The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Lauryn Hill
Released August 25, 1998 MUSIC2019: Rock ‘n’ Roll
The term “hip hop” originates from the cultural grouping of African Americans living in the low-income areas of the South Bronx in New York City. Rap music has become a culturally originated music genre stemming from hip hop in the 1970s. Rap music can be defined as rhythmic speaking; almost poetically, stemming from Jamaican traditions, which included impromptu poetry (Chang, 2005) and synthesising, which is when DJs speak over the musical rhythms in a poetic form. This hip hop culture then took off, with several groups, mainly male groups, coming together to emphasis the pillars of hip hop; MCing, DJing, graffiti, breakdancing, and beatboxing (Starr, 2007) The 1980s was a groundbreaking decade for hip hop, in that this is where artists other than Black males started to enter the rap and hip hop scene. Artists such as Salt-N-Pepa, MC Lyte, and Queen Latifah, opened the door for female MC artists. Salt-N-Pepa were the first all female rap group to hit the mainstream, with multiple successes, and their presence opened the doors for artists like Queen Latifah. In this time, female MCs had to prove that they were just as good as their male counterparts, it not better. This competition left the female artists being “hard” and showing their “street cred” so much so that they were very masculinised, because society at that point may not have been ready to accept a woman as both sexy and a great rapper. After artists like MC Lyte and the Queen opened the door for female rappers, hip hop took another turn. Artists like TLC, Foxy Brown, and Lil Kim, who not only emulated the hip hop culture, but brought sexiness into the equation. With the emergence of these artists, females in hip hop had a sexualized connotation that almost only depicted women in a sexual manner when it came to hip hop. Women in hip hop at this point held sexual roles, which were the Diva, Gold
Lauryn Hill
Released August 25, 1998 MUSIC2019: Rock ‘n’ Roll
The term “hip hop” originates from the cultural grouping of African Americans living in the low-income areas of the South Bronx in New York City. Rap music has become a culturally originated music genre stemming from hip hop in the 1970s. Rap music can be defined as rhythmic speaking; almost poetically, stemming from Jamaican traditions, which included impromptu poetry (Chang, 2005) and synthesising, which is when DJs speak over the musical rhythms in a poetic form. This hip hop culture then took off, with several groups, mainly male groups, coming together to emphasis the pillars of hip hop; MCing, DJing, graffiti, breakdancing, and beatboxing (Starr, 2007) The 1980s was a groundbreaking decade for hip hop, in that this is where artists other than Black males started to enter the rap and hip hop scene. Artists such as Salt-N-Pepa, MC Lyte, and Queen Latifah, opened the door for female MC artists. Salt-N-Pepa were the first all female rap group to hit the mainstream, with multiple successes, and their presence opened the doors for artists like Queen Latifah. In this time, female MCs had to prove that they were just as good as their male counterparts, it not better. This competition left the female artists being “hard” and showing their “street cred” so much so that they were very masculinised, because society at that point may not have been ready to accept a woman as both sexy and a great rapper. After artists like MC Lyte and the Queen opened the door for female rappers, hip hop took another turn. Artists like TLC, Foxy Brown, and Lil Kim, who not only emulated the hip hop culture, but brought sexiness into the equation. With the emergence of these artists, females in hip hop had a sexualized connotation that almost only depicted women in a sexual manner when it came to hip hop. Women in hip hop at this point held sexual roles, which were the Diva, Gold
References: Chang, Jeff; DJ Kool Herc (2005). Can 't Stop Won 't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation. New York: St. Martin’s Press Starr, L., Waterman, C. (2007). American Popular Music: From Minstrelsy to MP3 (Second Edition). New York: Oxford University Press Stephens, D.P., Law, A.L. (2007). The effects of Images of African American women in hip hop on early adolescents’ attitudes toward physical attractiveness and interpersonal relationships. Sex Roles, 56, 251-264. DOI 10.1007/s11199-006-9145-5. TheGASMass (upload) & BET (production). (2010, September 1). BET: Women in Hip Hop History & the Influence of Lauryn Hill [Documentary]. Retrieved June 21, 2011 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7-xn5heBYM USA Today. (1998, September 3). Lauren Hill’s debut smashes record. Retrieved June 20, 2011 from http://www.usatoday.com/