Hip hop music is a musical genre There are several approaches to genre. In his book Form in Tonal Music, Douglass M. Green lists the madrigal, the motet, the canzona, the ricercar, and the dance as examples of genres . According to Green, "Beethoven's Op. 61 and Mendelssohn's Op. 64 are identical in genre - both are violin concertos - but different in form. Mozart's Rondo typically consisting of a rhythmic vocal style called rap Rapping (also known as emceeing, MCing, spitting , or just rhyming) is the rhythmic spoken delivery of rhymes, wordplay, and poetry. Rapping is a primary ingredient in hip hop music, but the phenomenon predates hip hop culture by centuries. Rapping can be delivered over a beat or without accompaniment. Stylistically, rap occupies a gray area among which is accompanied with backing beats. Hip hop music is part of hip hop culture Hip hop is a cultural movement which developed in New York City in the early 1970s primarily among African Americans and Latin Americans. Hip hop's four main elements are MCing , DJing, graffiti writing, and breakdancing. Other elements include beatboxing, hip hop fashion, and slang. Since first emerging in the Bronx, the lifestyle of hip hop, which began in the Bronx The Bronx is one of the Five Boroughs of New York City. It is the northernmost of the city's boroughs and the newest of the 62 counties of New York State. The Bronx is located northeast of Manhattan and south of Westchester County. It is the only borough situated primarily on the North American mainland . In 2009, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated, in New York City New York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment. As host of the United Nations headquarters, it is in the 1970s, predominantly among African Americans American English · African American Vernacular English · minorities of Spanish · French · indigenous African languages and Latin Americans Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages (i.e., those derived from Latin) – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken.Latin America has an area of approximately (7,880,000 sq mi), or almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface. As of 2008, its population was estimated at more than 569.[1][2] The term rap music is often used synonymously with hip hop music.

Rapping, also referred to as MCing A Master of Ceremonies or MC , sometimes called a compère or an MJ for "microphone jockey," is the host of an official public or private staged event or other performance. The MC usually presents performers, speaks to the audience, and generally keeps the event moving. An MC may also tell jokes or anecdotes, use rhyming presentation or emceeing, is a vocal style in which the performer speaks rhythmically and in rhyme, generally to a beat The beat is the basic time unit of music, the pulse of the mensural level, also known as the beat level. However, since the term is in popular use, it often connotes the tempo of a piece or a particular sequence of individual beats, the meter, rhythm or groove. In hip hop music it may refer to the entire instrumental, non-vocal layer of the song,. Beats are traditionally generated from portions of other songs by a DJ A disc jockey is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, disk referred to phonograph records, while disc refers to the Compact Disc, and has become the more common spelling, or sampled In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song. This is typically done with a sampler, which can be a piece of hardware or a computer program on a digital computer. Sampling is also possible with tape loops or with vinyl records on a from portions of other songs by a producer,[3] though synthesizers, drum machines, and live bands are also used, especially in newer music. Rappers may perform poetry which they have written ahead of time, or improvise rhymes on the spot with or without a beat. Though rap is usually an integral component of hip hop music, DJs sometimes perform and record alone, and many instrumental acts are also defined as hip hop.

Contents

Origin and characteristics

Origin of the term

Coinage of the term hip hop is often credited to Keith Cowboy, a rapper Rapping (also known as emceeing, MCing, spitting , or just rhyming) is the rhythmic spoken delivery of rhymes, wordplay, and poetry. Rapping is a primary ingredient in hip hop music, but the phenomenon predates hip hop culture by centuries. Rapping can be delivered over a beat or without accompaniment. Stylistically, rap occupies a gray area among with Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five was a highly influential hip hop group composed of Grandmaster Flash, Melle Mel, Kid Creole, Cowboy, Scorpio and Raheim. In 2007, they became the first rap group to ever be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.[4] Though Lovebug Starski, Keith Cowboy, and DJ Hollywood used the term when the music was still known as disco Musical influences include funk and soul music. The disco sound has soaring, often reverberated vocals over a steady "four-on-the-floor" beat, an eighth note or sixteenth note (semi-quaver) hi-hat pattern with an open hi-hat on the off-beat, and a prominent, syncopated electric bass line sometimes consisting of octaves. Strings, horns, rap, it is believed that Cowboy created the term while teasing a friend who had just joined the U.S. Army, by scat singing the words "hip/hop/hip/hop" in a way that mimicked the rhythmic Rhythm is the variation of the length and accentuation of a series of sounds or other events cadence of marching soldiers.[4] Cowboy later worked the "hip hop" cadence into a part of his stage performance, which was quickly copied by other artists; for example the opening of the song "Rapper's Delight" by The Sugarhill Gang The Sugarhill Gang is an American Hip Hop group, known mostly for their biggest hit, "Rapper's Delight", the first hip hop single recorded to become a Top 40 hit. The song uses the instrumental track from "Good Times" by Chic as its foundation.[4] Former Black Spades The Black Spades was a violent black street gang in New York City during the 1970s gang member Afrika Bambaataa Afrika Bambaataa is an American DJ from the South Bronx, who was instrumental in the early development of hip hop throughout the 1980s. Afrika Bambaataa is one of the three main originators of break-beat deejaying, and is respectfully known as the "Grandfather" and "Godfather" and The Amen Ra of Universal Hip Hop Culture as is credited with first using the term to describe the subculture In sociology, anthropology and cultural studies, a subculture is a group of people with a culture which differentiates them from the larger culture to which they belong. If a particular subculture is characterized by a systematic opposition to the dominant culture, it may be described as a counterculture that hip hop music belongs to, although it is also suggested that the term was originally derisively used against the new type of music.[5] The first use of the term in print was in the Village Voice[6] by Steven Hager, later author of a 1984 history of hip hop.[7]

