Since ancient times music has been a means of communication and expression. The beating of drums, clapping of hands, stomping of the feet, and the rhythmic chants of the people brought a form of symphony to it all. In a research article by Denise Herd (2014) “Evolutionary scientists believe that a musical culture would have helped prehistoric human species to survive because the music coordinates emotions, helps important messages to be communicated, motivates people to identify with a group, and motivates individuals to support other group members.” Over the decades this form of expression has continued to change. With the rise of each new generation of people there is an addition or a twist to what music once was, there causing it to evolved …show more content…
Of these genres, two that attract a large majority of the attraction and artists are Rap and Hip Hop. These two genres, which first came to be in American during the 1970’s have attracted the attention of people the world. In the music world Rap and Hip Hop music have its own unique meaning, views, interests, culture and constructs that affect listeners differently. In the music world Rap music is and of itself a complete genre. More than a century before Rap exploded onto the American music scene, musicians in West Africa were using the beat of drums to accompany their rhythmic story telling. During the same period of time in history, folk artists from the Caribbean countries were using rhyme as a means of storytelling. It is the combination of poets from both the African and Caribbean back ground that laid the foundation for what contemporary American Rap music has become. According to the Webster’s dictionary Rap music is a style of music that is popular with African Americans, it consist of the recurrent and insistent beat patterns which provide a background and guide for rapid, boastful and slangy rhyming intoned by a vocalist or vocalists. Rap music is essentially the constant rhyming created by Rap artists that is
Rap is a genre in music that consists of rhyming or being poetic over a certain unique beat. The origin of rap is significantly different from any other form of music. The flow, change, subject of the music, and the instrumentals behind the rapping has all changed with time. Most people would underestimate the complexity of the music and the evolution it has undergone. The real roots of rap music began in the late 1980’s with the “Golden Age.” It was innovative and mostly based around the party scene. Gangsta Rap followed the Golden age and was very impactful on the young culture. After the Gangsta Rap era came the time in rap referred to as Crunk Rap which combined the country sound with the party lifestyle. Conscious
The preceding genres of rap music are all closely related, but Hip Hop originated from Jamaican reggae music. There are other cultures who have adopted hip hop influence such as Latinos and Asians. Although rap music has been widely accepted by different cultures all over the world, their have not been many studies dedicated to researching if rap music increases violent behavior through the lyrical content of the songs. Out of all of the genres of rap music, Gangsta Rap has been noted by past researchers to promote violent self identification which in term promotes violence through lyrical content. Gangsta Rap became popular in the 1990s. In a study conducted by Herd (2009) that included 340 gangsta rap songs, it was found that violent references dramatically increased and those references were viewed as positive and linked to wealth, prowess, and glamour. In reference to Kubrin (2005), he found that “The St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture categorizes ‘gangsta rap as the most controversial kind of rap genre, because it received global attention for having violent depictions of urban ghetto life’ in America.” (Abrams 2000:198)
Hip Hop: Beyond Beats & Rhymes is a documentary created and produced by Bryon Hurt. The documentary challenges the dominant discourses of hyper masculinity and the misogynist treatment of women in commercialized rap. Of the many mainstream phenomenons that are discussed by Bryon in the documentary, the issue of hyper masculinity in Hip Hop is questioned greatly. Throughout the film, the producer was able to show the wide acceptance of hyper masculinity not only in Hip Hop but also American culture as well. He defined America as a hyper masculine and hyper violent nation for the reason that using a gun to defend one’s family became a metaphor for masculinity and a tool for widespread violence. The issue of issue of hyper masculinity can be
According to Wikipedia, Hip-hop music, also called rap music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted. It developed as part of hip hop culture, a subculture defined by four key stylistic elements: MCing/rapping, DJing/scratching, breaking/dancing, and graffiti writing. Hip hop is also characterized by these other elements: sampling (or synthesis), and beatboxing.
stuff, so I don't listen to that genre all that much, but there are many
In the global popularity scene, hip hop now rules, and is a dominant cultural form in many parts of the world. Rap gives voice to every culture that produces and circulates it, not just African-Americans. As a new force, rap levels the playing field, opening doors to new cultural players, and ripens for new corporate snakes to pounce on. Circulating ideas, images, sound, and style, it is becoming central to the new multimedia global culture and is an expression of a multicultural world with no borders and limits.
