Hip Hop Essay

Hip hop, the creation of electronic sound and enticing language is a style born from the African American and Hispanic cultures. It formed in New York City from block parties and the participation of the youth culture. This style of music began as a minimal change in rhythm to a globally popular culture consisting of graffiti art, dancing, and music. Hip hop was not only a type of tasteful music, but it also became a benchmark in history. When this style of music was created, it served as an outlet for those who did not have a voice, particularly the minority groups. These groups were given rights that they deserved just like everyone else. In the 1970’s is when hip hop began to spread, creating not just

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.

To begin, in Tricia’s Rose’s Hip Hop Wars, the author goes into great detail about the current state of hip hop. From reading this book, one will see that Rose feels worried about this new generation of hip hop. This can be seen when Rose states, “Hip hop is in a terrible crisis” (Rose, 1). Rose feels concern for this culture because of the messages that are coming from hip hop (Rose, 1). For instance, Rose states “… the most commercially promoted and financially successful hip hop…. has increasingly become a playground for caricatures of black gangstas, pimps, and hoes” (Rose, 1). It becomes increasingly clear that Rose feels that these messages are responsible for the “dumbing’ down of hip hop’s imagery” (Rose, 3). The reason for this being that these messages are so prevalent in hip hop music. Rose states, “relying on an ever-narrowing range of images and themes, this commercial juggernaut has played a central role in the near-depletion of what was once a vibrant, diverse, and complex popular genre” (Rose, 1). In other words, when certain messages are delayed over and over again, it becomes hard to focus on anything else. This is one example of why Rose is concerned about hip hop. Overall though, the author is concerned with the messages being sent from hip hop and how it is affecting what hip hop use to be. Further into her book, it is also clear that Rose is concerned with the negative outlook that people have on hip hop. For example, Rose states “…the increased profitability of the gangsta-pimp-ho trinity has inflamed already rile critics” (Rose, 4). Therefore, not only are these new messages changing hip hop, but they are

It’s a culture that has gotten so big that its influence can be seen everywhere from movies, commercials, and even pop songs. “We live in a popularity contest now,” says the rapper Chuck Inglish. The genre has become so recognized to the point of over saturation, in addition the music industry has monopolized the radio to dumb down the masses with homogenous rap songs made by a handful of people. So it’s up to the listener to “Put our money where our ears want to be,” and support fresh, creative, and unique hip hop. If the listeners become intent with such sub standard expectations, then the authenticity of Hip Hop will die

2. Hip Hop was first created by DJ Kool Herc and copied by many other DJ’s.

Hip-Hop is a complex cultural movement formed during the early 1970s by African Americans in the slums of South Bronx, New York (Dyson 6), it propagated outside of the African American community in late 1980s, and by the opening of the 21th century it became the most spread culture in the world. Hip-Hop consists of four elements: Deejay, Break-Dancing, Rapping, and Graffiti. (Kenon 112)

In the early 70's, a Jamaican, DJ known as Kool Herc attempted to combine his Jamaican style of disk jockey, that involved reciting improvised rhymes over the dub versions of his reggae records (Davey 1). He also invented turntables, which kept the music going, with the occasional voice on the top of records, which started the roots of rap music. Over time, the culture broke into mainstream, spread around the world, and young people who did not have much to do, created not only multi-million industry, but have also created a way we can speak to each other all around the world. Hip hop is linked to other music such as rap which is embraced by urban black population. It is raw self-expression, sometimes features expletive lyrics, and violence. “Hip hop artists spoke to despair and pain of urban youth and the poor who were often without a voice. The rappers themselves were, the product of that reality, and it was conveyed through their lyrics” (Muhammad 1).