Characteristics of hip hop music

Hip hop music may be based around either live or produced music, with a clearly defined drum beat (almost always in 4/4 time signature), presented either with or without vocal accompaniment.[8] Production may add looped musical segments on top, from either sampled or originally sequenced music.

1970s

Roots of hip hop

Main article: Origins of hip hop

The roots of hip hop are found in African American American English · African American Vernacular English · minorities of Spanish · French · indigenous African languages and West African West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries distributed over an area of approximately 5 million square km: music. The griots A griot or jeli (djeli or djéli in French spelling) is a West African poet, praise singer, and wandering musician, considered a repository of oral tradition. As such, they are sometimes also called bards. According to Paul Oliver in his book "Savannah Syncopators", "Though [the griot] has to know many traditional songs without of West Africa are a group of traveling singers and poets, whose vocal style is similar to that of rappers and who are part of an oral tradition dating back hundreds of years. The African-American traditions of signifyin', the dozens The dozens is an element of the African American oral tradition in which two competitors, usually males, go head-to-head in a improvised competition of often good-natured, ribald trash talk. They take turns insulting—cracking, West Coast dissin'," or ranking on—one another, their adversary's mother or other family member until one of them, talking blues Talking blues is a form of blues and country music. It is characterised by rhythmic speech or near-speech where the melody is free, but the rhythm is strict and jazz poetry Jazz poetry can be defined as poetry that "demonstrates jazz-like rhythm or the feel of improvisation". During the 1920s, several poets began to eschew the conventions of rhythm and style; among these were Ezra Pound, T. S. Eliot, and E. E. Cummings. The significance of the simultaneous evolution of poetry and jazz during the 1920s was belong firmly within this tradition, as do musical 'comedy' acts such as Rudy Ray Moore and Blowfly, considered by some to be forefathers of rap. Within New York City, griot-like performances of poetry and music by artists such as The Last Poets The Last Poets is a group of poets and musicians who arose from the late 1960s African American civil rights movement's black nationalist thread. Their name is taken from a poem by the South African revolutionary poet Keorapetse Kgositsile, who believed he was in the last era of poetry before guns would take over, Gil Scott Heron Gil Scott-Heron is an American poet, musician, and author known primarily for his late 1960s and early 1970s work as a spoken word soul performer and his collaborative work with musician Brian Jackson. His collaborative efforts with Jackson featured a musical fusion of jazz, blues and soul music, as well as lyrical content concerning social and and Jalal Mansur Nuriddin had a significant impact on the post-civil rights era culture Culture is a term that has different meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions. However, the word "culture" is most commonly used in three basic senses: of the 1960s and 1970s.

Hip hop arose during the 1970s when block parties A block party is a large public party in which many members of a single neighbourhood congregate, either to observe an event of some importance or simply for mutual enjoyment. The name comes from the form of the party, which often involves closing an entire city block to vehicle traffic. Many times, there will be a celebration in the form of became common in New York City New York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment. As host of the United Nations headquarters, it is, especially the Bronx The Bronx is one of the Five Boroughs of New York City. It is the northernmost of the city's boroughs and the newest of the 62 counties of New York State. The Bronx is located northeast of Manhattan and south of Westchester County. It is the only borough situated primarily on the North American mainland . In 2009, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated. Block parties were usually accompanied by music, especially funk Funk is an American musical style that originated in the mid to late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, soul jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk "de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums" to the foreground. Funk songs are often and soul music Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of funky, secular testifying." Catchy. The early DJs at block parties began isolating the percussion A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound by being hit with an implement, shaken, rubbed, scraped, or by any other action which sets the object into vibration. The term usually applies to an object used in a rhythmic context or with musical intent breaks to hit songs, realizing that these were the most dance-able and entertaining parts; this technique was then common in Jamaica Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, 234 kilometres (145 mi) in length and as much as 80 kilometres (50 mi) in width situated in the Caribbean Sea. It is about 145 kilometres (90 mi) south of Cuba, and 190 kilometres (120 mi) west of the island of Hispaniola, on which Haiti and the Dominican Republic are situated. Its indigenous[9][10] and had spread via the substantial Jamaican Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, 234 kilometres (145 mi) in length and as much as 80 kilometres (50 mi) in width situated in the Caribbean Sea. It is about 145 kilometres (90 mi) south of Cuba, and 190 kilometres (120 mi) west of the island of Hispaniola, on which Haiti and the Dominican Republic are situated. Its indigenous immigrant community in New York City, especially the "godfather" of hip hop, the Jamaican-born DJ Kool Herc Clive Campbell , also known as Kool Herc, DJ Kool Herc and Kool DJ Herc, is a Jamaican-born DJ who is credited with originating hip hop music, in the Bronx, New York City. His playing of hard funk records of the sort typified by James Brown was an alternative both to the violent gang culture of the Bronx and to the nascent popularity of disco in.

