Hip-hop
Template:Hiphopgenrebox Hip hop music is a popular style of music. It is composed of two parts: rapping (emceeing) and DJing; along with breakdancing and graffiti art, these are the four components of hip hop, a cultural movement which began among African Americans in New York City in the 1970s.
Most typically, hip hop consists of one or more rappers who spout 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. Along with the rapper a DJ or a live band plays a beat. This beat is often from the percussion of a different song, usually rock, funk or soul, and is sometimes sampled. In addition to the beat, other sounds are often sampled, synthesized or performed.
Hip hop arose in New York City when DJs began isolating the percussion break from funk or disco songs. The role of the emcee (MC) arose to introduce the DJ and the music, and to keep the audience excited. The MCs began by speaking between songs, giving exhortations to dance, greetings to audience members, jokes and anecdotes. Eventually, this practice came to be more stylized, and was known as rapping. By 1979, hip hop had become a commercially recorded music genre, and began to enter the American mainstream. It also began its spread across the world. In the 1990s, a form called gangsta rap became a major part of the American mainstream, 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.
Origins of hip hop
Main article: Roots of hip hop
The roots of hip hop are in West African and African-American music. The griots of West Africa are a group of traveling singers and poets, whose musical style is reminiscent of hip hop. True hip hop arose during the 1970s when block parties became common in New York City, especially the Bronx. Block parties were usually accompanied by music, especially funk and soul music. The early DJs at block parties began isolating the percussion breaks to hit songs, realizing that these were the most dance-able and entertaining parts; this technique was then common in Jamaica (see dub music) and had spread via the substantial Jamaican immigrant community in New York City, especially the godfather of hip hop, DJ Kool Herc. Dub had arisen in Jamaica due to the influence of American sailors and radio stations playing R&B. Large sound systems were set up to accommodate poor Jamaicans, who couldn't afford to buy records, and dub developed at the sound systems (refers to both the system and the parties that evolved around them).
Herc was one of the most popular DJs in early 70s New York, and he quickly switched from using reggae records to funk, rock and, later, disco, since the New York audience did not particularly like reggae. Because the percussive breaks were generally short, Herc and other DJs began extending them using an audio mixer and two records. Mixing and scratching techniques eventually developed along with the breaks. As in dub, performers began speaking while the music played; these were originally called MCs; Herc focused primarily on DJing, and began working with two MCs, Coke La Rock and Clark Kent—this was the first emcee crew, Kool Herc & the Herculoids. Originally, these early rappers focused on introducing themselves and others in the audience (the origin of the still common practice of "shouting out" on hip hop records). These early performers often emceed for hours at a time, with some improvisation and a simple four-count beat, along with a basic chorus to allow the performer to gather his thoughts (such as "one, two, three, y'all, to the beat, y'all"). Later, the MCs grew more varied in their vocal and rhythmic approach, incorporating brief rhymes, often with a sexual or scatological theme, in an effort at differentiating themselves and entertaining the audience. These early raps incorporated similar rhyming lyrics from African American culture (see roots of hip hop music), such as the dozens. While Kool Herc & the Herculoids were the first hip hop stars (in certain neighborhoods of New York), more emcee teams quickly sprouted up. Frequently, these were collaborations between former gang members, such as Afrikaa Bambaataa's Universal Zulu Nation (now a large, international organization). During the early 1970s, breakdancing arose during block parties, as b-boys and b-girls got in front of the audience to dance in a distinctive, frenetic style. The style was documented for release to a world wide audience for the first time in Beat Street.
The causes of hip hop
The reasons for the rise of hip hop are complex. Perhaps most importantly, it required little expense to purchase the equipment. Virtually anyone could MC along with the popular beats of the day (since the original rhymes were simple and unoriginal), and then perform at block parties. There was no expectation of recording, thus making hip hop a form of folk music (as long as one does not, as some do, exclude electronic music from being folk). MCs could be creative, pairing nonsense rhymes and teasing friends and enemies alike in front of crowds (this teasing was similar to the Jamaican practice of toasting at blues parties).
