Hip-hop orhip hop (formerly known asdisco rap)[7][8] is agenre ofpopular music that emerged in the early 1970s in New York City. The genre is characterized by stylized rhythmic sounds—often built aroundfunk grooves, electronicdrum beats, andrapping, a percussive vocal delivery of rhymed poetic speech as consciousness-raising expression.[9] The music developed as part of the broaderhip-hop culture; while often used to refer solely to rapping andrap music, "hip-hop" more properly denotes the practice(s) of the entiresubculture.[10][11] The termhip-hop music is sometimes used synonymously with the termrap music,[9][12] though rapping may not be the focus of hip-hop music. The genre also centersDJing,turntablism,scratching,[13]beatboxing, andinstrumental tracks.[14][15]
Hip-hop as both a musical genre and a culture was formed during the 1970s, whenblock parties became increasingly popular in New York City, particularly among ethnic minority youth residing in theBronx.[16] At block parties, DJs playedpercussive breaks of popular songs using two turntables and aDJ mixer to be able to play breaks from two copies of the same record, alternating from one to the other and extending the "break".[17] Hip-hop's early evolution occurred as sampling technology anddrum machines became widely available and affordable. Turntablist techniques such as scratching andbeatmatching developed along with the breaks. Rapping developed as a vocal style in which the artist speaks or chants along rhythmically with an instrumental or synthesizedbeat.
Hip-hop music was not officially recorded to play on radio or television until 1979, largely due to poverty during the genre's birth and lack of acceptance outside ghetto neighborhoods. The genre of music began spreading through block parties throughout the Black community.[18]Old-school hip hop was the first mainstream wave of the genre, marked by itsdisco influence and party-oriented lyrics. The 1980s marked the diversification of hip-hop as the genre developed more complex styles and spread around the world.New-school hip hop was the genre's second wave, marked by itselectro sound, and led intogolden age hip hop, an innovative period between the mid-1980s and mid-1990s that also developed hip-hop's ownalbum era. Thegangsta rapsubgenre, focused on the violent lifestyles and impoverished conditions of inner-city African American youth, gained popularity at this time.West Coast hip hop was dominated byG-funk in the early-mid 1990s, whileEast Coast hip hop was dominated byjazz rap,alternative hip hop, andhardcore hip hop. Hip-hop continued to diversify at this time with other regional styles emerging, such asSouthern rap andAtlanta hip hop. Hip-hop became a best-selling genre in the mid-1990s and the top-selling music genre by 1999. Hip-hop became a category at theGrammy Awards in 1989 with the addition of the Best Rap Performance award and was given toDJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince for their song "Parents Just Don't Understand". In 1990, they became the first hip-hop act to perform at the Grammys.
The popularity of hip-hop music continued through the late 1990s to early-2000s "bling era" with hip-hop influences increasingly finding their way into other genres of popular music, such asneo soul,nu metal, andR&B. The United States also saw the success of regional styles such ascrunk, a Southern genre that emphasized the beats and music more than the lyrics, and alternative hip-hop began to secure a place in the mainstream, due in part to the crossover success of its artists. During the late 2000s and early 2010s "blog era", rappers were able to build up a following through online methods of music distribution, such as social media and blogs, and mainstream hip-hop took on a more melodic, sensitive direction following the commercial decline of gangsta rap. Thetrap andmumble rap subgenres have become the most popular form of hip-hop during the mid-late 2010s and early 2020s. In 2017, rock music was usurped by hip-hop as the most popular genre in the United States. In recent years, hip-hop's influence has transcended musical boundaries, impacting fashion, language, and cultural trends worldwide.[19][20][21]
Amidst its evolution, hip-hop has also been a vehicle for social commentary and political expression, reflecting the struggles and aspirations of marginalized communities. From its roots in the Bronx to its global reach today, hip-hop has served as a voice for the disenfranchised, shedding light on issues such as racial inequality, poverty, and police brutality.[22] Artists such asPublic Enemy,Tupac Shakur, andKendrick Lamar have used their platforms to address systemic injustices, fostering dialogue and inspiring activism. Hip-hop's ability to confront societal issues while simultaneously providing a form of empowerment and self-expression has solidified its significance beyond mere entertainment, making it a significant cultural force worldwide.[23]
Cultural elements