Dub music Dub is a form of music, evolved from reggae that involves revisions of existing songs. The dub sound consists predominantly of instrumental remixes of existing recordings and is achieved by significantly manipulating and reshaping the recordings, usually by removing the vocals from an existing music piece, emphasizing the drum and bass frequencies had arisen in Jamaica due to the influence of American The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the sailors and radio stations playing R&B Rhythm and Blues is the name given to a wide-ranging genre of popular music created by African Americans in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The term was originally used by record companies to refer to recordings marketed predominantly to African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a heavy, insistent beat". Large sound systems were set up to accommodate poor Jamaicans, who couldn't afford to buy records, and dub developed at the sound systems (refers to both the system and the parties that evolved around them). Herc was one of the most popular DJs in early 70s New York, and he quickly switched from using reggae While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady. Reggae is based on a rhythmic style characterized by accents on the off-beat, known as the skank. Reggae is normally slower than ska records to funk, soul, rock and, later, disco, since the New York audience did not particularly like reggae. Because the percussive breaks were generally short, Herc and other DJs began extending them using an audio mixer In professional audio, a mixing console, or audio mixer, also called a sound board or soundboard, is an electronic device for combining , routing, and changing the level, timbre and/or dynamics of audio signals. A mixer can mix analog or digital signals, depending on the type of mixer. The modified signals (voltages or digital samples) are summed and two records.

Turntablist Turntablism is the art of manipulating sounds and creating music using phonograph turntables and a DJ mixer. The word 'turntablist' was coined in 1995 by DJ Babu to describe the difference between a DJ who just plays records, and one who performs by touching and moving the records, stylus and mixer to manipulate sound. The new term co-occurred techniques, such as beat mixing/matching, scratching (seemingly invented by Grand Wizard Theodore) and beat juggling eventually developed along with the breaks, creating a base that could be rapped over. (The same techniques contributed to the popularization of remixes A remix is an alternative version of a song, different from the original version. This name is also used for any alterations of medias other than a song). Such looping, sampling and remixing of another's music, sometimes without the original artist's knowledge or consent, can be seen as an evolution of Jamaican dub music,[9][10] and would become a hallmark of the hip hop style.

Jamaican immigrants also provided another influence on the vocal style of rapping, as many Jamaican immigrants, for example Herc, started delivering simple raps at their parties, inspired by the Jamaican tradition of toasting.[9][11]

DJs and "MCs A Master of Ceremonies or MC , sometimes called a compère or an MJ for "microphone jockey," is the host of an official public or private staged event or other performance. The MC usually presents performers, speaks to the audience, and generally keeps the event moving. An MC may also tell jokes or anecdotes, use rhyming presentation" would often add call and response chants, often comprising of a basic chorus, to allow the performer to gather his thoughts (such as "one, two, three, y'all, to the beat, y'all").

Later, the MCs grew more varied in their vocal and rhythmic approach, incorporating brief rhymes, often with a sexual or scatological theme, in an effort at differentiating themselves and entertaining the audience. Hip hop music was an outlet and a "voice" for disenfranchised youth[12], as the culture reflected the social, economic and political realities of their lives[13]. These early raps incorporated similar rhyming lyrics from African American culture, such as the dozens. While Kool Herc & the Herculoids were the first hip hoppers to gain major fame in New York, more MC teams quickly sprouted up. Frequently, these were collaborations between former gang A gang is a group of people who, through the organization, formation, and establishment of an assemblage, share a common identity. In current usage it typically denotes a criminal organization or else a criminal affiliation. In early usage, the word gang referred to a group of workmen. In the United Kingdom the word is still often used in this members, such as Afrikaa Bambaataa's Universal Zulu Nation (now a large, international organization). Melle Mel, a rapper/lyricist with The Furious Five is often credited with being the first rap lyricist to call himself an "MC."[14] During the early 1970s, breakdancing Break-dance, breaking, b-boying is a street dance style that evolved as part of the hip hop movement among African American and Puerto Rican youths in Manhattan and the South Bronx of New York City during the early 1970s. It is normally danced to electro or hip hop music, often remixed to prolong the breaks, and is a well-known hip hop dance style arose during block parties, as b-boys and b-girls got in front of the audience to dance in a distinctive, frenetic style. The style was documented for release to a world wide audience for the first time in documentaries and movies such as Style Wars Style Wars is an early documentary on hip hop culture, made by Tony Silver and Henry Chalfant, made in New York City in 1983. The film has an emphasis on graffiti, although breakdancing and rapping are covered to a lesser extent. The film was originally aired on PBS television in 1983, and was subsequently shown in several film festivals to much, Wild Style Wild Style was the first hip hop motion picture. Released independently in 1982 by First Run Features and later re-released for home video by Rhino Home Video, the movie featured actors like Fab Five Freddy, Lee Quinones, the Rock Steady Crew, The Cold Crush Brothers, Patti Astor, Sandra Fabara and Grandmaster Flash. The protagonist is the, and Beat Street.

