Similarities Between Jazz And Hip Hop
From Jazz to Hip Hop
New genres of music often start off with an underground following. As the music evolves it eventually loses its subversive feel. It is no longer revolutionary nor a creative art form, thus it becomes a product of popular culture found amongst the demographics of MTV. One popular style of music that grew by countering American culture is jazz. Today jazz is often compared to hip-hop; both art forms have grown from an underground following to counter American culture. Furthermore, jazz has heavily influenced many of hip-hops' elements found within the music. The cultural similarities and musical elements influenced by jazz have had a strong impact on hip-hop. Those who consider themselves true members of the hip hop …show more content…
community understand that there is an entire culture that embodies the music. This culture consists of language, art, fashion, dancing and various other urban rudiments. According to R.. Reese, "The raw beginnings of contemporary [hip hop] music can be traced to the Bronx in the mid 1970s". The urban black youth were using the art form to send messages of political disproval and tell stories of violence, and anything that had to do with daily life on the streets. Such motifs can relate back to many songs that incorporates vocals in a composition. Jazz musicians would commonly incorporate stories of every day life growing up in Harlem. In a number done by Duke Ellington with singer Ella Fitzgerald called "Take The A Train," the lyrics give a candid story of life growing up in the streets. Specifically in this song they are talking about getting home to Sugar Hill in Harlem. Although the lyrics are not the song is very playful using a trumpet to mimic a train with Fitzgerald singing, "scat." She sings, "You must take the "A" train To go to Sugar Hill way up in Harlem If you miss the "A" train You'll find you missed the quickest way to Harlem." There is not too much weight in this song; however, it gives a glimpse into the life of someone growing up in Harlem. These candid life stories of Harlem have been influential into many hip hoppers.
The Sugar Hill Gang, an American hip hop group. in the late 70's reached the charts by giving America a glimpse at urban street life through the incorporation of somewhat obscene lyrics. The 14min 37s song includes the phrase, "he cant satisfy you with his little worm 
but I can bust you out with my super sperm," These were extremely indescent lyrics for the time that were not acceptable to American moralities. Today more modern hip hop artists express more intellectual issues. A popular underground artists known, as Saigon is an example of one artist who uses music as a platform to express emotions he encounters in everyday life living in America. In the song "Kiss the Babies," he raps, "why am I wrong if I kill a nigga that punch me, but it's right for you to blow up a whole country." These lyrics express anger he has towards the American establishment, but specifically towards President George Bush. Feelings expressed through rappers are thoughts that counter mainstream American moralities. While many stay patriotic at times of war Saigon rebels with obscene vernacular towards the American establishment. Hip-hop is a rebellious art form. Saigon is one example of the countless rappers who speak what is on their mind. Similar to hip hop jazz has shown countless moments of …show more content…
rebelliousness. Nowadays jazz has assimilated into American culture; however, at a time it was thought of as a rebellious art form. One movement in the history of jazz that countered mainstream popularity was the bebop era. Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, two major contributors to bebop, had developed the form in order to give birth to a new style of jazz. Rebellious in nature, Dizzy would often get up on stage and tell jokes; sometimes he would even begin to scat. Gillespie and Parker were always defending their new development since Louis Armstrong's "hot jazz" opposed the bebop style. On stage Armstrong would mimic Parker and Gillespie. Nevertheless, the intentions of creating this new form sent a message to contemporary jazz musicians of the time. Prior to the establishment of bebop, Parker and Gillespie were members of well known bands. They were pressured by bandleaders like Cab Calloway and Earl Hines to play commercial style music. In order to break free from any constraints they would have to leave these well-known bands and make a stance. As a result they would rebel against the commercialized jazz by creating new sounds and leaving their groups. According to Gioia beboppers "relished the opportunity to make a statement with their' music, and the more difficult it was, the better-little wonder that the resulting bebop style was, in basketball parlance, in your face" (p. 205). In the same manner hip hop uses words to express a rebellion that many are offended by. Furthermore beboppers take a step towards being perceived as intellectuals rather than entertainers. Hip-hop artists are musicians who use poetry to express an intellectual message similar to that of the beboppers development of new sounds. Jazz has always been huge into the development of new sound or techniques. These techniques have been extremely significant to hip-hop. Jazz has always been heavy on rhythm, which was strongly influenced by African culture. According to Gioia, "an African ensemble would construct layer upon layer of rhythmic patterns, forging a counter point of time signatures, a polyphony of percussion" (p. 11). By constructing layers upon layers of rhythmic patterns syncopation was established. No longer