Hip-hop is asubculture defined by four key stylistic elements:MCing/rapping, DJing/scratching withturntables,breakdancing, andgraffiti art or writing.[24][25][26] Knowledge is sometimes described as a fifth element, underscoring its role in shaping the values and promoting empowerment and consciousness-raising through music.[27][28][29] In 1999, emceeKRS-One, often referred to as "The Teacher," elaborated on this framework in aHarvard lecture, identifying additional elements that extend beyond the basic four. These include self-expression, street fashion, street language, street knowledge (oruniversal law), and street entrepreneurialism, which remain integral to hip-hop's musical expression, entertainment business, and sound production. Girls’double-dutch was also recognized as a key stylistic component of breakdancing, according to KRS.[30]
Origin of the term
The origin of the phrase "hip-hop" is unknown but a very old example of the phrase appears in scene II of an anonymously written satirical play from 1671 calledThe Rehearsal, thought to be written byGeorge Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham and others. A character in the play named Bayes says: "Ay, is't not, I gad, ha? For, to go off hip hop, hip hop, upon this occasion, is a thousand times better than any conclusion in the world, I gad."[31] This play and two other later sources are mentioned as an entry "Hip-hop" in a multi-volume dictionary from 1901 calledA New English Dictionary on Historical Principles, in Volume 5H to K, on page 296;[32] the definition is this dictionary is: "Hip-hop, adv. [v. hip + hop v.; or re-duplication of hop, with alternation of lighter and heavier vowel : cf. drip-drop, tip-top: With hopping movement; with successive hops."A similar phrase "hippity hop" of unknown origin goes to least back to the 1800s and appears in a poem, "Spring Weather", written by Elizabeth Cummings published in an 1882 children's magazine calledWide Awake.[33] The illustrated poem begins "Hippity hop to the candy Shop four little men in a row" and the phrase appears a few more times. The hopping depicted in the illustration seems to crossover later to describing dances such as theLindy Hop, which began in Harlem in the late 1920s. Later dance parties in the 1970s with DJs predated rap music but rap music would evolve out of them. In an article inMedium,Jeff Chang writes: "Father Amde Hamilton of the influential rap precursors the Watts Prophets once told me that, when he was growing up along Central Avenue in 1950s Los Angeles, the older folks used to call teen house parties 'them old hippity hops'."
The earliest known instance of "hip-hop" as a compound phrase in a song lyric is in a song about dancing by thedoo-wop group theDovells in 1963 calledYou Can't Sit Down, the lyric is: "...you gotta slop, bop, flip flop, hip hop, never stop".[34]Keef Cowboy,rapper withGrandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, is sometimes credited with the term as it relates to hip-hop as we know it today (although it was not documented).[35]Lovebug Starski, Keef Cowboy, andDJ Hollywood used the term when the music was still known asdisco rap.[36] It is believed by some that Cowboy created the term while teasing a friend who had just joined the U.S. Army, by singing the words "hip/hop/hip/hop" in a way that mimicked therhythmic cadence of soldiers marching.[35] Cowboy later worked "hip-hop" into a part of his stage performance saying something along the lines of what was adopted by other artists such asThe Sugarhill Gang in 1979 in one of the earliest rap records "Rapper's Delight "I said a hip-hop, a hibbit, hibby-dibby, hip-hip-hop and you don't stop".[37][35]Universal Zulu Nation founder and music artistAfrika Bambaataa is credited with first using the term as a five element culture of which the music belonged; although it is also suggested that it was sometimes used as a derogatory term.[38] Hip-hop music in the early 1980s was an anti-drug and anti-violencesocial movement led by Afrika Bambaataa and the Universal Zulu Nation.[39] The term was used in an article of February 24, 1979 by reporter Robert Flipping Jr. in theNew Pittsburgh Courier[40][41] The article is about DJs and discothèque nightclubs in Pittsburgh and does not mention rap music but says this: "D.J. Starsky (Lovebug Starsky), one of the more prominent based disc jockeys ... He is also responsible for the derivation of the 'Hip-Hop'."Lovebug Starsky is also credited for the term byAfrika Bambaataa in a January 1982 interview byMichael Holman in theEast Village Eye.[42] Holman stating "Hip hop: the all inclusive tag for the rapping, breaking, graffiti-writing, crew fashion wearing street sub-culture." The term gained further currency in September of that year in another Bambaataa interview inThe Village Voice,[43] bySteven Hager, later author of a 1984 history of hip-hop.[44] Hip-hop and rap music are often used interchangeably but the term "hip-hop" has also been historically used to describe a culture of which music is a part.[8] Historically hip-hop is a cultural movement that emerged in theSouth Bronx in New York City during the 1970s which included MCing (or rapping), graffiti art (or aerosol art), break dancing, DJing and knowledge.[8]
