hop in the White Community." Des Moines, Iowa: Monarch Publishing. ISBN 1963533543
- ^ Serpick, Evan (July 9, 2006). "MTV: Play It Again". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved from http://www.ew.com/ew/article/commentary/0,6115,386104_3%7C16756%7C%7C0_0_,00.html on July 9, 2006.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (Aug. 11, 1995). Review for Dangerous Minds. Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved from http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19950811/REVIEWS/508110301/1023 on July 9, 2006.
References
- Light, Alan (ed). (1999). The VIBE History of Hip-Hop. New York: Three Rivers Press. ISBN 0609805037
- George, Nelson (2000, rev. 2005). Hip-Hop America. New York: Penguin Books. ISBN 0140280227
- David Toop (1984, rev. 1991). Rap Attack II: African Rap To Global Hip Hop. New York. New York: Serpent's Tail. ISBN 1852422432.
- McLeod, Kembrew. Interview with Chuck D and Hank Shocklee. 2002. Stay Free Magazine, issue 20. Retrieved from http://www.stayfreemagazine.org/archives/20/public_enemy.html on July 9, 2006.
- Fricke, Jim and Ahearn, Charlie (eds). (2002). Yes Yes Y'All: The Experience Music Project Oral History of Hip Hop's First Decade. New York: Da Capo Press. ISBN 0306811847
- Corvino, Daniel and Livernoche, Shawn (2000). A Brief History of Rhyme and Bass: Growing Up With Hip Hop. Tinicum, PA: Xlibris Corporation/The Lightning Source, Inc. ISBN 1401028519