did a rhythm have to play to a steady beat, it could be played against it. The incorporation of syncopation can be found in ragtime, be-bop, and various other jazz forms. The multiplicity of rhythms has become rather innate in hip-hop as a structural device for a composition. Similar to jazz, hip hoppers use instrumentation to play with a beat or against. RZA, a member of underground hip hop group Wu-Tang, incorporates syncopated rhythm onto his tracks. On the piece titled "Bebop a (Live at the Rooftop)" off the album "Bird Up" he uses syncopation as a structural device to pace his words. In this tune he uses a 4/4 time signature intertwining his words through and around the beat. His rhythm often changes pace playing against the beat; however, because the composition is 4/4 he is always able to catch himself. One major influence that jazz has had on hip-hop is the element of improvisation. Revolutionary rule breaker Louis Armstrong gave rise to the master soloist. Although he was not the first to improvise, he phased out the use of collective improvisation. As a result many jazz musicians began to incorporate solo improvisation into their pieces. Eventually vocalists Ella Fitzgerald was able to take this element of jazz and incorporate with her music, which is known today "scat" singing. Eventually this style of singing led to what is known as "freestyle." According to a Review from Joe Moore, "the improvisatory nature of jazz inspires hip hop mc's and their freestyling infuses pop culture"(). Freestyle' is the rawest form of hip-hop. Freestylers will often bring attention to mainstream popular culture. In jazz any respectable musician will know how to use a chord in a solo so that it matches the backline melody. The result of a musician who understands his chords in the right context is the ability to draw upon American pop culture melodies. Similar to jazz, while freestylin' to a beat one will infuse his words with popular culture as Parker and Gillespie were known to do. A form of hip-hop called "jazz rap" formed around the early 80's using the improvisational element of freestyling. The fusion style hip-hop often samples jazz recordings. RZA's "Bebop a (Live at the Rooftop)" is an example of the jazz rap form that uses sampling. In his ode to Charlie Parker, RZA's sample of "The Bird" gives of an entirely relaxed melodic feel. People sample old songs all the time; however, when jazz is used for the melody in the composition the song has an entirely different feel to it. Very often an artist will lay down live jazz tracks into their music. One performer to do so is the artist Nas. He is a notable artist for fusing hip-hop's essence with jazz rhythms and call and response. In his song "Bridging the Gap" he incorporates layers of various instrumentation found in jazz. The trumpet in this tune shows a wide variety of dynamics. It almost sounds as though he is the innovative style of trumpet playing heard by virtuoso Miles Davis's. The trumped will quickly change pitches using a lot of vibrato. As Nas raps he will ask a question in one verse and respond to it in the other. This is an example of "call and response," a common device used in jazz. Something to note about Nas is that his father is well known trumpeter Olu Dara who is used in a number of his songs. In this particular piece as Nas is doing the calling, his father is doing the responding, and vice versa. Other artists that incorporate live jazz tracks are the roots. The Roots feature many tracks with various instruments; one in particular, is the track "Stay Cool." The song incorporates a trumpet played player who gives off a similar style of playing as Coleman Hawkins. The trumpet player uses chords that run up and down the scale giving a wide dynamic sound playing in a vertical style. Overall Jazz has had an extremely large influence on hip hop.
It is important to understand that hip-hop and jazz are both more than just genres of music; they are lifestyles that embody the music. Jazz and hip-hop are products of a counter culture. They are both creative art forms. Hip-hop music is often used as a platform to express thoughts about the establishment and insight into life urban black youth growing up in the streets. Although Jazz has assimilated into mainstream America, much of its growth took place from rebellious actions. The technical elements found in a jazz composition have had an extremely large influence on hip-hop. With the growth of improvisation hip hoppers established freestyle rapping. Jazz has influence hip through the establishment of syncopated rhythm. Rappers are able to take a beat and play with it or against creating a very unique and interesting composition. Artists Nas and The Roots have shown the ability to fuse hip-hop essence with jazz through sampling and live recording. Often times hip hop musicians have given As RZA With the similarities through development and growth hip hop has become a new and popular form of jazz as bebop developed in the mid-1940s and ragtime in the early 20th
century. Works Cited
Adler, David R. "Two Turntables and a Saxophone." Slate. 22 Nov. 2005. 16 Nov.-Dec. 2007 <http://www.slate.com/id/2130906/>.
Blues for Piece. 2007 <http://www.bluesforpeace.com/lyrics/take-a-train.htm>.
Gioia, Ted. The History of Jazz. New York: Oxford UP, Inc, 1997. 1-471.
"Jazz Rap." Wikipedia. 14 Nov. 2007 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz_rap>.
"Lester Young." Answers.Com. 14 Nov.-Dec. 2007 <http://www.answers.com/topic/lester-young>.
Reese, R. "FROM THE FRINGE: THE HIP HOP CULTURE AND ETHNIC RELATIONS." Calpolypamona. Feb.-Mar. 1998. Cal Poly Pamona. 16 Nov. 2007 <http://www.csupomona.edu/~rrreese/HIPHOP.HTML>.