Although there were many early MCs that recorded solo projects of note, such as DJ Hollywood, Kurtis Blow Curtis Walker , signed with Uncle Louie Music Group is better known by his stage name Kurtis Blow, is one of the first commercially successful rappers and the first to sign with a major label. "The Breaks", a single from his 1980 debut album, is an early hip hop classic and Spoonie Gee, real notoriety didn't appear until later with the rise of soloists with really big stage presence and drama, such as LL Cool J. Most early hip hop was dominated by groups where collaboration among the members was integral to the show.[15]

Influence of disco

Hip-hop was both rooted in disco, and a backlash against it. According to Kurtis Blow, the early days of hip-hop were characterized by divisions between fans and detractors of disco music. In Washington, D.C., go-go also emerged as a reaction against disco, and eventually mixed with hip hop during the early 1980s, while African-American electronic music did the same, developing as house music in Chicago and techno music in Detroit.

Pete DJ Jones, Eddie Cheeba, DJ Hollywood and Love Bug Starski were disco-flavored early hip hop DJs. Other hip hop musicians focused on rapid-fire rhymes and more complex rhythmic schemes. Afrika Bambaataa, Paul Winley, Grandmaster Flash and Bobby Robinson were members of this latter group.

Transition to recording

The first hip hop recording is widely regarded as the New Jersey-based Sugar Hill Gang's Rapper's Delight in 1979[16] (though some point out that King Tim III (Personality Jock) by The Fatback Band was released a few weeks before[17] - there are also other claimants for the title of first hip hop record). By the 1980s, all the major elements and techniques of the genre were in place. Though not yet mainstream, hip hop was by now well known among African Americans, even outside of New York City; it could be found in cities as diverse as Los Angeles, Washington, DC, Baltimore, Dallas, Kansas City, San Antonio, TX, Miami, Seattle, St. Louis, New Orleans, Houston, and Toronto.

Despite the genre's spreading popularity, Philadelphia was, for many years, the only city whose contributions to hip hop were valued as greatly as New York City's by fans and critics. Hip hop music was popular there at least as far back as the late 1970s (the first Philadelphia hip hop record was "Rhythm Talk", by Jocko Henderson in 1979), and the New York Times dubbed Philadelphia the "Graffiti Capital of the World" in 1971. A Philadelphia-area radio DJ, Lady B, was the first female solo hip hop artist to record music ("To the Beat Y'All", 1979[18]). Later Schoolly D, another Philadelphia-based artist, helped invent what became known as gangsta rap.

1980s

The 1980s saw intense diversification of hip hop, and the genre developed into a more complex form. Some early examples of an experimental approach to the form are:

The latter two of these tracks made heavy usage of the new generation of drum machines such as the Oberheim DMX and Roland 808 models. To this day the 808 kickdrum is routinely used by producers throughout hip hop. Over time sampling technology became more advanced but early producers such as Marley Marl were limited to constructing their beats from relatively small excerpts of beats in synchronisation with drum machines. Later samplers such as the E-mu SP-1200 (used by Paul C on his work for the Ultramagnetic MCs) allowed not only more memory but more flexibility for creative production, allowing filtering and layering of different hits and allowing these to be resequenced into a single piece (such as on the Ultramagnetic MCs' "Give The Drummer Some".)

With the emergence of a new generation of samplers such as the AKAI S900 in the late 80's producers were at last free of tape loops (Much of Public Enemy's first two albums were created with the help of large tape loops). The practice of looping break into breakbeats now became commonplace with the sampler now doing the job which so far had been done manually by the DJ; In 1989, DJ Mark James under the moniker "45 King", released "The 900 Number", a breakbeat track created by synchronizing samplers and vinyl.[15]

The content evolved as well. The tales of 1970s MCs were replaced by highly metaphoric lyrics rapping over complex, multi-layered beats. The work of MC's such as Melle Mel, Rakim, Chuck D & KRS-One did much to help hip hop be taken seriously as a mature art form rather than as a novelty. "The Message" (1982) by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five is sometimes cited as the birth of 'serious' hip hop, though 'novelty rap' songs were a regular occurrence in the 1980's and later.

Some rappers even became mainstream pop performers, including Kurtis Blow, whose appearance in a Sprite commercial[19] made him the first hip hop musician to be considered mainstream enough to represent a major product. Another popular performer among mainstream audiences was LL Cool J, who was a success from the release of his first LP, Radio.[20]

During the early 1980s there was a rise in electro music within the hip hop movement as exemplified by artists such as Cybotron, Hashim, Planet Patrol and Newcleus. Most notable is Afrika Bambaataa and the influential 1982 single Planet Rock.