Another reason for hip hop's rise was the decline of disco, funk and rock in the mid- to late 70s. Disco arose among black and gay male clubs in America, and quickly spread to Europe, where it grew increasingly sunny, bright and pop. Once disco broke into the mainstream in the United States, and was thus appropriated, its original fans and many other listeners rejected it as pre-packaged and soul-less. While many remember the white teens shouting "disco sucks" at every available opportunity, often in racist and homophobic contexts, inner-city blacks were similarly rejecting disco and disco-fied rock, soul and funk (which was virtually everything on the radio at the time). If disco had anything redeemable for urban audiences, however, it was the strong, eminently danceable beats, and hip hop rose to take advantage of the beats while providing a musical outlet for the masses that hated disco. Disco-inflected music (though comparatively little actual disco) was one of the most popular sources of beats in the first ten or twelve years of hip hop's existence. In Washington DC, go go also emerged as a reaction against disco, and eventually mixed with hip hop during the early 1980s, while electronic music did the same, developing as house music in Chicago and techno music in Detroit.
Along with the low expense and the demise of other forms of popular music, social and political events further accelerated the rise of hip hop. In 1959, an expressway was built through the heart of the Bronx, displacing many of the middle-class white communities and causing widespread unemployment among the remaining blacks as stores and factories fled the area. By the 1970s, poverty was rampant. When a 15,000+ apartment building was built at the northern edge of the Bronx in 1968, the last of the middle-class fled the area and the area's black and Latino gangs began to grow in power.
Diversification of styles in the later part of the decade
In the mid-1970s, hip hop split into two camps. One sampled disco and focused on getting the crowd dancing and excited, with simple or no rhymes; these DJs included Pete DJ Jones, Eddie Cheeba, DJ Hollywood and Love Bug Starski. On the other hand, another group were focusing on rapid-fire rhymes and a more complex rhythmic scheme. These included Afrika Bambaataa, Paul Winley, Grandmaster Flash and Bobby Robinson.
As the 70s became the 1980s, many felt that hip hop was a novelty fad that would soon die out. This was to become a constant accusation for at least the next fifteen years. Some of the earliest rappers were novelty acts, using the themes to Gilligan's Island and using sweet doo wop-influenced harmonies.
With the advent of recorded hip hop in the late 1970s, all the major elements and techniques of the genre were in place. Though not yet mainstream, it was well-known among African Americans, even outside of New York City; hip hop could be found in cities as diverse as Los Angeles, Washington DC, Baltimore, Dallas, Kansas City, Miami, Seattle, St. Louis, New Orleans and Houston.
Philadelphia was, for many years, the only city whose contributions to hip hop were valued as greatly as New York City's by hip hop purists and critics. Hip hop was popular there at least as far back as 1976 (first record: "Rhythm Talk", by Jocko Henderson in 1979), and the New York Times dubbed Philly the Graffiti Capital of the World in 1971, due to the influence of such legendary graffiti artists as Cornbread. The first female solo artist to record hip hop was Lady B. ("To the Beat Y'All", 1980), a Philly-area radio DJ. Later Schoolly D helped invent gangsta rap.
The 1980s
The 1980s saw intense diversification in hip hop, which developed into a more complex form. The simple tales of 1970s emcees were replaced by highly metaphoric lyrics rapping over complex, multi-layered beats. Some rappers even became mainstream pop performers, including Kurtis Blow, whose appearance in a Sprite commercial was a memorable moment, the first hip hop musician to be considered mainstream enough to represent a major product. Another popular performer was LL Cool J, who was perhaps the first rapper to be accused of selling out after the release of the pop Bigger and Deffer (1987).
Politicization
The first rap records (Fatback Band's King Tim III, Grandmaster Flash's "Super Rappin'" and The Sugarhill Gang's Rapper's Delight) were actually recorded by live musicians in the studio, with the rappers adding their vocals later. This changed with DJ records such as Grandmaster Flash's "Adventures on the Wheels of Steel" (known for pioneering use of scratching, which was invented by Grandwizard Theodore in 1977) as well as electronic recordings such as "Planet Rock" by Afrika Bambaataa and Run DMC's very basic, all electronic "Sucker MC's" and "Peter Piper" which contains genuine cutting by Run DMC member Jam Master Jay. These early innovators were based out of New York City, which remained the capital of hip hop during the 1980s. This style became known as East Coast hip hop.
Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five released a "message rap", called "The Message", in 1982; this was one of the earliest examples of recorded hip hop with a socially aware tone. In 1984, Marley Marl accidentally caught a drum machine snare hit in the sampler; this innovation was vital in the development of electro and other later types of hip hop.
