The 1980s marked the diversification of hip hop as the genre developed more complex styles[27]. Early examples of the diversification process can be identified through such tracks as The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel, a single consisting entirely of sampled tracks[28] as well as Planet Rock, which signified the fusion of hip hop music with electro. In addition, Rammellzee & K-Rob's "Beat Bop" (1983) was a 'slow jam' which had a dub influence with its use of reverb and echo as texture and playful sound effects. The mid-1980s marked the influence of rock music, with the release of such albums as King of Rock and Licensed to Ill.
Heavy usage of the new generation of drum machines such as the Oberheim DMX and Roland 808 models was a characteristic of many 1980 songs. To this day the 808 kickdrum is traditionally used by hip hop producers. Over time sampling technology became more advanced; however earlier producers such as Marley Marl used drum machines to construct their beats from small excerpts of other beats in synchronisation, in his case, triggering 3 Korg sampling-delay units through a 808. Later, samplers such as the E-mu SP-1200 allowed not only more memory but more flexibility for creative production. This allowed the filtration and layering different hits, and with a possibility of re-sequencing them into a single piece.
Afrika Bambaataa (on the left)
With the emergence of a new generation of samplers such as the AKAI S900 in the late 1980s, producers did not require the aid of tape loops. Public Enemy's first album was created with the help of large tape loops. The process of looping break into a breakbeat now became more common with a 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.[18]
The lyrical content of hip hop evolved as well. The early styles presented in the 1970s soon were replaced with metaphorical lyrics over more complex, multi-layered instrumentals. Artists such as Melle Mel, Rakim, Chuck D, and KRS-One revolutionized hip hop by transforming it into a more mature art form. The influential single "The Message" (1982) by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five is widely considered to be the pioneering force for conscious rap.
During the early 1980s, electro music was fused with elements of the hip hop movement, largely led by artists such as Cybotron, Hashim, Planet Patrol and Newcleus. The most notable proponent was Afrika Bambaataa who produced a single called "Planet Rock".
Some rappers eventually became mainstream pop performers. Kurtis Blow's appearance in a Sprite commercial[29] marked the first hip hop musician to represent a major product. The 1981 song "Christmas Wrapping" by the new-wave band The Waitresses was one of the first pop songs to use some rapping in the delivery.
[edit] Nationalization and internationalization
Prior to the 1980s, hip hop music was largely confined within the context of the United States. However, during the 1980s, it began its spread and became a part of the music scene in dozens of countries. In the early part of the decade, B-boying became the first aspect of hip hop culture to reach Germany, Japan, Australia and South Africa, where the crew Black Noise established the practice before beginning to rap later in the decade. Musician and presenter Sidney became France's first black TV presenter with his show H.I.P. H.O.P.[30] which screened on TF1 during 1984, a first for the genre worldwide. Radio Nova helped launch other French stars including Dee Nasty whose 1984 album Paname City Rappin' along with compilations Rapattitude 1 and 2 contributed to a general awareness of Hip Hop in France.
In Puerto Rico, Vico C became the first Latino rapper, and his recorded work was the beginning of what became known as reggaeton. Early Hip Hop albums in the Philippines included Dyords Javier's "Na Onseng Delight" and Vincent Dafalong's "Nunal".
Hip Hop has always kept a very close relationship with the Latino community in New York. DJ Disco Wiz and the Rock Steady Crew were among early innovators from Puerto Rico. combining English and Spanish in the lyrics. The Mean Machine recorded his first song under the label "Disco Dreams" in 1981, while Kid Frost from Los Angeles began his career in 1982.
Cypress Hill was formed in 1988 in the suburb of Southgate in Los Angeles when Senen Reyes (born in Havana) and his younger brother Ulpiano Sergio (Mellow Man Ace) moved from Cuba to Southgate with his family in 1971. They teamed up with DVX, an Italian-American from Queens (New York), Lawrence Muggerud (DJ Muggs) and Louis Freese (B-Real), a Mexico-Cuban native of Los Angeles. After the departure of "Ace" to begin his solo career the group adopted the name of Cypress Hill named after a street running through the neighborhood of South Los Angeles.
Like Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile and El Salvador have been involved in hip hop, with artists such as Akwid, Gotas de Rap, Tres Coronas, Violadores del Verso, 7 Notas 7 Colores, SFDK, Crooked Stilo, Cartel de Santa, and many others.