Nationalization and internationalization

Main article: World hip hop

Hip hop was almost entirely unknown outside of the United States prior to the early 1980s. During that decade, it began its spread to every inhabited continent and became a part of the music scene in dozens of countries. In the early part of the decade, breakdancing became the first aspect of hip hop culture to reach Germany, Japan and South Africa, where the crew Black Noise established the practice before beginning to rap later in the decade. Meanwhile, recorded hip hop was released in France (Dee Nasty's 1984 Paname City Rappin') and the Philippines (Dyords Javier's "Na Onseng Delight" and Vincent Dafalong's "Nunal"). In Puerto Rico, Vico C became the first Spanish rapper, and his recorded work was the beginning of what became known as reggaeton.

Japanese Hip Hop is said to have begun when Hiroshi Fujiwara returned to Japan and started playing Hip-Hop records in the early 1980s.[21] Japanese hip hop generally tends to be most directly influenced by old school hip hop, taking from the era's catchy beats, dance culture, and overall fun and carefree nature and incorporating it into their music. As a result, hip hop stands as one of the most commercially viable mainstream music genres in Japan, and the line between it and pop music is frequently blurred.

Hip-hop has globalized into many cultures worldwide. We now find hip-hop in every corner of the globe, and like the South Bronx, each locale embodies a kind of globalism. Hip hop has emerged globally as an arts movement with the imperative to create something fresh by using technology, speech, and the body in new ways. The music and the art continue to embrace, even celebrate, its transnational dimensions while staying true to the local cultures to which it is rooted. Hip-hop's inspiration differs depending on each culture. Still, the one thing virtually all hip hop artists worldwide have in common is that they acknowledge their debt to those African American people in New York who launched the global movement.[22] While hip-hop is sometimes taken for granted by Americans, it is not so elsewhere, especially in the developing world, where it has come to represent the empowerment of the disenfranchised and a slice of the American dream. American hip-hop music has reached the cultural corridors of the globe and has been absorbed and reinvented around the world.[23]

New School hip hop

Main articles: Old school hip hop and New school hip hop

The new school hip hop was a second wave of hip hop music starting from 1983–84 with the early records of Run-D.M.C. and LL Cool J. Like the hip hop preceding it, it came predominately from New York City. The new school was initially characterized in form by drum machine led minimalism, often tinged with elements of rock. It was notable for taunts and boasts about rapping, and socio-political commentary, both delivered in an aggressive, self-assertive style. In image as in song its artists projected a tough, cool, street b-boy attitude. These elements contrasted sharply with the P-funk and disco influenced outfits, novelty hits, live bands, synthesizers and party rhymes of artists prevalent in 1984, and rendered them old school. New school artists made shorter songs that could more easily gain radio play, and more cohesive LPs than their old school counterparts. By 1986 their releases began to establish hip hop as a fixture of the mainstream. Rap and hip hop became commercially successful, as exemplified by The Beastie Boys' 1986 album Licensed to Ill, which was the first rap album to hit #1 on the Billboard charts.[24]

Golden Age

Main article: Golden age hip hop

Hip hop's "golden age" is a name given to a period in hip hop - usually from the late 1980s to early 90s - said to be characterized by its diversity, quality, innovation and influence. There were strong themes of Afrocentricity and political militancy, while the music was experimental and the sampling was eclectic. There was often a strong jazz influence. The artists most often associated with the phase include Public Enemy (whose 1988 album It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back is widely regarded as hip hop's greatest moment), KRS-One and his Boogie Down Productions, Eric B. & Rakim, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, and the Jungle Brothers.

Gangsta rap and West Coast hip hop

Main articles: Gangsta rap and West Coast hip hop

Gangsta rap is a genre of hip hop that reflects the violent lifestyles of some inner-city youths. It was pioneered by the mid 80s work of musicians such as Schooly D and Ice T. In 1988, N.W.A. released Straight Outta Compton, which formalised the style, as well as cementing Los Angeles as its main centre. Thus, N.W.A. helped to establish West Coast hip hop as a genre just as major and important as East Coast hip hop.

1990s

In 1992, Dr. Dre released The Chronic. As well as helping to establish West Coast gangsta rap as more commercially viable than East Coast hip hop, this album founded a style called G Funk, which soon came to dominate West Coast hip hop. The style was further developed and popularized by Snoop Dogg's 1993 album Doggystyle.

The Wu-Tang Clan shot to fame around the same time. Being from New York's Staten Island, the Wu-Tang Clan brought the East Coast back into the mainstream at a time when the West Coast mainly dominated rap. Other major artists in the so-called East Coast hip hop renaissance included The Notorious B.I.G. and Nas. (See the article on the East Coast-West Coast hip hop rivalry.)

Tupac Shakur started his rapping career in 1991, and would become one of the biggest-selling rappers of the 90s with more than 75 million albums sold worldwide 50 million albums sold in the USA alone.[citation needed]

Record labels based out of Atlanta, St. Louis, and New Orleans also gained fame for their local scenes. The midwest rap scene is also notable, with the fast vocal styles from artists such as Bone Thugs-n-Harmony and Twista. By the end of the decade, hip hop was an integral part of popular music, and many American pop songs had hip hop components.

World

In the 1990s and the following decade, elements of hip hop continued to be assimilated into other genres of popular music. Nu soul, for example, combined hip hop and soul music and produced major stars such as Gnarls Barkley. In the Dominican Republic, a recording by Santi Y Sus Duendes and Lisa M became the first single of merenrap, a fusion of hip hop and merengue.