Saigon. "Kiss the Baby." By Saigon. Kiss the Babies.
New genres of music often start off with an underground following. As the music evolves it eventually loses its subversive feel. It is no longer revolutionary nor a creative art form, thus it becomes a product of popular culture found amongst the demographics of MTV. One popular style of music that grew by countering American culture is jazz. Today jazz is often compared to hip-hop; both art forms have grown from an underground following to counter American culture. Furthermore, jazz has heavily influenced many of hip-hops' elements found within the music. The cultural similarities and musical elements influenced by jazz have had a strong impact on hip-hop. Those who consider themselves true members of the hip hop …show more content…
community understand that there is an entire culture that embodies the music. This culture consists of language, art, fashion, dancing and various other urban rudiments. According to R.. Reese, "The raw beginnings of contemporary [hip hop] music can be traced to the Bronx in the mid 1970s". The urban black youth were using the art form to send messages of political disproval and tell stories of violence, and anything that had to do with daily life on the streets. Such motifs can relate back to many songs that incorporates vocals in a composition. Jazz musicians would commonly incorporate stories of every day life growing up in Harlem. In a number done by Duke Ellington with singer Ella Fitzgerald called "Take The A Train," the lyrics give a candid story of life growing up in the streets. Specifically in this song they are talking about getting home to Sugar Hill in Harlem. Although the lyrics are not the song is very playful using a trumpet to mimic a train with Fitzgerald singing, "scat." She sings, "You must take the "A" train To go to Sugar Hill way up in Harlem If you miss the "A" train You'll find you missed the quickest way to Harlem." There is not too much weight in this song; however, it gives a glimpse into the life of someone growing up in Harlem. These candid life stories of Harlem have been influential into many hip hoppers.
The Sugar Hill Gang, an American hip hop group. in the late 70's reached the charts by giving America a glimpse at urban street life through the incorporation of somewhat obscene lyrics. The 14min 37s song includes the phrase, "he cant satisfy you with his little worm 
but I can bust you out with my super sperm," These were extremely indescent lyrics for the time that were not acceptable to American moralities. Today more modern hip hop artists express more intellectual issues. A popular underground artists known, as Saigon is an example of one artist who uses music as a platform to express emotions he encounters in everyday life living in America. In the song "Kiss the Babies," he raps, "why am I wrong if I kill a nigga that punch me, but it's right for you to blow up a whole country." These lyrics express anger he has towards the American establishment, but specifically towards President George Bush. Feelings expressed through rappers are thoughts that counter mainstream American moralities. While many stay patriotic at times of war Saigon rebels with obscene vernacular towards the American establishment. Hip-hop is a rebellious art form. Saigon is one example of the countless rappers who speak what is on their mind. Similar to hip hop jazz has shown countless moments of …show more content…
rebelliousness. Nowadays jazz has assimilated into American culture; however, at a time it was thought of as a rebellious art form. One movement in the history of jazz that countered mainstream popularity was the bebop era. Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, two major contributors to bebop, had developed the form in order to give birth to a new style of jazz. Rebellious in nature, Dizzy would often get up on stage and tell jokes; sometimes he would even begin to scat. Gillespie and Parker were always defending their new development since Louis Armstrong's "hot jazz" opposed the bebop style. On stage Armstrong would mimic Parker and Gillespie. Nevertheless, the intentions of creating this new form sent a message to contemporary jazz musicians of the time. Prior to the establishment of bebop, Parker and Gillespie were members of well known bands. They were pressured by bandleaders like Cab Calloway and Earl Hines to play commercial style music. In order to break free from any constraints they would have to leave these well-known bands and make a stance. As a result they would rebel against the commercialized jazz by creating new sounds and leaving their groups. According to Gioia beboppers "relished the opportunity to make a statement with their' music, and the more difficult it was, the better-little wonder that the resulting bebop style was, in basketball parlance, in your face" (p. 205). In the same manner hip hop uses words to express a rebellion that many are offended by. Furthermore beboppers take a step towards being perceived as intellectuals rather than entertainers. Hip-hop artists are musicians who use poetry to express an intellectual message similar to that of the beboppers development of new sounds. Jazz has always been huge into the development of new sound or techniques. These techniques have been extremely significant to hip-hop. Jazz has always been heavy on rhythm, which was strongly influenced by African culture. According to Gioia, "an African ensemble would construct layer upon layer of rhythmic patterns, forging a counter point of time signatures, a polyphony of percussion" (p. 11). By constructing layers upon layers of rhythmic patterns syncopation was established. No longer did a rhythm have to play