Japanese hip hop is said to have begun when Hiroshi Fujiwara returned to Japan and started playing Hip-Hop records in the early 1980s.[31] 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, as evident through the emergence of numerous regional scenes. It has emerged globally as a movement based upon the main tennets of hip hop culture. 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.[32] 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.[33]
In the Netherlands hip hop was popularized with artists as Osdorp Posse and Extince in the late 80s and 90s, both still active today.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
1970s
Origins
DJ Kool Herc - generally recognized as the father of hip hop
Grandmaster Flash
The roots of hip hop are found in African-American music and ultimately African music. The griots of West Africa are a group of traveling singers and poets who are part of an oral tradition dating back hundreds of years. Their vocal style is similar to that of rappers.The African-American traditions of signifyin', the dozens, and jazz poetry are all descended from the griots. In addition, musical 'comedy' acts such as Rudy Ray Moore and Blowfly are considered by some to be the forefathers of rap.
Within New York City, griot-like performances of spoken-word poetry and music by artists such as The Last Poets, Gil Scott-Heron and Jalal Mansur Nuriddin had a significant impact on the post-civil rights era culture of the 1960s and 1970s.
Hip hop arose during the 1970s when block parties became increasingly popular in New York City, particularly in the Bronx, where African American and Puerto Rican influences combined.Block parties incorporated DJs who played popular genres of music, especially funk and soul music. Due to the positive reception, DJs began isolating the percussion breaks of popular songs. This technique was then common in Jamaican dub musicand had spread to New York City via the substantial Jamaican immigrant community. A major proponent of the technique was the Jamaican-born DJ Kool Herc, who emigrated to the United States in 1967. Dub music had become popular in Jamaica due to the influence of American sailors and rhythm & blues. Large sound systems were set up to accommodate poor Jamaicans who couldn't afford to buy records and dub developed at the sound systems. Because the New York audience did not particularly like dub or reggae, Herc switched to using funk, soul and disco records. As the percussive breaks were generally short, Herc and other DJs began extending them using an audio mixer and two records.
Turntablist techniques, such as scratching (seemingly invented by Grand Wizzard Theodore, beat mixing/matching, and beat juggling eventually developed along with the breaks, creating a base that could be rapped over. These same techniques contributed to the popularization of remixes as the looping, sampling and remixing of another's music, often without the original artist's knowledge or consent, can be seen as an evolution of Jamaican dub music,and would become a hallmark of the hip hop style.
1520 Sedgwick Avenue, the Bronx, a venue used by Kool Herc that is often considered the birthplace of hip hop
Corresponding dance elements developed from the Latino influence of Puerto Ricans in the Bronx.
Jamaican immigrants provided an influence on the vocal style of rapping by delivering simple raps at their parties, inspired by the Jamaican tradition of toasting.DJs and MCs would often add call and response chants, often comprising of a basic chorus, to allow the performer to gather his thoughts (e.g. "one, two, three, y'all, to the beat").
Later, the MCs grew more varied in their vocal and rhythmic delivery, incorporating brief rhymes, often with a sexual or scatological theme, in an effort to differentiate themselves and to entertain the audience. These early raps incorporated the dozens, a product of African American culture. Kool Herc & the Herculoids were the first hip hop group to gain recognition in New York[citation needed], but the number of MC teams increased over time.
Grand Wizzard Theodore (on the right)
Often these were collaborations between former gangs, such as Afrikaa Bambaataa's Universal Zulu Nation - now an international organization. Melle Mel, a rapper with The Furious Five is often credited with being the first rap lyricist to call himself an "MC."During the early 1970s B-boying arose during block parties, as b-boys and b-girls got in front of the audience to dance in a distinctive and 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, Wild Style, and Beat Street. The term "B-boy" was coined by DJ Kool Herc to describe the people who would wait for the break section of the song, getting in front of the audience to dance in a distinctive, frenetic style
Although there were many early MCs that recorded solo projects of note, such as DJ Hollywood, Kurtis Blow and Spoonie Gee, the frequency of solo artists didn't increase until later with the rise of soloists with stage presence and drama, such as LL Cool J. Most early hip hop was dominated by groups where collaboration between the members was integral to the show.An example would be the early hip hop group Funky Four Plus One, who performed in such a manner on Saturday Night Live in 1981.
Hip hop music was an outlet and a "voice" for the disenfranchised youth of low-economic areas as the culture reflected the social, economic and political realities of their lives.