New York City experienced a heavy Jamaican hip hop influence during the 90s. This influence was brought on by cultural shifts particularly because of the heightened immigration of Jamaicans to New York City and the American-born Jamaican youth who were coming of age during the 90s. Hip hop artists such as De La Soul and Black Star have produced albums influenced by Jamaican roots.[1]

In Europe, Africa, and Asia, hip hop began to move from the underground to mainstream audiences. In Europe, hip hop was the domain of both ethnic nationals and immigrants. British hip hop, for example, became a genre of its own, and Germany produced the well-known Die Fantastischen Vier as well as several Turkish performers like the controversial Cartel, Kool Savaş, and Eko Fresh. Similarly, France has produced a number of native-born stars, such as IAM and Suprême NTM, but the most famous French rapper is probably the Senegalese-born MC Solaar. The Netherlands' most famous rappers are The Osdorp Posse, an all-white crew from Amsterdam, and The Postmen from Cape Verde and Suriname. Italy found its own rappers, including Jovanotti and Articolo 31, grow nationally renowned, while the Polish scene began in earnest early in the decade with the rise of PM Cool Lee. In Romania, B.U.G. Mafia came out of Bucharest's Pantelimon neighborhood, and their brand of gangsta rap underlines the parallels between life in Romania's Communist-era apartment blocks and in the housing projects of America's ghettos. Israel's hip hop grew greatly in popularity at the end of the decade, with several stars emerging from both sides of the Palestinian (Tamer Nafer) and Jewish (Subliminal) divide. Mook E., preached peace and tolerance, others expressed nationalist and violent sentiments.

In Asia, mainstream stars rose to prominence in the Philippines, led by Francis Magalona, Rap Asia, MC Lara and Lady Diane. In Japan, where underground rappers had previously found a limited audience, and popular teen idols brought a style called J-rap to the top of the charts in the middle of the '90s.

Latinos had played an integral role in the early development of hip hop, and the style had spread to parts of Latin America, such as Cuba, early in its history. In Mexico, popular hip hop began with the success of Calo in the early '90s. Later in the decade, with Latin rap groups like Cypress Hill on the American charts, Mexican rap rock groups, such as Control Machete, rose to prominence in their native land. An annual Cuban hip hop concert held at Alamar in Havana helped popularize Cuban hip hop, beginning in 1995. Hip hop grew steadily more popular in Cuba, because of official governmental support for musicians.

West Coast

Main article: West Coast hip hop

After N.W.A broke up, Dr. Dre (a former member) released The Chronic in 1992, which peaked at #1 on the R&B/hip hop chart,[25] #3 on the pop chart and spawned a #2 pop single with "Nuthin' but a "G" Thang." The Chronic took West Coast rap in a new direction,[26] influenced strongly by P funk artists, melding sleazy funk beats with slowly drawled lyrics. This came to be known as G-funk and dominated mainstream hip hop for several years through a roster of artists on Death Row Records including Snoop Dogg, whose Doggystyle included the songs "What's My Name" and "Gin and Juice," both top ten hits.[27]

Detached from this scene were more thoughtful artists such as The Pharcyde as well as more underground artists such as the Solesides collective (DJ Shadow and Blackalicious amongst others) Jurassic 5, People Under the Stairs, The Alkaholiks, and earlier Souls of Mischief represented a return to hip-hops roots of sampling and well planned rhymeschemes. Other rappers include Too Short and MC Hammer from Oakland.

East Coast

Main article: East Coast hip hop

In the early 1990s east coast hip hop was dominated by the Native Tongues posse which was loosely composed of De La Soul with producer Prince Paul, A Tribe Called Quest, The Jungle Brothers, as well as their loose affiliates 3rd Bass, Main Source, and the less successful Black Sheep & KMD. Although originally a "daisy age" conception stressing the positive aspects of life, darker material (such as De La Soul's thought provoking "Millie Pulled a Pistol on Santa") soon crept in.

Artists such as Masta Ace (particularly for Slaughtahouse) & Brand Nubian, Public Enemy, Organized Konfusion followed a more overtly militant poise, both in sound and manner. Biz Markie, the 'clown prince of hip hop' was causing himself, and all other hip-hop producers a problem with his appropriation of the Gilbert O'Sullivan song 'Alone again, naturally'.

In the mid 1990s, artists such as the Wu-Tang Clan, Nas and The Notorious B.I.G. increased New York's visibility at a time when hip hop was mostly dominated by West Coast artists. The mid to late 1990s saw a generation of rappers such as Big L and Fat Joe who would prove very lucrative.

The productions of RZA, particularly for Wu-Tang Clan, became very influential, with artists such as Mobb Deep being highly influenced by their combination of somewhat detached instrumental loops, highly compressed and processed drums and gangsta lyrical content. Wu-Tang affiliate albums such as Raekwon the Chef's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx and GZA's Liquid Swords are now viewed as classics along with Wu-Tang 'core' material.

Producers such as DJ Premier (primarily for Gangstarr but also for other affiliated artists such as Jeru the Damaja), Pete Rock (With CL Smooth and supplying beats for many others), Buckwild, Large Professor, Diamond D and The 45 King supplying beats for numerous MC's regardless of location.