For as long as mankind has walked on this earth, music has been an important part of our culture and lifestyles. Each walk of life beats to a different drum. Different cultures use music for many aspects of their lives; for religious purposes, for celebrations, for comfort, for sorrow, for relaxation, for sports, for dances, for energy, for learning, for sleeping, and for sexual experiences. Everyone uses music for something. Music connects with people and reaches them in ways that words simply cannot. Music is a representation of what feelings sound like. It expresses emotion and brings that characteristic out from within us; it tells us a story. Every generation has its’ own sound and different music styles have emerged and become
In order to understand hip-hop dance, it is important to recognize hip-hop music and where it came from. Many scholars of rap music relate the founding of rap to African and African American oral and musical traditions, specifically African griots and storytellers. They link the rhythm of rap to the use of drums in Africa and to African American music in the United States, from slave songs and spirituals to jazz and R&B. Scholars have found very interesting connections between rap music and Black nationalist traditions (traditions historically practiced by black people that serve as part of their racial identity). Rap is similar to the “call and response of the black church, the joy and pain of the blues, the jive talk and slang of the hipsters and jazz musicians, the boasting of street talk, the sidesplitting humor of comedians, and the articulateness of black activists.” All of these African American oral traditions, including rap, can be traced back to West African oral traditions. In traditional African societies, the spoken word and oral culture included poetry, storytelling, and speaking to drumbeats. The links between rap music and African American oral and musical traditions demonstrate that hip-hop music represents more than just sound. It represents history. This aspect of it, in my opinion, makes this type of music very unique and makes it carry more value.
You’re standing in a crowd amongst thousands of fans at an Eminem concert, people from all over, shoulder to shoulder in a massive stadium, singing along every word of their favorite song for hours. People from all over are connected to each other through the power of music. When it comes to music, the life experiences, inspiration, and current events play a tremendously significant role. Hip hop is a form of art which can be expressed through rap songs, break-dancing, and graffiti art. The culture has become so popular that it has entered today’s fashion and modern language. Hip hop music is an extremely large part of today’s generation and a global genre, which influences the generation all over the world.
Hip-hop culture began to develop in the south Bronx area of New York City during the 1970s. It had a significant influence in the music industry. Hip-hop music generally includes rapping, but other elements such as sampling and beatboxing also play important roles. Rapping, as a key part in the hip-hop music, takes different forms, which including signifying, dozen, toast and jazz poetry. Initially, hip-hop music was a voice of people living in low-income areas, reflecting social, economic and political phenomenon in their life [1]. As time moves on, hip-hop music reached its “golden age”, where it became a mainstream music, featuring diversity, quality, innovation and influence [2]. Gangsta rap, one of the most significant innovations in
The hip-hop culture began in the streets of New York City during the 1970’s and has gone through tremendous changes up until now. Hip-Hop consists of four elements: rap, graffiti, break-dancing, and the disc jockey. In this paper, I intend to fully explain the evolution of rap music, from its infancy to the giant industry it is today.
Throughout the past years Hip Hop and Rap artist use their music to express their views, opinions, and how they are feelings in their songs. From the artist lyrics some will have an understanding of what the artist is talking about because either they have done the same things or is having the same problem. The first amendment of the constitution is freedom of speech and that is all the artist is doing. Although there are many people saying rap music should be concealed because it spread a negative influence on the youth.
Hip Hop culture has come from a inner city expression of life to a multi-billion dollar business. At the beginning of the new millennium it was the top selling genre in the pop charts. It had influences not only on music, but on fashion, film, television, and print. In 2004 Hip Hop celebrated its 30th year anniversary. It wasn’t big for the fact that it was still kicking. It was big because the once Black/Brown inner city culture had grown into a multi-billion dollar global phenomenon (Reeves). Hip Hop culture has provided a platform for all walks of life to speak their mind. Over the past 36 years it has provided us with both entertainment and controversy alike and had a huge impact on our nation’s history. `
The most popular and influential form of African-American pop music of the 1980's and 1990's, rap is also one of the most controversial styles of the rock era. And not just among the guardians of cultural taste and purity that have always been counted among rock 'n' roll's chief enemies--Black, White, rock and soul audiences continue to fiercely debate the musical and social merits of rap, whose most radical innovations subverted many of the musical and cultural tenets upon which rock was built. Antecedents of rap are easy to find in rock with other kinds of music. Music is often used to tell a story, often with spoken rhymes over instruments and rhythms. Talking blues, spoken passages of sanctified prose in gospel,
I was taught that pain makes the best music, because everybody has experienced pain before and now I don’t keep my emotions bottled up. I believe the beauty behind the genre of rap is that it doesn’t have boundaries. Unlike some of the other types of music, rap is worldwide. There’s a vast number of countries that are influenced by the rap culture and adopt things from it. Rap music is an art form that includes: language, storytelling, and poetry.