Hip-hop as music and culture formed during the 1970s inNew York City. As expressed byMark D. Naison ofFordham University, "Hip hop was born multicultural", gaining influences from African American, Latin American, and Caribbean musical and dancing traditions.[52][53][54] Hip-hop music in its infancy has been described as an outlet and a voice for the disenfranchised youth of marginalized backgrounds and low-income areas, as the hip-hop culture reflected the social, economic and political realities of their lives.[55][56] Many of the people who helped establish hip hop culture, includingDJ Kool Herc,DJ Disco Wiz,Grandmaster Flash, andAfrika Bambaataa were of Latin American or Caribbean origin. DJ Kool Herc is widely recognized as the creator of hip-hop, credited with pioneering the technique of extending the instrumental "breakbeat" on a record during a party in the Bronx on August 11, 1973, which is considered to be the birth of hip-hop in the hip-hop culture.
It is hard to pinpoint the exact musical influences that most affected the sound and culture of early hip-hop because of the multicultural nature of New York—hip-hop's early pioneers were influenced by a mix of cultures, due to the city's diversity.[57] The city experienced a heavy Jamaican hip-hop influence during the 1990s. This influence was brought on by cultural shifts particularly because of the heightened immigration of Jamaicans to New York and the American-born Jamaican youth who werecoming of age during the 1990s.
DJ Kool Herc, ofJamaican background, is recognized as one of the earliest hip-hop DJs and artists. Some credit him with officially originating hip-hop music through his 1973 "Back to School Jam".[58]
In the 1970s,block parties became increasingly popular in New York, particularly among African American, Caribbean and Hispanic youth residing in theBronx. Block parties incorporated DJs, who played popular genres of music, especiallyfunk andsoul music. Due to the positive reception, DJs began isolating thepercussive breaks of popular songs. This technique was common in Jamaicandub music,[59] and was largely introduced into New York by immigrants from the Caribbean, including DJ Kool Herc, one of the pioneers of hip-hop.[60][61] Herc has repeatedly denied any direct connections between Jamaican musical traditions and early hip-hop, stating that his own biggest influence wasJames Brown, from whom he says rap originated.[62] Even before moving to the U.S., Herc says his biggest influences came from American music:
I was listening to American music in Jamaica and my favorite artist was James Brown. That's who inspired me. A lot of the records I played were by James Brown.[63]
Herc also says that he was not influenced by Jamaican sound system parties, as he was too young to experience them when he was in Jamaica.[64]
In a 2020 interview, DJ Kool Herc's sister Cindy Campbell said that she wanted Jamaica to reclaim hip-hop because, as she put it, "we are the ones who brought the style and the technique to America, which [later] became hip-hop."[65]
Because the percussive breaks in funk, soul anddisco records were generally short, Herc and other DJs began using two turntables to extend the breaks. On August 11, 1973, DJ Kool Herc was the DJ at his sister's back-to-school party. He extended the beat of a record by using two record players, isolating the percussion "breaks" by using amixer to switch between the two records. Herc's experiments with making music with record players became what we now know as breaking or "scratching".[66]
A second key musical element in hip-hop music is emceeing (also called MCing or rapping). Emceeing is the rhythmic spoken delivery ofrhymes and wordplay, delivered at first without accompaniment and later done over abeats. This spoken style was influenced by the African American style of "capping", a performance where men tried to outdo each other in originality of their language and tried to gain the favor of the listeners.[67] The basic elements of hip-hop—boasting raps, rival "posses" (groups), uptown "throw-downs", and political and social commentary—were all long present in African American music. MCing and rapping performers moved back and forth between the predominance of songs packed with a mix of boasting, 'slackness' and sexual innuendo and a more topical, political, socially conscious style. The role of the MC originally was as aMaster of Ceremonies for a DJ dance event. The MC would introduce the DJ and try to pump up the audience. The MC spoke between the DJ's songs, urging everyone to get up and dance. MCs would also tell jokes and use their energetic language and enthusiasm to rev up the crowd. Eventually, this introducing role developed into longer sessions of spoken, rhythmic wordplay, and rhyming, which became rapping.