Albums such as Nas's Illmatic, Jay-Z's Reasonable Doubt and OC's Word...Life are made up of beats from this pool of producers.

Later in the decade the business acumen of the Bad Boy records tested itself against Jay-Z and his Roc-A-Fella Records and on the west coast Death Row Records.

The rivalry between the East Coast and the West Coast rappers eventually turned into a personal rivalry,[28] aided in part by the music media[citation needed].

Although the 'big business' end of the market domininated matters commercially the late 90s to early 2000 era saw a number of relatively successful east coast indie labels such as Rawkus Records (with whom Mos Def gained great success) and later, Def Jux, the history of the two labels is intertwined, the latter having been started by EL-P of Company Flow in reaction to the former, it offered an outlet for more underground artists such as Mike Ladd, Aesop Rock, Mr Lif, RJD2,Cage and Cannibal Ox. Other acts such as the Hispanic Arsonists and slam poet turned MC Saul Williams met with differing degrees of success.

Diversification of styles

Further information: List of hip hop genres

In the late 90s, the styles of hip hop diversified. The South got on the hip hop map with the rise of Southern rap[29], starting with Arrested Development's 3 Years, 5 Months & 2 Days in the Life Of... in 1992, Eightball & MJG's Comin' Out Hard in 1993, Goodie Mob's Soul Food in 1995 and OutKast's ATLiens in 1996. Both groups were based out of Atlanta. Later, Master P (Ghetto D) built up a roster of artists (the No Limit posse) based out of New Orleans. Master P incorporated G funk and Miami bass influences, and distinctive regional sounds from St. Louis, Chicago, Washington D.C., Detroit and others began to gain popularity. Also in the 1990s, rapcore, a fusion of hip hop and hardcore punk,[30] became popular among mainstream audiences. Rage Against the Machine, Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit were among the most well known rapcore bands.

Though white rappers like the Beastie Boys, Vanilla Ice, and 3rd Bass had had some popular success or critical acceptance from the hip hop community, Eminem's success, beginning in 1999 with the platinum The Slim Shady LP[31] surprised many. However, Eminem was criticized for glorification of violence, misogyny[32] and drug abuse as well as homophobia and albums laced with constant profanity.

2000s

Please help improve this article or section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page. (May 2009)

In the year 2000, The Marshall Mathers LP by Eminem sold over ten million copies in the United States, and Nelly's debut LP, Country Grammar, sold over six million copies. The United States also saw the success of alternative hip hop in the form of moderately popular performers like The Roots, Dilated Peoples, Gnarls Barkley and Mos Def, who achieved unheard-of success for their field.

Hip hop in the 2000s gave birth to subgenres such as snap music and crunk. Hip hop influences also found their way increasingly into mainstream pop during this period.

World and national music

Some countries, like Tanzania, maintained popular acts of their own in the early 2000s, though many others produced few homegrown stars, instead following American trends. Scandinavian, especially Danish and Swedish, performers became well known outside of their country, while hip hop continued its spread into new regions, including Russia, Japan, Philippines, Canada, China, Korea and India.

In Germany and France, gangsta rap has become popular among youths who like the violent and aggressive lyrics.[33] Some German rappers openly or comically flirt with Nazism, Bushido (born Anis Mohamed Youssef Ferchichi) raps "Salutiert, steht stramm, Ich bin der Leader wie A" (Salute, stand to attention, I am the leader like 'A') and Fler had a hit with the record Neue Deutsche Welle (New German Wave) complete with the title written in Third Reich style Gothic print and advertised with an Adolf Hitler quote.[34] These references also spawned great controversy in Germany.[35][36]

The album "Babel (33 guests in 33 languages)" is one of the most comprehensive products in world hip-hop in the recent years. Over 30 rappers appear on the material using his own mother tongue.[37]

Decline in sales

Starting in 2005, sales of hip-hop music in the United States began to severely wane, leading Time magazine to question if mainstream hip-hop was "dying." Billboard Magazine found that, since 2000, rap sales dropped 44%,and declined to 10% of all music sales, which, while still a commanding figure when compared to other genres, is a significant drop from the 13% of all music sales where rap music regularly placed.[38][39] NPR culture critic Elizabeth Blair noted that, "some industry experts say young people are fed up with the violence, degrading imagery and lyrics. Others say the music is just as popular as it ever was, but that fans have found other means to consume the music."[40] It can also be argued that many young people now download music illegally, especially through P2P networks, instead of purchasing albums and singles from legitimate stores. Some put the blame on the lack of lyrical content that hip hop once had, for example Soulja Boy Tell 'Em's 2007 debut album souljaboytellem.com was met with negative reviews.[41] Lack of sampling, a key element of hip hop, has also been noted for the decrease in quality of modern albums. For example, there are only four samples used in 2008's Paper Trail by T.I., while there are 35 samples in 1998's Moment of Truth by Gang Starr. The decrease in sampling is in part due to it being too expensive for producers.[42] In Byron Hurt's documentary Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes, he claims that hip hop had changed from "clever rhymes and dance beats" to "advocating personal, social and criminal corruption."[43]