Popularization
The mid-1980s saw a flourishing of the first hip hop artists to achieve mainstream success, such as Kurtis Blow (Kurtis Blow), LL Cool J (Radio) and especially Run-D.M.C. (Raising Hell), as well as influences in mainstream music, such as Blondie's Debbie Harry rapping in the first non-black hit to feature rapping, "Rapture". 1986 saw two hip hop acts in the Billboard Top Ten; Run-D.M.C.'s "Walk This Way" collaboration with Aerosmith, and the Beastie Boys "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)". The pop success of both singles was unheard of for the time; "Walk This Way" has proved especially memorable for its early mixture of hip hop and rock (though it was not the first such mixture). Also, the mid-1980s saw the rise of the first major black female group, Salt-N-Pepa, who hit the charts with singles like "The Show Stoppa" in 1985. Ice-T's seminal "6n' Da Mornin'" (1986) is one of the first nationally successful West Coast hip hop singles, and is often said to be the beginning of gangsta hip hop (along with Schoolly D, LL Cool J and N.W.A.).
In 1987, Public Enemy brought out their debut album (Yo! Bum Rush the Show) on Def Jam - one of hip hop's oldest and most important labels, and Boogie Down Productions followed up in 1988 with By All Means Necessary; both records pioneered wave of hard-edged politicized performers. The late 1980s saw a flourishing of like-minded rappers on both coasts, and Public Enemy's It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back became surprisingly successful, despite its militant and confrontational tone. Aside from the lyrical innovations, Public Enemy's Terminator X (along with Eric B., of Eric B. & Rakim) pioneered new techniques in sampling that resulted in dense, multi-layered sonic collages.
The rise of gangsta rap
Main article: Gangsta rap
The first gangsta rap album to become a mainstream pop hit was N.W.A.'s Straight Outta Compton (1988). N.W.A.'s controversial subject matter, including drugs, violence and sex, helped popularize what became known as gangsta rap (said to have begun with Ice-T's "6N' Da Morning"). Specifically, the song "Fuck Tha Police" earned the trio the enmity of law enforcement, resulting in a strongly-worded letter of discontent from the FBI. N.W.A.'s most lasting impact, however, was placing the West Coast on the hip hop map.
Diversification
Though women, whites and Latinos had long been a part of the hip hop scene, it was not until the 1980s that groups other than young African American males began creating popular, innovative and distinctive styles of hip hop music.
The first rap recording by a solo female was Philadelphia-based Lady B.'s "To the Beat, Y'All" (1980), while The Sequencers were the first female group to record. It was, not, however, until Salt-N-Pepa that female performers gained mainstream success.
The first groups to mix hip hop and heavy metal included 1984's "Rock Box" (Run-D.M.C.) and "Rock Hard" (Beastie Boys). Later in the decade, Ice-T and Anthrax were among the most innovative mixers of thrash metal and hip hop. These fusions helped move hip hop into new audiences, and introduced it to legions of new fans in the States and abroad.
Latin hip hop
Main article: Latin hip hop
Hip hop had always had a significant connection to the Latino community in New York City, and hip hop soon spread among Latinos. The first Latino DJ was DJ Disco Wiz. The Mean Machine's "Disco Dreams", with lyrics in both English and Spanish is widely considered the first Latino hip hop recording, though Los Angeles-based Kid Frost is usually thought of as the first major Latino artist. Performers like Cypress Hill ("Insane in the Membrane"), Gerardo ("Rico Suave") and Mellow Man Ace ("Mentirosa") later popularized Latino hip hop in the United States, while countries like Puerto Rico, Cuba, Brazil and Mexico created their own popular scenes.
Electro
Main article: Electro
While Run DMC laid the groundwork for East Coast rap, "Planet Rock" (Afrika Bambaataa) was the one of the first electro tracks. Based off a sample from German rock group Kraftwerk (Trans-Europe Express), "Planet Rock" inspired countless groups, based out of New Jersey, New York City and Detroit, among other places, to make electronic dance music (called electro) that strongly influenced techno and house music, and especially the burgeoning electro music scene in northern England, the Midlands and London.
"Planet Rock" influenced hip hop outside of New York as well, such as Latin hip hop (also Latin freestyle or freestyle) such as Expose and The Cover Girls, as well as Los Angeles-based electro hop performers like the World Class Wreckin' Cru and Egyptian Lover.
Further spread within the US
By the end of the 1970s, hip hop was known in most every major city in the country, and had developed into numerous regional styles and variations. Outside of New York City, New Jersey and Philadelphia, where hip hop had long been well-established, the 1980s saw intense regional diversification.
