Ishmael Beah Research Paper

When rap started, it didn’t have a name. West African musicians in Africa “griots” and folk artists in the Caribbean Islands would tell their stories and current events to the rhythm of a drum or any other handmade instrument. It was also used as a coping method when Africans were captured and forced into slavery. They would sing to try and cover the pain and heartbreak they experienced while being imprisoned.

In the article, Hip-hop; Music and Cultural Movement written by Alan Light, Greg Tate stated that “The term Hip-hop refers to a complex culture comprising four elements: deejaying, or turntabling; rapping, also known as “MCing” or “rhyming”; graffiti painting known as “graf” or “writing”; and “B-boying,” which encompasses hip-hop dance, style, and attitude, along with the sort of virile body language that philosopher Cornel West described as “postural

They drew graffiti on sides of buildings and created their own music, which made their hardships into works of art. These troubled kids began to create music without instruments. Instead of using instruments they used words; it was entirely vocal music. This music depicted the hardships of the city at the time and the way the kids felt. This was the beginning of Hip Hop Rap music. Many of these harmonies, internal rhymes, and lyrics became expressions of the emotions that they were feeling at that time. It was the anger, the despair, the emptiness, the poverty, the sorrow, and the loneliness they felt for the times that they lived in. The history of Hip Hop Rap music proved to McBride that it does tell a story and reflects life as it is lived by young people who felt trapped in the ghettos of New York City. It also proved to him that even rap music takes true artistic ability and expresses real emotions of real people when they feel a certain way.

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.

The genre created in very poor districts, like the Bronx, in New York by African-American and Latino teenagers. They learned how to use turntables by working as DJs at discos. DJs and MCs would play at free block parties. An MC is an abbreviation for Master of Ceremony his/her job is to focus on skills, lyrical ability, and subject. So, during block parties, the DJ would play music and the MC encouraged guest to have fun. Parties went on MCs slowly started to rhyme while they were performing. Hip-Hop was only played live at first until Sugar Hill Gang released Rappers Delight in 1979. Rappers Delight was a huge success for hip-hop. Personally, I consider the Sugar Hill Gang the founding fathers of Hip-Hop.

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).

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.

When member of the “Ghetto Brothers”, Black Benjie was killed, hundreds of gang members from various gangs met and called truce. Though it did not end gangs it changed the ways in dealing with agression. They dealed with their aggression by battling in forms of dance, or DJ’ing (Price 2-12). When Clive Campbell, also known as Kool Herc arrived in the Bronx from Jamaica he brought with him his passion for music. He was a very unique DJ and changed the stereotypical beat that was being heard and focused on the breakdown. (Welcome to The Official Site of The Universal Zulu Nation). Kool Herc and the Herculords were the first known Hip Hop Crew. He changed the way of gangs across the Bronx and pretty soon every gang had their own DJ. Kool Herc was in the East and West part of the Bronx. Grandmaster Flash was in the South. Afrika Bambaataa was in the South East and North. Though Kool Herc set the stones for the making of Hip Hop, Afrika Bambaataa was the first ambassador.

This was the god believed to have powers that controlled the storms. The other name he was known as is Ishkur.

Hip-Hop as a subculture was established by Black Americans, the youth in particular because of their marginalization. Mainstream music was made mostly by White Americans for White Americans on topics they could relate to. Even though Hip-Hop started off as just a beat it transformed into something so much more. Jamaica born DJ Clive “Kool Herc” Campbell,  one of the most influential in pioneering the art of hip hop music, brought over many Jamaican traditions including their tradition of toasting, which laid the blueprint for the actual rapping on instrumentals. Toasting is impromptu, boastful poetry and speech over music.

Members of the group were either Muslim or influenced by Black Islam,” states Suad Abdul Khabeer in an article titled Islam and Hip Hop (Khabeer, 1). Because Islamic hip hop started on a poetic basis, the music tends to show and express that and it also relates to the importance of rhyme and rhythm. Lyrics of Islamic hip hop generally contain symbolic interpretations, represent Islamic beliefs, exemplify who Muslims are, and also give messages to Muslims on how to follow the right

Often times when I think of displaced people I initially think of the “obvious”marginalized people in society such as poor people. The American perception of displaced people seems to differ from global reality. The article Ex-child-soldier: 'Shooting became just like drinking a glass of water’ has shed light on the fact that children are also targets for displacement. As described in the article children are easy to manipulate and are the mostly vulnerable in countries that lack governmental stability and organization.

The Restoration Period was an era of new things for theatre, women were just starting to appear on stage and with them, groundbreaking female playwrights also emerged. Among them was Aphra Behn, the first female playwright to to make a living off of her writing. Aphra’s life was full of difficult times and struggle but was still colorful and full of creation.

Aphra Behn injured many difficulties in her lifetime, but she never let any of them stop her. She completed her dream and an achievement that no other woman had come close before her. Even after the trouble she got into with the king and leaving her with nothing, she still managed to make herself into something. The king decided that since she did not do what she wanted that she should not get any money. She got thrown into jail and suffered, but she realized that it is not worth it to get back at the king, but, instead to get back on her feet and show the king that he did not ruin her. She was writing while she was a spy and she enjoyed it a lot. She tried to sell her novel in a male dominate world and open a new door for women. Her book