Hip - hop Story

Hip hop refers to both a culture and the music that stems forth from that culture. Hip-hop began in the 1970s with the musical innovations of such pioneers as Kool DJ Herc, Grandmaster Flash, Grandwizard Theodore, Grandmaster Caz, Afrika Bambaataa, and DJ Hollywood. Notable elements of hip-hop are rapping, DJing/production, graffiti, breakdancing, and beatboxing.

Hip hop music, also known as rap music, is a style of music which came into existence in the United States during the mid-1970s, and became a large part of modern pop culture during the 1980s. It consists of two main components: rapping (MCing) and DJing (production and scratching). Along with hip hop dance (notably breakdancing) and urban inspired art, or notably graffiti, these compose the four elements of hip hop, a cultural movement that was initiated by inner-city youth, mostly African Americans and Latinos in New York City, in the early 1970s. Typically, hip hop music consists of rhythmic lyrics making use of techniques like assonance, alliteration, and rhyme. The rapper is accompanied by an instrumental track, usually referred to as a "beat," performed by a DJ, created by a producer, or one or more instrumentalists. Historically, this beat has often been created using a sample of the percussion break of another song: usually funk and soul recordings have been utilized. However, in recent years, it has become more common for the beat to be built up from individual drum samples. In addition to the beat, other sounds are often sampled, synthesized, or performed. Sometimes a track can be instrumental, as a showcase of the skills of the DJ or producer.

Hip hop began in The Bronx, a borough in New York City, when DJs began isolating the percussion break from funk and disco songs. The early role of the MC was to introduce the DJ and the music and to keep the audience excited. MCs began by speaking between songs, giving exhortations to dance, greetings to audience members, jokes and anecdotes. Eventually this practice became more stylized and became known as rapping. By 1979, hip hop had become a commercially popular music genre and began to enter the American mainstream. In the 1990s, a form of hip hop called gangsta rap became a major part of American music, causing significant controversy over lyrics which were perceived as promoting violence, promiscuity, drug use and misogyny. Nevertheless, by the beginning of the 2000s, hip hop was a staple of popular music charts and was being performed in many styles across the world.

history

The main historical eras of hip hop are the old school hip hop era (1970 to 1985), which spanned from the beginning of hip hop until its emergence into the mainstream, and the golden age hip hop era (1985 to 1993), which consolidated the sounds of the East Coast and the West Coast and transitioned into the modern era with the rise of gangsta rap and G-funk, created by the West Coast. The years after 1993 contain the hardcore hip hop, bling, and underground genres, which largely define the modern era.

Hip hop arose during the 1970s at block parties in New York City, at which the DJs began isolating the percussion breaks to hit funk, soul, R&B and disco songs. These songs were based on – "breakbeat" DJing. Early hip hop rhythms and (sampled) riffs were derived essentially from funk music. Some funk songs, such as James Brown's "The Payback" (1974) are clearly predicting hip hop music and also speaking over the music was used extensively in funk, most notably on records produced by George Clinton. As hip hop became popular, performers began speaking while the music played, and became known as MCs or emcees. In 1979, the first commercially issued hip hop recordings were released: "Rapper's Delight" by The Sugarhill Gang which became a Top 40 hit on the U.S. Billboard pop singles chart. 'Rapper' in reference to music was actually coined by this song. Some historians cite King Tim III (Personality Jock) by the Fatback Band to be the first commercially released hip hop recording but they were a funk and disco group.

During the 1980s, hip hop began to diversify and develop into a more complex form. At the same time, more sophisticated techniques were developed, including scratching, and electronic recording. In the late 1980s, a number of new hip hop styles and subgenres began appearing as the genre gained popularity. Hip hop musicians collaborated with rock bands and spread out into the genres of conscious hip hop, jazz-rap and gangsta rap.

In the 1990s, a prolonged confrontation between West Coast gangsta rappers and the resurging East Coast began. It centered around Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. and led to both of their deaths, in 1996 and 1997 respectively. In 1996, Cleveland-based rap group Bone Thugs-N-Harmony tied The Beatles' 32-year-old record for fastest-rising single with "Tha Crossroads," and in 2000, Scottish-American White rapper Eminem's The Marshall Mathers LP sold over nine million copies and won a Grammy Award.

Social impact

Lifestyle

The late 1990s saw the rise in popularity of the "bling-bling" lifestyle in rap music, focusing on symbols of wealth and status like money, jewelry, cars, and clothing. Although references to wealth have existed since the birth of hip hop, the new, intensified "bling-bling" culture has its immediate roots in the enormously commercially successful late-to-mid nineties work (specifically, music videos) of Puff Daddy and Bad Boy Records as well as Master P's No Limit Records. However, the term was coined in 1999 (see 1999 in music) by Cash Money Records artist Lil' Wayne on B.G.'s hit single "Bling-Bling", and the Cash Money roster were perhaps the epitome of the "bling-bling" lifestyle and attitude. Though many rappers, mostly gangsta rappers, unapologetically pursue and celebrate bling-bling, others, mostly artists outside of the hip hop mainstream, have expressly criticized the idealized pursuit of bling-bling as being materialistic.

Homophobia

Because hip hop music almost always puts an emphasis on hyper-masculinity, its lyrics have been said to reflect a homophobic mindset. It is often suspected that there are a great number of gay or lesbian hip hop musicians who do not come out of the closet, for fear of the decline of their career. Rumors of such have involved hip hop artists such as Queen Latifah, Da Brat, and several others. In 2001, the first annual PeaceOUT World Homo Hop Festival, which features performers by openly lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered rappers was held in Oakland, California, and the festival, curated by artist/activist Juba Kalamka, has continued on an annual basis since then. In 2003 the openly gay hip hop and rap artist Caushun, was rumored to have signed to the Baby Phat imprint (a project of Kimora Lee Simmons,at the time married to hip hop mogul Russell Simmons); however, his record was apparently never released. In September 2005, the documentary Pick Up the Mic premiered at the 30th Annual Toronto International Film Festival, focusing on LGBT hip hop performers, such as Kalamka's group Deep Dickollective, JenRO, Tori Fixx and the duo God-Des and She.

Language

Hip hop has a distinctive slang. Due to hip hop's extraordinary commercial success in the late nineties and early 21st century, many of these words have been assimilated into many different dialects across America and the world and even to non-hip hop fans (the word dis for example is remarkably prolific). There are also words like homie which predate hip hop but are often associated with it. Sometimes, terms like what the dilly, yo are popularized by a single song (in this case, "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See" by Busta Rhymes) and are only used briefly. Of special importance is the rule-based slang of Snoop Dogg and E-40, who add -izz to the middle of words so that shit becomes shizznit (the addition of the n occurs occasionally as well). This practice, with origins in Frankie Smith's non-sensical language from his 1980 single "Double Dutch Bus," has spread to even non-hip hop fans, who may be unaware of its derivation.

Source : Wikipédia and many others.
(research P.J KING)