DJ Kool Herc - generally recognized as the father of hip hop
Grandmaster Flash
The roots of hip hop are found in African-American music and ultimately African music. The griots of West Africa are a group of traveling singers and poets who are part of an oral tradition dating back hundreds of years. Their vocal style is similar to that of rappers.The African-American traditions of signifyin', the dozens, and jazz poetry are all descended from the griots. In addition, musical 'comedy' acts such as Rudy Ray Moore and Blowfly are considered by some to be the forefathers of rap.
Within New York City, griot-like performances of spoken-word poetry and music by artists such as The Last Poets, Gil Scott-Heron and Jalal Mansur Nuriddin had a significant impact on the post-civil rights era culture of the 1960s and 1970s.
Hip hop arose during the 1970s when block parties became increasingly popular in New York City, particularly in the Bronx, where African American and Puerto Rican influences combined.Block parties incorporated DJs who played popular genres of music, especially funk and soul music. Due to the positive reception, DJs began isolating the percussion breaks of popular songs. This technique was then common in Jamaican dub musicand had spread to New York City via the substantial Jamaican immigrant community. A major proponent of the technique was the Jamaican-born DJ Kool Herc, who emigrated to the United States in 1967. Dub music had become popular in Jamaica due to the influence of American sailors and rhythm & blues. Large sound systems were set up to accommodate poor Jamaicans who couldn't afford to buy records and dub developed at the sound systems. Because the New York audience did not particularly like dub or reggae, Herc switched to using funk, soul and disco records. As the percussive breaks were generally short, Herc and other DJs began extending them using an audio mixer and two records.
Turntablist techniques, such as scratching (seemingly invented by Grand Wizzard Theodore, beat mixing/matching, and beat juggling eventually developed along with the breaks, creating a base that could be rapped over. These same techniques contributed to the popularization of remixes as the looping, sampling and remixing of another's music, often without the original artist's knowledge or consent, can be seen as an evolution of Jamaican dub music,and would become a hallmark of the hip hop style.
1520 Sedgwick Avenue, the Bronx, a venue used by Kool Herc that is often considered the birthplace of hip hop
Corresponding dance elements developed from the Latino influence of Puerto Ricans in the Bronx.
Jamaican immigrants provided an influence on the vocal style of rapping by delivering simple raps at their parties, inspired by the Jamaican tradition of toasting.DJs and MCs would often add call and response chants, often comprising of a basic chorus, to allow the performer to gather his thoughts (e.g. "one, two, three, y'all, to the beat").
Later, the MCs grew more varied in their vocal and rhythmic delivery, incorporating brief rhymes, often with a sexual or scatological theme, in an effort to differentiate themselves and to entertain the audience. These early raps incorporated the dozens, a product of African American culture. Kool Herc & the Herculoids were the first hip hop group to gain recognition in New York[citation needed], but the number of MC teams increased over time.
Grand Wizzard Theodore (on the right)
Often these were collaborations between former gangs, such as Afrikaa Bambaataa's Universal Zulu Nation - now an international organization. Melle Mel, a rapper with The Furious Five is often credited with being the first rap lyricist to call himself an "MC."During the early 1970s B-boying arose during block parties, as b-boys and b-girls got in front of the audience to dance in a distinctive and 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, Wild Style, and Beat Street. The term "B-boy" was coined by DJ Kool Herc to describe the people who would wait for the break section of the song, getting in front of the audience to dance in a distinctive, frenetic style
Although there were many early MCs that recorded solo projects of note, such as DJ Hollywood, Kurtis Blow and Spoonie Gee, the frequency of solo artists didn't increase until later with the rise of soloists with stage presence and drama, such as LL Cool J. Most early hip hop was dominated by groups where collaboration between the members was integral to the show.An example would be the early hip hop group Funky Four Plus One, who performed in such a manner on Saturday Night Live in 1981.
Hip hop music was an outlet and a "voice" for the disenfranchised youth of low-economic areas as the culture reflected the social, economic and political realities of their lives.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Origin of the term hiphop
Origin of the term
Creation of the term hip hop is often credited to Keith Cowboy, rapper with Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. However, Lovebug Starski, Keith Cowboy, and DJ Hollywood used the term when the music was still known as disco 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 cadence of marching soldiers. Cowboy later worked the "hip hop" cadence into a part of his stage performance, which was quickly used by other artists such as The Sugarhill Gang in "Rapper's Delight".
Universal Zulu Nation founder Afrika Bambaataa is credited with first using the term to describe the subculture in which the music belonged; although it is also suggested that it was a derogatory term to describe the type of music.The first use of the term in print was in The Village Voice, by Steven Hager, later author of a 1984 history of hip hop.
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