to a steady beat, it could be played against it. The incorporation of syncopation can be found in ragtime, be-bop, and various other jazz forms. The multiplicity of rhythms has become rather innate in hip-hop as a structural device for a composition. Similar to jazz, hip hoppers use instrumentation to play with a beat or against. RZA, a member of underground hip hop group Wu-Tang, incorporates syncopated rhythm onto his tracks. On the piece titled "Bebop a (Live at the Rooftop)" off the album "Bird Up" he uses syncopation as a structural device to pace his words. In this tune he uses a 4/4 time signature intertwining his words through and around the beat. His rhythm often changes pace playing against the beat; however, because the composition is 4/4 he is always able to catch himself. One major influence that jazz has had on hip-hop is the element of improvisation. Revolutionary rule breaker Louis Armstrong gave rise to the master soloist. Although he was not the first to improvise, he phased out the use of collective improvisation. As a result many jazz musicians began to incorporate solo improvisation into their pieces. Eventually vocalists Ella Fitzgerald was able to take this element of jazz and incorporate with her music, which is known today "scat" singing. Eventually this style of singing led to what is known as "freestyle." According to a Review from Joe Moore, "the improvisatory nature of jazz inspires hip hop mc's and their freestyling infuses pop culture"(). Freestyle' is the rawest form of hip-hop. Freestylers will often bring attention to mainstream popular culture. In jazz any respectable musician will know how to use a chord in a solo so that it matches the backline melody. The result of a musician who understands his chords in the right context is the ability to draw upon American pop culture melodies. Similar to jazz, while freestylin' to a beat one will infuse his words with popular culture as Parker and Gillespie were known to do. A form of hip-hop called "jazz rap" formed around the early 80's using the improvisational element of freestyling. The fusion style hip-hop often samples jazz recordings. RZA's "Bebop a (Live at the Rooftop)" is an example of the jazz rap form that uses sampling. In his ode to Charlie Parker, RZA's sample of "The Bird" gives of an entirely relaxed melodic feel. People sample old songs all the time; however, when jazz is used for the melody in the composition the song has an entirely different feel to it. Very often an artist will lay down live jazz tracks into their music. One performer to do so is the artist Nas. He is a notable artist for fusing hip-hop's essence with jazz rhythms and call and response. In his song "Bridging the Gap" he incorporates layers of various instrumentation found in jazz. The trumpet in this tune shows a wide variety of dynamics. It almost sounds as though he is the innovative style of trumpet playing heard by virtuoso Miles Davis's. The trumped will quickly change pitches using a lot of vibrato. As Nas raps he will ask a question in one verse and respond to it in the other. This is an example of "call and response," a common device used in jazz. Something to note about Nas is that his father is well known trumpeter Olu Dara who is used in a number of his songs. In this particular piece as Nas is doing the calling, his father is doing the responding, and vice versa. Other artists that incorporate live jazz tracks are the roots. The Roots feature many tracks with various instruments; one in particular, is the track "Stay Cool." The song incorporates a trumpet played player who gives off a similar style of playing as Coleman Hawkins. The trumpet player uses chords that run up and down the scale giving a wide dynamic sound playing in a vertical style. Overall Jazz has had an extremely large influence on hip hop.
It is important to understand that hip-hop and jazz are both more than just genres of music; they are lifestyles that embody the music. Jazz and hip-hop are products of a counter culture. They are both creative art forms. Hip-hop music is often used as a platform to express thoughts about the establishment and insight into life urban black youth growing up in the streets. Although Jazz has assimilated into mainstream America, much of its growth took place from rebellious actions. The technical elements found in a jazz composition have had an extremely large influence on hip-hop. With the growth of improvisation hip hoppers established freestyle rapping. Jazz has influence hip through the establishment of syncopated rhythm. Rappers are able to take a beat and play with it or against creating a very unique and interesting composition. Artists Nas and The Roots have shown the ability to fuse hip-hop essence with jazz through sampling and live recording. Often times hip hop musicians have given As RZA With the similarities through development and growth hip hop has become a new and popular form of jazz as bebop developed in the mid-1940s and ragtime in the early 20th
century. Works Cited
Adler, David R. "Two Turntables and a Saxophone." Slate. 22 Nov. 2005. 16 Nov.-Dec. 2007 <http://www.slate.com/id/2130906/>.
Blues for Piece. 2007 <http://www.bluesforpeace.com/lyrics/take-a-train.htm>.
Gioia, Ted. The History of Jazz. New York: Oxford UP, Inc, 1997. 1-471.
"Jazz Rap." Wikipedia. 14 Nov. 2007 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz_rap>.
"Lester Young." Answers.Com. 14 Nov.-Dec. 2007 <http://www.answers.com/topic/lester-young>.
Reese, R. "FROM THE FRINGE: THE HIP HOP CULTURE AND ETHNIC RELATIONS." Calpolypamona. Feb.-Mar. 1998. Cal Poly Pamona. 16 Nov. 2007 <http://www.csupomona.edu/~rrreese/HIPHOP.HTML>.
Saigon. "Kiss the Baby." By Saigon. Kiss the Babies.