Hip-hop, while opposed to rap, generally defines the whole culture. Rap formed during the 1970s with the rise in popularity of block parties in New York, particularly among African American youth residing in the Bronx. Rapping developed as a vocal style in which the artist speaks along with an instrumental or synthesized beat. The roots of rapping are found in African-American music and ultimate African music, with roots originating from the griots of west African culture. The African American traditions of signifyin' (an early form of wordplay), the dozens (game of spoken words between two communities) and jazz poetry all had an influence on rap music.
What is Hip-Hop? Hip-hop is a cultural movement best known for its impact on music in the form of the musical genre of the same name. It has its origins in the Bronx, in New York City, during the 1970s, mostly among African Americans but with some influence from the Latin American population of the area as well. The culture has gone from being a relatively underground style to being a major style throughout the world, and it has been commercialized and popularized, especially in the United States. The four traditional pillars of hip-hop are DJing, rapping, breakdancing, and graffiti art.
Hip hop was originally a combination of rap, DJing, breakdancing and "tagging", which was the hip hop name for producing graffiti. Therefore, "rap" is the most famous part of hip hop culture, but "hip hop" comprises more than just rapping and rappers. These days, though, people often use the term "hip hop" when discussing music which combines rapping and Dj, and the term "hip hop" can be considered a proper definition of rap. “Rap had antecedents in African-American culture going all the way back to the spoken-word artists of pre-slavery West Africa, the griots. Some of today's rappers, academics and media commentators are on record calling today's rap artists "modern-day
Drawing his inspirations from the Notorious B.I.G. and 2Pac; Pyrex Jones aims to follow the same loose and easy flow. He also wishes to incorporate some of the social problems including: hardships, difficulties of violence, and some of the ethnic and racial dilemmas. This transforms into a huge fan following because the common listener could easily relate to this kind of music. Instilled with a real hustler’s ambition, Pyrex Jones has been making buzz locally with mixed tapes such as Microwave Music 1, Mafia Muzik, and various videos and performances.
Clive Campbell, known as DJ Kool Herc, is the credited as being the pioneer of hip hop in the United States. “Kool Herc was inspired by the Jamaican tradition of impromptu poetry during toast, and thus decided to accompany it with rhythmic beats generated by sampling. “ (Chan) Hip hop offered the youth a way to express themselves and bought forth new ideas. Hip hop was a way youths in black inner city neighborhoods to express what they were feeling, seeing, and living and to many it became a form of entertainment. Back in the days as some people may call it hip hop was a way that a certain person felt and the things that they would say was things that happens in real life everyday situations.
These artists wrote about various meaningful topics - unity, social issues, politics, and the search for identity. These are the kinds of songs I would listen to because these are topics that people could easily relate to, while also providing an insight. Rap artists today always rap about how much money they can wave in their hands, wearing Versace, and clubbing. This made me realize how prejudice I was
Hip-Hop: The Past, the Present, and the Future Nick Carlin MUS 304 Dr. Gavin Webb December 7, 2012 Introduction Hip-hop, with its most basic definition, is the combination of the musical genre known as rap and musical accompaniment known as the “beat”. Rap is a musical style that incorporates rhythmic speech, usually with a rhyming pattern. An important distinction that must be made is that while rap focuses solely on spoken lyrics, Hip-Hop contains both a lyrical and a musical component. Although Hip-Hop is described as a genre of music, it can also be seen as a cultural movement that encompasses not only the music, but visual and performance aspects as well. The roots of Hip-Hop can be traced back to the early 1970’s in New York.
As the shift in hip-hop turned more and more towards the “Gangster Rap” of the West Coast, Malcolm X continued to symbolize upcoming artist’s cultural identity. However, this new cultural identity was often that of misogynistic and homophobic violence. Commercially, Malcolm X began a staple of success. A 1992 biofilm entitled, “X” was released and Malcolm X continued to be incorporated in increasing proportions as part of the hip-hop generation. He now was on the same pedestal of other civil rights legends such as Frederick Douglass, W.E.B Du Bois, and of course, his counterpart Martin Luther King.
HISTORY OF HIP HOP Hip-Hop emerged in the 1970’s upon the arrival of a one Kool DJ Herc. Kool DJ Herc migrated to the United States from Kingston, Jamaica and settled in the West Bronx of New York. Kool DJ Herc was a disc jockey that attempted to incorporate his Jamaica style of disc jockeying, which involved reciting improvised rhymes over reggae records. Unfortunately for Kool DJ Herc New York seemed uninterested in reggae at that time. This forced Kool DJ Herc to find another appealing sound in order to please his audiences, which he did.
Like other genres such as Hip Hop, R&B, Rap, and Pop; Reggae has grown in many ways. It has always had a fairly large following in the United Kingdom, especially during the 1970s and 1980s. In the second half of the 1970s, the UK punk rock scene was starting to take off, and some punk DJs played reggae records during their DJ sets. Reggae has created some of the greatest artists whom paid the way for current artist today as well as those who are soon to come (Bogues, Anthony). Reggae music has its own style and culture that is distinctively unique.