The first Chicago hip hop record was the "Groovy Ghost Show" by Casper, released in 1980 and a distinctively Chicago sound began by 1982, with Caution and Plee Fresh. Chicago also saw the development of house music (a form of electronic dance music) in the early 1980s and this soon mixed with hip hop and began featuring rappers; this is called hip house. Chicago's hip house scene (which mixed house music with rapping) gained some national popularity in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Hip house artists included Technotronic, Doug Lazy and Mr. Lee.
Los Angeles hardcore rappers (Ice-T) and electro hop artists (Egyptian Lover) began recording by 1983, though the first recorded West Coast rap was Disco Daddy and Captain Rapp's "Gigolo Rapp" in 1981.
In Miami, audiences listened to Miami bass, a form of sultry and sexually explicit dance music which arose from Los Angeles electro; it frequently included rapping.
In Washington D.C. a hip hop-influenced form of dance music called go go emerged and incorporated rapping and DJing.
International spread in the 1980s
Beginning in the early 1980s, hip hop culture began its spread across the world. By the end of the 1990s, popular hip hop was sold almost everywhere, and native performers were recording in most every country with a popular music industry. Elements of hip hop became fused with numerous styles of music, including ragga, cumbia and samba, for example.
Hip hop had spread to South Africa by the early 1980s, and soon produced the crew Black Noise, though they did not start emceeing until 1989, after which the apartheid era government banned hip hop until 1993. Since then, South Africa has produced its own styles, like kwela
Germany saw a hip hop scene begin developing in the early 1980s, focused around breakdancing. The first major crew from the country was Die Fantastischen Vier; many of the most well-known German hip hop performers are Turkish.
Italy saw the introduction of hip hop in the early 1980s, and soon produced its own performers, like Articolo 31 and Jovanotti.
Filipino hip hop began in the early 1980s, producing performers like Dyords Javier ("Na Onseng Delight") and Vincent Dafalong ("Nunal").
Nip hop, or Japanese hip hop, began in about 1983, first focused on breakdancing. Musicians, especially DJs (though also some rappers), followed by the end of the decade.
France, like many European countries, has mostly produced hip hop performers from immigrant communities, such as Algerians. The first French hip hop album was Dee Nasty's 1984 Paname City Rappin', though the first popular performer from the country was MC Solaar some years later.
Hip hop reached Senegal in about 1985, where a legion of new performers arose, many mixing hip hop with their native mbalax genre.
The first major hip hop scene in the UK began in mid-80s England, and was followed by an array of rappers and DJs. The United Kingdom is a home for electro and other hip hop-influenced varieties of electronic music, such as trip hop.
Hip hop arrived in Greece in about 1987, though it did not begin to produce well-known performers until the mid-1990s.
The late 1980s also saw the creation of a major hip hop scene in Madrid, Spain, following a major label push to create a hip hop industry in the country.
In the late 1980s, Belgium produced a number of electro, techno and hip hop artists, such as Technotronic, who have achieved some mainstream European success. They were followed by underground stars like De Puta Madre.
Centered in Warsaw, the Polish hip hop scene began in the very late 80s, when performers like PM Cool Lee began their careers.
The 1980s saw hip hop spread to Cuba, imported by Nehanda Abiodun, an African American activist living in self-imposed exile.
The 1990s
In the 90s, gangsta rap became mainstream, beginning in about 1992, with the release of Dr. Dre's The Chronic. This album established a style called G Funk, which soon came to dominate West Coast hip hop. Later in the decade, record labels based out of Atlanta, St. Louis and New Orleans gained fame for their local scenes. By the end of the decade, especially Eminem's success, hip hop was an integral part of popular music, and nearly all pop songs had a major hip hop component.
The rise of the West Coast
Main article: West Coast rap
After N.W.A. broke up, Dr. Dre (a former member) released The Chronic in 1992.
The Chronic took West Coast rap in a new direction, influenced strongly by P funk artists, melding the psychedelic funky beats with slowly drawled lyrics—this came to be known as G funk, and dominated mainstream hip hop for several years through a roster of artists on Death Row Records, including most popularly, Snoop Doggy Dogg (Doggystyle).
Though West Coast artists eclipsed New York, some East Coast rappers achieved success. New York became dominated in terms of sales by Puff Daddy (No Way Out), Mase (Harlem World) and other Bad Boy Records artists, in spite of often scathing criticism for a perceived over-reliance on sampling and a general watered-down sound, aimed directly for pop markets. Other New York based artists continued with a harder edged sound, achieving only limited popular success. Nas (Illmatic), Busta Rhymes (The Coming) and The Wu-Tang Clan (Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)), for example, received excellent reviews but generally mediocre or sporadic sales.