References

  1. ^ Chang, Jeff; DJ Kool Herc (2005). Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation. Macmillan. ISBN 031230143X.
  2. ^ Castillo-Garstow, Melissa (2008-03-01). "Latinos in hip hop to reggaeton". Latin Beat Magazine. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FXV/is_2_15/ai_n13557237. Retrieved on 2008-07-28.
  3. ^ SamplesDB - Internet's Largest Music Samples Database
  4. ^ a b c Keith Cowboy - The Real Mc Coy
  5. ^ http://www.zulunation.com/hip_hop_history2.htm (cached)
  6. ^ Hagar, Steven. "Afrika Bambaataa’s Hip-Hop," Village Voice
  7. ^ Hager, Steven. Hip Hop: The Illustrated History of Break Dancing, Rap Music, and Graffiti. St Martins Press, 1984 (out of print).
  8. ^ Baker Fish, Bob (October 9, 2007). "OhNo - Dr No’s Oxperiment (Stones Throw/ Creative Vibes)" (in English). Cyclic Defrost Magazine (Sydney South, Australia: Cyclic Defrost Magazine) 12/2008 (21). http://www.cyclicdefrost.com/blog/?p=1489. Retrieved on 2009-01-28.
  9. ^ a b c http://stason.org/TULARC/music-genres/reggae-dub/3-What-is-Dub-music-anyway-Reggae.html
  10. ^ a b http://robertphilen.blogspot.com/2007/11/mythic-music-stockhausen-davis-and.html
  11. ^ http://www.ncimusic.com/tutorial/history/hiphop/oldschool.html
  12. ^ Crossley, Scott. '’Metaphorical Conceptions in Hip-Hop Music”, African American Review, St Louis University Press, 2005. pp.501-502
  13. ^ Alridge D, Steward J. “Introduction: Hip Hop in History: Past, Present, and Future”, Journal of African American History 2005. pp.190
  14. ^ Article about Mele Mel (Melle Mel) at AllHipHop.com
  15. ^ a b * David Toop (1984/1991/2000). Rap Attack II: African Rap To Global Hip Hop, p.94, ?, 96. New York. New York: Serpent's Tail. ISBN 1852422432.
  16. ^ hip hop :: The Encyclopedia of New York State :: Syracuse University Press
  17. ^ Chris Heard, Thursday, 14 October, 2004, 08:52 GMT 09:52 UK. "Silver jubilee for first rap hit", BBC News.
  18. ^ http://hiphoponwax.blogspot.com/2006/10/lady-b-to-beat-yall.html
  19. ^ http://www.newyorkgospel.com/articles/4/1/Kurtis-Blow-Ministries-and-Holy-Hip-Hop-Music-form-Strategic-Alliance/Page1.html
  20. ^ http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/bio/index.jsp?pid=78164
  21. ^ Theme Magazine - International Man of Mystery
  22. ^ https://moodle.brandeis.edu/file.php/3404/pdfs/kelley-foreword-vinyl-aint-final.pdf
  23. ^ USATODAY.com - The globalization of hip-hop starts and ends with 'Where You're At'
  24. ^ http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=A34rp283c054a
  25. ^ http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:gbfuxq95ldae~T3
  26. ^ http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/111976/review/18944957/thechronic
  27. ^ http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/bio/index.jsp?pid=33952
  28. ^ http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/celebrity/shakur_BIG/2a.html
  29. ^ Burks, Maggie (2008-09-03). "Southern Hip-Hop". Jackson Free Press. http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/index.php/site/comments/southern_hip_hop_090308/. Retrieved on 2008-09-11.
  30. ^ Ambrose, Joe (2001). "Moshing - An Introduction". The Violent World of Moshpit Culture. Omnibus Press. p. 5. ISBN 0711987440.
  31. ^ http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:djfwxqyjldfe~T3
  32. ^ (Goldberg 2005, p. 140)
  33. ^ NY Times: Germany's Rap Music Veers Toward the Violent
  34. ^ The Independent: Rap music and the far right: Germany goes gangsta, 17 August 2005
  35. ^ Der Spiegel: Scandal Rap, 23 May 2005
  36. ^ laut.De Fler: Stolz, Deutsch und rechtsradikal, 13 May 2005
  37. ^ 02/19/2009. "Babel: The Album", BabelRap.com.
  38. ^ http://www.futuremusic.com/news/april2007/musictrends-hiphop.html After 21% Decline In Sales, Rap Industry Takes A Hard Look At Itself - Futuremusic presents
  39. ^ http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1653639,00.html Hip-Hop's Down Beat - TIME magazine
  40. ^ Is Hip-Hop Dying Or Has It Moved Underground? NPR.org
  41. ^ http://www.djbooth.net/index/albums/review/soulja-boy-tell-em-souljaboytellemcom-1002072/
  42. ^ http://matthewnewton.us/node/775
  43. ^ Crouch, Stanley (2008-12-08). "For the future of hip-hop, all that glitters is not gold teeth". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Hearst Corporation. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/391157_crouchonline09.html. Retrieved on 2008-12-11.

Sources

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