By 1979, hip-hop music had become a mainstream genre. Herc also developed uponbreak-beat deejaying,[68] where the breaks of funk songs—the part most suited to dance, usually percussion-based—were isolated and repeated for the purpose of all-night dance parties. This form of music playback, using hard funk and rock, formed the basis of hip-hop music. Campbell's announcements and exhortations to dancers would lead to the syncopated, rhymed spoken accompaniment now known as rapping. He dubbed his dancers "break-boys" and "break-girls", or simply "b-boys" and "b-girls". According to Herc, "breaking" was also street slang for "getting excited" and "acting energetically".[69]
DJs such asGrand Wizzard Theodore,Grandmaster Flash, andJazzy Jay refined and developed the use of breakbeats, including cutting and scratching.[71] As turntable manipulation continued to evolve a new technique that came from it was needle dropping. Needle dropping was created by Grandmaster Flash, it is prolonged short drum breaks by playing two copies of a record simultaneously and moving the needle on one turntable back to the start of the break while the other played.[72] The approach used by Herc was soon widely copied, and by the late 1970s, DJs were releasing12-inch records where they would rap to the beat. Popular tunes includedKurtis Blow's "The Breaks" and theSugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight".[73] Herc and other DJs would connect their equipment to power lines and perform at venues such as public basketball courts and at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, Bronx, New York, now officially a historic building.[74] The equipment consisted of numerous speakers, turntables, and one or more microphones.[75] By using this technique, DJs could create a variety of music, but according toRap Attack by David Toop "At its worst the technique could turn the night into one endless and inevitably boring song".[76]KC the Prince of Soul, a rapper-lyricist with Pete DJ Jones, is often credited with being the first rap lyricist to call himself an "MC".[77]
Street gangs were prevalent in the poverty of the South Bronx, and much of the graffiti, rapping, andb-boying at these parties were all artistic variations on the competition and one-upmanship of street gangs. Sensing that gang members' often violent urges could be turned into creative ones, Afrika Bambaataa founded theZulu Nation, a loose confederation of street-dance crews, graffiti artists, and rap musicians. By the late 1970s, the culture had gained media attention, withBillboard magazine printing an article titled "B Beats Bombarding Bronx", commenting on the local phenomenon and mentioning influential figures such as Kool Herc.[78] TheNew York City blackout of 1977 saw widespread looting, arson, and other citywide disorders especially in the Bronx[79] where a number of looters stole DJ equipment from electronics stores. As a result, the hip-hop genre, barely known outside of the Bronx at the time, grew at an astounding rate from 1977 onward.[80]
DJ Kool Herc's house parties gained popularity and later moved to outdoor venues to accommodate more people. Hosted in parks, these outdoor parties became a means of expression and an outlet for teenagers, where "instead of getting into trouble on the streets, teens now had a place to expend their pent-up energy."[81] Tony Tone, a member of theCold Crush Brothers, stated that "hip hop saved a lot of lives".[81] For inner-city youth, participating in hip-hop culture became a way of dealing with the hardships of life as minorities within America, and an outlet to deal with the risk of violence and the rise of gang culture. MC Kid Lucky mentions that "people used to break-dance against each other instead of fighting".[82][83] Inspired by DJ Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa created a street organization calledUniversal Zulu Nation, centered on hip-hop, as a means to draw teenagers out of gang life, drugs and violence.[81]
