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Hip-Hop
Definition
Hip-hop
is plural and is defined by an approach to music making rather than a single
stylistic designation.It refers
to the backing music for rap, which is often composed of a collage of excerpts
or "samples from other songs," it also refers to the culture of rap.The
culture of rap is made up of graffiti spraying, break-dancing, and turntablism
in addition to the rapping it self-surrounding the music.Hip-hop
is a cultural form that attempts to negotiate the experiences of marginalization,
brutally truncated opportunity, and oppression within the cultural imperatives
of African American and Caribbean history, identity, and community.As
a subculture it is defined as "a cultural movement which is expressed through
various artistic mediums we call elements.These
four elements are:MCing (rapping),
graffiti art, break-dancing, and DJing (spinning records).Artists
are able to express different aspects of their lives to others through
these elements, as well as opinions, speculations, and gripes.They
can provide positive examples for others like themselves who are on the
same path they were on before they hit the music scene.It
is about pure struggle.It is also
a rebellion against disco.As a style,
it refers to music created with those values in mind.It
has compelled people of all races to search for the excitement, artistic
fulfillment, and even a sense of identity by exploring the black underclass.Hip-hop
is perhaps the only art form that openly celebrates capitalism.Materialism
is shown in many songs.Also, hear
cross-promotion, where one song contains an advertisement for another.The
verbal texture makes it an ideal way to communicate ideas, whether satirical,
political, or personal.
Beginning
of Hip-Hop
From
the beginning hip-hop has been a platform for individuals to express their
life experiences and worldviews to the masses.In
Jamaican ska-era, the 1960's, a DJ would spin and cut the wax and a MC
would sing, shout, or dub poetry over it.That's
the roots of hip-hop, which were brought to New York City by Kool DJ Herc,
but hip-hop or rap was created in New York City.The
roots of hip-hop can be traced all way back to distinct rhythmic styles
and musical characteristics of reggae music from poor Jamaican villages.Hip-hop
began in the Bronx in 1971. Clive Campbell, from Kingston, Jamaica, had
a party for his sister.Soon he
was doing more parties and by 1973, he had become Kool DJ Herc.By
age 18 he was the first, break-beat DJ, reciting rhymes over the "breaks"
or instrumental part of the records he was spinning.He
had two turntables and two copies of each record, so he could play the
break over and over on one turntable then the next.Break-dancing
evolved as a result of the extended drum solos.Another
big name was Joseph Saddler figured out a way to listen to one turntable
on headphones while the other turntable was revving up the crowd.That
way a DJ could keep two records spinning seamlessly over and over again.He
would cue records with his elbows, his feet and behind his back.He
invented "scratching" which is spinning a record back and forth to create
a scratchy sound.He became Grandmaster
Flash.He joined with the Furious
Five and became the first mainstream hip-hop group.Black
and Hispanic youths who had no dance halls and community spaces began dancing
in the streets; first, to disco then to Jamaican influenced DJ remixes,
then to rap.The DJ's would tap into
streetlights to drive the sound systems.Young
musicians, as a result of under funded schools that could not provide instruments,
would use stereo technology to make new sounds.Young
artists painted on subway cars and walls.Break-dancing,
rap, and graffiti art were basically need-induced innovations, and enriched
each other.Graffiti artists designed
posters, stages, sets, and fashions for local DJ's and rap musicians. While
break-dancers followed the rhythms of rap.In
the early to mid 1970's, based on the fundamentals of "beats" and "breaks",
the MC's contrasting styles split into two groups: Disco and B-Boys.Disco
appealed more to the black disco crowd and stressed crowd response over
actual rhyming.B-Boys were more
in touch with the streets than their counterparts.It
favored a tougher, rapid-fire rhyming approach.Kool
DJ Herc and Grandmaster Flash are examples.
-1984
Run-D.M.C. introduces the signifiers of gold chains and untied sneakers.They
kept the beats minimal and emphasized the lyrics, while occasionally adding
hard-rock guitars.
-1980's
and early 1990's saw edgy, political rhymes and dense, sample heavy beats.
-During
the 1980’s, hip-hop began to make its move out of the inner cities.Hip-hop
moved from strictly east coast to west coast as well, and everything in
the middle.TuPac is an example of
a West Coast artist.Women also began
making a move onto the scene during the 1980's.
-In
the 1990’s, hip-hop began to focus on sex, violence, drugs, and most of
all, money.Most of the artists have
lost the ideas of why hip-hop was established.They
are more concerned with collecting Bentley's, Crystal Champagne, and incomprehensible
amounts of platinum jewelry.
-Music
videos are filled with barely clothed women, unbelievably expensive cars,
and a multitude of diamonds and hundred dollar bills.
-Give
it up or Turn it Loose (in the Jungle Groove Remix) By James Brown.This
was known as the National Anthem of Hip-hop.
Some
of the Artists
Marvin
GayeBeastie Boys
Bone
Thug-N-HarmonyHouse of Pain
A
Tribe Called QuestDMX
Wyclef
JeanWu-Tang Clan
OutKastLauryn
Hill
Will
Smith2 Pac
Now
Hip-hop
has become one of the most potent and successful forms of the 20th century.It’s
success due to television shows like BET's Rap City and MTV Raps, and movies.However,
some people think that today's performers embrace only the rapping, not
the essence, or the culture of hip-hop.They
feel that the songs and videos embrace the money and women, who have on
little to no clothing, instead of the meanings hip-hop used to hold.
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.d11
http://www.rapdict.org/terms/h
http://www.journalism.indiana.edu/gallery/student/j201spring01/eviall/sekenny/index.html
http://www.africana.com/Articles/tt_239.htm