Evolution Of Hip Hop

Evolution of Hip-hop Hip-hop has many credited fathers; all who have enhanced hip-hop-adding their own style and feel to the new more relatable sound. Hip-hop began as a solution for young people who could not relate to other genres of music such as, funk, soul, and disco. As more faces joined the evolution, hip-hop changed and transformed into something much larger than anyone could have ever imagined
Despite what the media or rumors state, hip-hop originated in the poverty-ridden streets of Bronx New York by an individual by the name of Clive Campbell also known as Dj Kool Herc. The actual father of hip-hop is a controversial topic because hip-hop was born in the streets, making it almost impossible to know exactly who to give all the credit.
Although there are many contributors to the birth of hip-hop, Dj Kool Herc is the most credited. Dj Herc brought hip-hop to fame by publicizing it at his sister’s birthday party, making 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, a small community building, and the birthplace of hip-hop. Dj Herc was the master of ceremonies or MC at the hottest house and block parties where he found the beat breaks of popular songs to be the most danceable part of a song. While Dj Herc presided over parties he found the beat breaks during popular songs to the most danceable part of a song, as a result, he commenced to cutting and isolating the breaks so partygoers could enjoy continuous beats and dancing. Hip-hop has a close tie with reggae music because Dj Herc originally used his native sound from reggae records from popular Jamaican artist such as Yellowman, Afrika Bambaataa, and Shabba Ranks to mix and scratch, but later started using funk and soul records due to popular demand (1520 Sedgwick 1-3). As rap music grew in popularity, the followers grew as well, breathing life into the new MC group called the Herculords. The Herculords were a small group of Dj Herc’s followers who gave themselves a name and a reputation. The Herculords were one of the first groups to add hip-hop to African American culture in every way. As more people entered the movement, the style and structure of hip-hop slowly began to evolve. Djs and MCs started talking and rhyming over the beats in order to engage the crowd and introduce new artists. Over time the short catch phrases such as, “Throw ya hands in the air, and wave them like you just don’t care” evolved into full lyrics, known today as rapping. Hip-hop was performed solely at house or block parties, because it had not yet dispersed into surrounding areas, nor was it considered “radio-friendly” (1520 Sedgwick 2-3).
The evolution of hip-hop happened primarily in three stages consisting first of the mixtape era, where MCs and rappers depended on word of mouth and flyers to promote parties they would be performing at.
The goal then was to get a positive response from the crowd on your lyrics and performance. The material performed was usually a first time premiere for the audience, which added a mysterious feel to the mood of the crowd. Stage 2 was the vinyl period. The idea of emcees becoming recording artists was once a pipe dream that soon became a reality. With the new reality came a new mindset for emcees that cause them to break down their musical barriers. Lastly there was the “hip-hop as an industry itself era,” where hip-hop became more than just a new type of music or sound. During this age, hip-hop became a popular culture shining light on graffiti as an art and a new style of raw street dressing. As hip-hop evolved into something more than a style of music, it began to permeate throughout America, sparking a movement for black expression (Kool Moe
1-2).
African Americans had been dealing with years of segregation and oppression; as a result, the black community took their form of entertainment and turned into a way to express their feelings and to expose their stories and ideas as well.
Rap artists used rap music to release to the listeners what was going on in the world and the communities. Just as everyone has their own story, everyone has their own way of telling it as well, giving birth to multiple different types of rap. Although rap music was in its early stages, it was already on its way to evolution as artists added their own feel to it. Rappers began telling their stories in different ways, bringing the six categories of rap to life. Rap falls into six primary categories; “gangsta,” which focuses mainly on murder, money and chaos; apolitical pop, which has easygoing lyrics and a nice danceable beat; political, whose main focuses are social problems as they analyze what is going on in their communities. The message is usually positive, nonviolent, and encourages the listeners to be more aware of social issues and gives ideas on how to go about fixing or changing them; experimental, which continuously modifies its style; and, finally, feminist, which challenges the stereotypes of women, and proves that women can do whatever men can do. With the six primary categories rap music took off generating hundreds of new listeners and creating a new popular culture (The Rap
par.2).
Hip-hop as a culture widened the audience and caused it to spread rapidly to the rest of the United States. As hip-hop spread throughout the West Coast, the new sound stimulated new music artists, which stimulated problems and negative reviews as well. Gangsta rap became more dominant, bringing drugs, violence, and sex to the forefront. Gangsta rap grew popular because of the honesty it held about life and experiences happening in the inner city. The group that initially popularized gangsta rap in the West Coast was a group of young men that went by the name of NWA or Niggaz with Attitude. NWA made records that contained strong language, which made radio play impossible and graphic lyrics. Gangsta rap was simple to create requiring only a pen, paper, microphone, mixer, and a sampler, meaning the inner city youth could easily create the music to expose their stories. NWA’s single Fuck the Police brought attention to the defiant group from the FBI. The FBI sent letters and warnings to the group warning and advising them not to perform the song because of the possibility of rioting and dismay amongst the crowd. NWA continued to perform their song showing the world their frustration and disapproval of the way the police forces treat the black community. Gangsta rap contained explicit material about drug use and abuse, violence, gang affiliating, strong language, and murder, but it gave young men an outlet. Artists like Tu Pac Shakur told their used explicating lyrics while transmitting a positive message. Tu Pac’s single Dear Mamma is a song where he talked about how much he adored and loved his mother even through all of the struggles they faced. Rap music allowed young African American men to discuss freely and publicly their stories and feelings for the first time. While the men in the industry spoke about violence and drugs, the women in the industry rapped about their sex appeal as well as their inner city background. The Ladies of Hip-hop introduced a raunchy style generating terms such as “bitch,” “ho,” and “hoochie mamma.” Lil’ Kim spoke about her looks and body and how she can entice men into doing anything she wanted. Most women in the hip-hop industry told stories about how they are temptation for men and pleasing to look at. Other female artist such as Lauryn Hill and Queen Latifa gave stories about strong female influences in their life, how young women should value themselves and accept nothing less than respect from men. The public did not take very well to some of the new styles of hip-hop which jumpstarted the rise of a bad reputation for rap (Rap Music 52-56).
New artists such as Lil Wayne, Jay Z, Common, and Eminem continued to break into the industry revolutionizing the now familiar sound. Adding more new terms and styles into the hip-hop culture. As hip-hop continued to develop and change, it acquired a bad reputation due to the lyrics and attitudes containing greed, selfishness, and violence. Hip-hop’s elements of hyperactive materialism in some cases is true but in other cases are exaggerated for the sake of entertainment. Some listeners oppose rap music due to the tasteless selection of vocabulary and flashy materialism stated in the lyrics (The Rap On par. 7). Because of the reputation hip-hop has acquired, the legacy of hip-hop is unknown. Hip-hop is still on the rise, but no one can tell what lies ahead for the beautifully tainted music. Hip-hop began as a great thing that transformed into something much more than anyone had ever imagined (The Root 1-2).