The lyrical content of many early rap groups focused on social issues, most notably in the seminal track "The Message" byGrandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, which discussed the realities of life in the housing projects.[84] "Young black Americans coming out of the civil rights movement have used hip hop culture in the 1980s and 1990s to show the limitations of the Hip Hop Movement."[85] Hip-hop gave young African Americans a voice to let their issues be heard; "Like rock-and-roll, hip hop is vigorously opposed by conservatives because it romanticises violence, law-breaking, and gangs".[85] It also gave people a chance for financial gain by "reducing the rest of the world to consumers of its social concerns."[85]
In late 1979,Debbie Harry ofBlondie tookNile Rodgers ofChic to such an event, as the main backing track used was the break from Chic's "Good Times".[73] The new style influenced Harry, and Blondie's later hit single from 1981 "Rapture" became the first single containing hip-hop elements to hit number one on the U.S.Billboard Hot 100—the song itself is usually considerednew wave and fuses heavy pop music elements, but there is an extended rap by Harry near the end.
BoxerMuhammad Ali, as an influential African American celebrity, was widely covered in the media. Ali influenced several elements of hip-hop music. Both in the boxing ring and in media interviews, Ali became known in the 1960s for being "rhyming trickster". Ali used a "funky delivery" for his comments, which included "boasts, comicaltrash talk, [and] the endless quotabl[e]" lines.[86] According toRolling Stone, his "freestyle skills" (a reference to a type of vocal improvisation in which lyrics are recited with no particular subject or structure) and his "rhymes, flow, andbraggadocio" would "one day become typical ofold-school MCs" likeRun-DMC andLL Cool J,[87] the latter citing Ali as an influence.[86] Hip-hop music in its infancy has been described as an outlet and a "voice" for the disenfranchised youth of low-income and marginalized economic areas,[55] as the hip-hop culture reflected the social, economic and political realities of their lives.[56]
Technology
Two hip-hop DJs creating new music by mixing tracks from multiple record players. Pictured are DJ Hypnotize (left) and Baby Cee (right).
Hip-hop's early evolution occurred around the time that sampling technology and drum-machines became widely available to the general public at a cost that was affordable to the average consumer—not just professional studios. Drum-machines and samplers were combined in machines that came to be known asMPC's or 'Music Production Centers', early examples of which would include theLinn 9000. The first sampler that was broadly adopted to create this new kind of music was theMellotron used in combination with theTR-808 drum machine. Mellotrons and Linn's were succeeded by theAkai, in the late 1980s.[88]
Rapping, also referred to asMCing or emceeing, is a vocal style in which the artist speaks lyrically and rhythmically, in rhyme and verse, generally to an instrumental or synthesizedbeat. Beats, almost always in 4/4time signature, can be created bysampling and/or sequencing portions of other songs by aproducer. They also incorporate synthesizers, drum machines, and live bands. Rappers may write, memorize, orimprovise their lyrics and perform their worksa cappella or to a beat. Hip-hop music predates the introduction of rapping into hip-hop culture, and rap vocals are absent from many hip-hop tracks, such as "Hip Hop, Be Bop (Don't Stop)" byMan Parrish; "Chinese Arithmetic" byEric B. & Rakim; "Al-Naafiysh (The Soul)" and "We're Rocking the Planet" byHashim; and "Destination Earth" byNewcleus. However, the majority of the genre has been accompanied by rap vocals, such as the Sci-fi influenced electro hip-hop groupWarp 9.[91] Female rappers appeared on the scene in the late 1970s and early 80s, including Bronx artist MCSha-Rock, member of theFunky Four Plus One, credited with being the first female MC[92] andthe Sequence, a hip-hop trio signed toSugar Hill Records, the first all-female group to release a hit rap record,Funk You Up.[93]