East Coast-West Coast
Main article: Hip hop rivalries
The East Coast-West Coast rivalry soon came to a head, partially (some critics believe entirely) due to music media publicizing otherwise minor feuds. Many white music journalists and listeners did not understand that "MC battles" were an integral part of hip hop since its inception, and that, generally, little was meant by open taunts on albums and in performances. A rivalry definitely existed in terms of sales, as well as the signing of blockbuster artists, and some bad blood existed between certain artists from both sides, most famously the West Coast's Tupac Shakur (All Eyez on Me) and the East Coast's Notorious B.I.G. (Life After Death). In 1996, Shakur was murdered in Las Vegas by still-unknown gunmen. The Notorious B.I.G. was murdered a few months later, also by unknown gunmen. Copious theories abound as to who killed both artists, though the general consensus is that both murders were related to the East Coast-West Coast rivalry. Conspiracy theories are still floated, and include claims that one or both deaths were faked, committed by police or other government agents or that Shakur was killed by an obsessed fan, while Biggie was killed by someone working on behalf of Suge Knight, Shakur's label head, under the impression (perhaps mistaken) that Biggie had been responsible for Shakur's death.
Diversification of styles
In the wake of declining sales following the deaths of both superstar artists, the sounds of hip hop were greatly diversified. Most important was the rise of Southern rap, starting with OutKast (ATLiens) and Goodie Mob (Soul Food), based out of Atlanta. Later, Master P (Ghetto D) built up an impressive roster of popular artists (the No Limit posse) based out of New Orleans and incorporating G funk and Miami bass influences, and distinctive regional sounds from St. Louis, Chicago, Washington D.C., Detroit (ghettotech) and others began to gain some popularity. Also in the 1990s, rapcore (a fusion of hip hop and heavy metal) became popular among mainstream audiences. Rage Against the Machine, Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit were among the most popular rapcore bands.
Though white rappers like the Beastie Boys (Paul's Boutique), Vanilla Ice (To the Extreme) and 3rd Bass (The Cactus Album) had had some popular success and/or critical acceptance from the hip hop community, Detroit-native Eminem's success (beginning in 1999 with The Slim Shady LP) came as a surprise to many. Like many of the most successful hip hop artists, Eminem came to be criticized for alleged glorification of violence, misogyny, and drug abuse, as well as homophobia and albums laced with constant profanity.
Alternative hip hop
Main article: Alternative hip hop
Though mainstream acceptance has been almost entirely limited to gangsta rap, isolated alternative rap artists, often with a socially aware and positive or optimistic tone, have achieved some success. In 1988 and 1989, albums like De La Soul's Three Feet High and Rising, Gang Starr's No More Mr. Nice Guy and the Jungle Brothers' Straight Out the Jungle are usually considered the first albums in this genre, with jazz-based samples and intelligent lyrics (see jazz rap) strongly influenced by the Afrocentric messages of Bambaataa's Zulu Nation collective. Later alternative artists, many of whom were members of the Native Tongues Posse, including Tribe Called Quest (The Low End Theory), Mos Def (Black on Both Sides) and The Roots (Things Fall Apart) also achieved some mainstream success, though the influence of jazz grew less pronounced (with some exceptions, most notably Guru's Jazzmatazz project). Jazz rap went on to influence the development of trip hop in the United Kingdom, which fused hip hop, jazz and electronic music; it is said to have been started by Massive Attack's Blue Lines (1991).
Censorship issues
Hip hop and rap music (and variations thereof) have probably encountered more problems with censorship than any other form of popular music, especially in recent years with the increase in scatalogical, sexual, and violent lyrics. 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 rap/hip-hop recordings are broadcast in censored form, with offending language blanked out of the soundtrack (though usually leaving the backing music intact). The result - which quite often renders the remaining lyrics unintelligible - 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: The Spy Who Shagged Me, in which a character - performing in a parody of a rap music video - performs an entire verse that is blanked out.
References
- The Vibe History of Hip Hop. 1999. Vibe magazine. ISBN 0609805037
- Hip Hop America. Nelson, George. Penguin Book. 2000. ISBN 0140280227
- David Toop (1984/1991). 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.
- Yes Yes Y'All: Oral History of Hip Hop's First Decade. Fricke, Jim and Charlie Ahearn (eds). Experience Music Project. Perseus Books Group. ISBN 0306811847
- Corvino, Daniel and Shawn Livernoche. A Brief History of Rhyme and Bass: Growing Up With Hip Hop. Lightning Source Inc. ISBN 1401028519