Kool DJ Herc opened the door to the world for many up and comers such as Grandmaster Flash. DJ Grandmaster Flash and his group the Furious Five were hip-hop, greatest innovators, transcending the genres’ party music origins to explore the full scope of its lyrical and sonic horizons. Grandmaster Flash, born Joseph Saddler, began spinning records as a team growing up in the Bronx. By age 19, while attending technical school courses in electronics during the day, he was also d-jaying on a local disco circuit. Over time he developed a series of groundbreaking techniques including “cutting” (moving between tracks exactly on beat), “back spinning” (manually turning records to repeat brief snippets of sound), and “phasing” (manipulating turntable speeds). In short Grandmaster Flash created the basic vocabulary, which DJ’s continue to follow even today (Brewster and Broughton, 2000).

Hip-hop is an underground urban movement which emerged in the South Bronx, NY during the early 1970s. Hip-hop is composed of four basic elements; DJ-ing, emceeing (rapping), graffiti and style, and break dancing. These elements are how most people recognize hip-hop culture. Many other people think of hip-hop as just a music genre, but it is more than just a music genre. It is cultivating way of living, and several people fail to understand its true meaning. It originated as so much more than just art and entertainment. Hip-hop is the constantly evolving spirt and consciousness of urban youth that keeps recreating itself in a never-ending cycle (Global Awareness through Hip-Hop Culture Program). TIME magazine has even considered it the most important youth culture on the planet (time.com). It has, and continues to influence the young urban crowd through its music, style, and role models. Hip-hop has evolved throughout the years, and has made several changes to the music and dance, the style and clothing, and the influential roles. Both good and not so good. Nevertheless, hip-hop culture continues to influence people.

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. `

Hip Hop was born in the neighborhood, where young people gathered in parks, on playgrounds, and street corners, to speak poetry over mechanical sounds and borrowed melodies. Hip Hop was always bigger than just the music; it was also break dancing, the gymnastic dance style that valued improvised, angular athleticism over choreographed fluidity. Hip hop was also fashion such as: hats, jackets, gold chains, and brand sneakers. Hip Hop was graffiti, to a new way of expression that employed spray paint as the medium and subway walls as the canvas.

It has been 30 years since Hip-Hop was first “introduced” to the world. Whether it be fashion or politics, this musical genre/culture plays a huge role in everyday life and has generated billions of dollars across the globe. In this paper I will be discussing when, where, and how Hip-Hop was created, “old school Hip-Hop, “Hip-Hop’s Golden Age”, “Hardcore rap” “Gangsta rap”, “G-Funk”, 21st century Hip-Hop, and how Hip-Hop affects society.

Hip-Hop is a cultural movement that emerged from the dilapidated South Bronx, New York in the early 1970’s. The area’s mostly African American and Puerto Rican residents originated this uniquely American musical genre and culture that over the past four decades has developed into a global sensation impacting the formation of youth culture around the world. The South Bronx was a whirlpool of political, social, and economic upheaval in the years leading up to the inception of Hip-Hop. The early part of the 1970’s found many African American and Hispanic communities desperately seeking relief from the poverty, drug, and crime epidemics engulfing the gang dominated neighborhoods. Hip-Hop proved to be successful as both a creative outlet for

Hip Hop music became one of the primary constructive outlets for Black Americans to release their thoughts, pain, and anguish about the injustices and mistreatments of Black people. Even though most of the pioneers in Hip-Hop either were not born in America or are 2nd generation immigrants that proves that common oppression can lead to unity. The fact that that these individuals were impoverished and felt marginalized is what brought them together and lead to the culture today. Deep rooted racism in the United States kept the genre of music suppressed for a while before it was allowed to even be played on the airwaves. Now, in 2011, the main consumers of byproducts of hip hop are White Americans.

Hip- hop has become a phenomenon throughout youth culture. Many believed hip-hop was only a phase of music like disco, but as the genre continued to expand and evolve, it became clear that hip-hop was here to stay. (History of hip- hop: past, present, future) Hip- hop is made up of 2 main elements, DJing and rapping. DJ is short for disc jockey, which is a person who usually uses turntables to make music, and rapping is talking and chanting in an easy and familiar manner. (Hip-Hop: A Short History) In writing this research paper, I will explain the most impactful years of hip-hop, and the events surrounding them, starting from 1979, when Sugarhill Gang released “Rappers Delight”.