The roots of rapping are found inAfrican American music and bear similarities to traditionalAfrican music, particularly that of thegriots[94] of West African culture.[95] The African American traditions ofsignifyin',the dozens, andjazz poetry all influence hip-hop music, as well as thecall and response patterns of African and African American religious ceremonies. Early popular radio disc jockeys of theBlack-appeal radio period broke into broadcast announcing by using these techniques under thejive talk of the post WWII swing era in the late 1940s and the 1950s.[96]DJ Nat D. was the M.C. at one of the most pitiless places for any aspiring musician trying to break into show business, Amateur Night at the Palace theatre onBeale Street in Memphis, Tennessee. There he was master of ceremonies from 1935 until 1947 along with his sideman, D.J.Rufus Thomas. It was there he perfected the dozens, signifyin' and the personality jock jivepatter that would become his schtick when he became the first black radio announcer on the air south of the Mason–Dixon line.[97]Jive popularized black appeal radio, it was the language of the black youth, the double entendres and slightly obscene wordplay was a godsend to radio, re-invigorating ratings at flagging outlets that were losing audience share and flipping to the new format ofR&B with black announcers. The 10% of African Americans who heard his broadcasts found that the music he promoted on radio in 1949 was also in thejukeboxes up north in the cities. They were also finding other D.J's like Chicago'sAl Benson onWJJD, Austin'sDoctor Hep Cat on KVET and Atlanta'sJockey Jack onWERD speaking the same rhyming, cadence laden rap style.[98] Once the white owned stations realized the new upstarts were grabbing their black market share and that Big Band and swing jazz was no longer 'hip', some white DJ's emulated the southern 'mushmouth' and jive talk, letting their audience think they too were African American, playing theblues andBe-Bop.[99]John R Richbourg had a southern drawl that listeners to Nashville'sWLAC[100] nighttime R&B programming were never informed belonged not to a black D.J., as were other white DJ's at the station. Dr. Hep Cat's rhymes were published in a dictionary of jive talk,The Jives of Dr. Hepcat, in 1953. Jockey jack is the infamousJack the Rapper ofFamily Affair fame, after his radio convention that was a must attend for every rap artist in the 1980s and 1990s[101] These jive talking rappers of the 1950sblack appeal radio format were the source and inspiration of Soul singerJames Brown, and musical 'comedy' acts such asRudy Ray Moore,Pigmeat Markham andBlowfly that are often considered "godfathers" of hip-hop music.[102] Within New York City, performances ofspoken-word poetry and music by artists such asthe Last Poets,Gil Scott-Heron[103] andJalal Mansur Nuriddin had a significant impact on the post-civil rights era culture of the 1960s and '1970s, and thus the social environment in which hip-hop music was created.
AM radio at many stations were limited by the 'broadcast Day' as special licenses were required to transmit at night. Those that had such licenses were heard far out to sea and in the Caribbean, whereJocko Henderson andJockey Jack were American DJs who were listened to at night from broadcast transmitters located in Miami, Florida. Jocko came to have an outsized influence on Jamaican Emcees during the '50s as the R&B music played on the Miami stations was different from that played onJBC, which re-broadcastBBC and local music styles. In Jamaica, DJs would set up large roadside sound systems in towns and villages, playing music for informal gatherings, mostly folks who wandered down from country hills looking for excitement at the end of the week. There the DJs would allow 'Toasts' by an Emcee, which copied the style of the American DJs listened to on AM transistor radios. It was by this method that Jive talk, rapping and rhyming was transposed to the island and locally the style was transformed by 'Jamaican lyricism', or the localpatois.
Hip-hop as music and culture formed during the 1970s in New York City from the multicultural exchange between African American youth from the United States and young immigrants and children of immigrants from countries in the Caribbean.[52] Some were influenced by the vocal style of the earliest African American radio MCs (includingJocko Henderson'sRocket Ship Show of the 1950s, which rhymed and was influenced byscat singing), which could be heard over the radio in Jamaica.
