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How Latino Hip-Hop Artists Changed Over Time

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Rohan Sukhdeo Matan Cohen Introduction to Comparative Ethnic Studies 10 December 2017 How Have the Factors for Success for Latino Hip-Hop Artists Changed Over Time? The contribution of Latinos to hip-hop has been invaluable to the industry’s growing appeal and history. From its origins in New York in the 1970s to the present, hip-hop has grown to be the most popular genre of music in the world according to Spotify. Furthermore, Hip-Hop took the top five spots for hottest albums of the year in 2016. However, when further analyzing the role that latinos have played in the growth of hip-hop, it’s puzzling to see how little this contribution is represented on Billboard charts, which gauge the level of popularity for music. When taking a look at Billboard’s top 50 Hip-Hop/R&B songs of 2016, a song written or featuring a Latino …show more content…

Carefully examining the various approaches Latino artists have taken to define their form of hip-hop, the success of these rappers has largely depended on incorporating elements that would appeal to non-Latino communities. As the years have progressed, Latino Hip-Hop artists generally transitioned from appropriating the black characterization of hip-hop music to adding their own twist to the genre, thus creating several avenues for success through the medium of media at their respective times. Early Latino rappers had difficult times entering the hip-hop genre as artists. Hip-Hop sprouted in 1970s Bronx with street gangs, such as the Black Spades, Ghetto Brothers, and the Savage Nomads, led by DJ Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa, and Grandmaster Flash (Chang 125). Latino youth, such as Crazy Legs of Rocksteady Crew and Lee Quinones, played a large part in the genesis of hip-hop, particularly in the pillars of graffiti and dancing. As Juan Flores describes in his article

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