The first records by Jamaican DJs, includingSir Lord Comic (The Great Wuga Wuga, 1967) came as part of the local dance hall culture, which featured 'specials,' unique mixes or 'versions' pressed on soft discs or acetate discs, and rappers (called DJs) such asKing Stitt, Count Machuki,U-Roy,I-Roy,Big Youth and many others. Recordings of talk-over, which is a different style from the dancehall's DJ style, were also made by Jamaican artists such asPrince Buster andLee "Scratch" Perry (Judge Dread) as early as 1967, somehow rooted in the 'talking blues' tradition. The first full-length Jamaican DJ record was a duet on a Rastafarian topic by Kingston ghetto dwellers U-Roy and Peter Tosh namedRighteous Ruler (produced byLee "Scratch" Perry in 1969). The first DJ hit record wasFire Corner by Coxsone's Downbeat sound system DJ,King Stitt that same year; 1970 saw a multitude of DJ hit records in the wake of U-Roy's early, massive hits, most famouslyWake the Town and many others. As the tradition of remix (which also started in Jamaica where it was called 'version' and 'dub') developed, established young Jamaican DJ/rappers from that period, who had already been working for sound systems for years, were suddenly recorded and had many local hit records, widely contributing to the reggae craze triggered by Bob Marley's impact in the 1970s. The main Jamaican DJs of the early 1970s wereKing Stitt,Samuel the First, Count Machuki, Johnny Lover (who 'versioned' songs byBob Marley and the Wailers as early as 1971), Dave Barker, Scotty, Lloyd Young, Charlie Ace and others, as well as soon-to-be reggae starsU-Roy,Dennis Alcapone,I-Roy,Prince Jazzbo,Prince Far I,Big Youth andDillinger. Dillinger scored the first international rap hit record withCocaine in my Brain in 1976 (based on theDo It Any Way You Wanna Do rhythm byPeople's Choice as re-recorded bySly and Robbie), where he even used a New York accent, consciously aiming at the new NYC rap market. The Jamaican DJ dance music was deeply rooted in the sound system tradition that made music available to poor people in a very poor country where live music was only played in clubs and hotels patronized by the middle and upper classes. By 1973 Jamaican sound system enthusiastDJ Kool Herc moved to the Bronx, taking with him Jamaica's sound system culture, and teamed up with another Jamaican, Coke La Rock, at the mike. Although other influences, most notably musical sequencerGrandmaster Flowers of Brooklyn andGrandwizard Theodore of the Bronx contributed to the birth of hip-hop in New York, and although it was downplayed in most US books about hip-hop, the main root of this sound system culture was Jamaican. The roots of rap in Jamaica are explained in detail inBruno Blum's book, 'Le Rap'.[104]
DJ Kool Herc andCoke La Rock provided an influence on the vocal style of rapping by delivering simple poetry verses over funk music breaks, after party-goers showed little interest in their previous attempts to integrate reggae-infusedtoasting into musical sets.[59][105] DJs andMCs would often add call and response chants, often consisting 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,[105] but the number of MC teams increased over time.
Often these were collaborations between formergangs, such asAfrikaa Bambaataa'sUniversal Zulu Nation—now an international organization.Melle Mel, a rapper with theFurious Five is often credited with being the first rap lyricist to call himself an "MC".[106] During the early 1970sB-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 worldwide audience for the first time in documentaries and movies such asStyle Wars,Wild Style, andBeat Street. The term "B-boy" was coined by DJ Kool Herc to describe the people who would wait for thebreak section of the song, showing off athleticism, spinning on the stage to 'break-dance' in the distinctive, frenetic style.[107]
Although there were some early MCs that recorded solo projects of note, such asDJ Hollywood,Kurtis Blow, andSpoonie Gee, the frequency of solo artists did not increase until later with the rise of soloists with stage presence and drama, such asLL Cool J. Most early hip-hop was dominated by groups where collaboration between the members was integral to the show.[108] An example would be the early hip-hop groupFunky Four Plus One, who performed in such a manner onSaturday Night Live in 1981.[109]
The earliest hip-hop music was performed live, at house parties and block party events, and it was not recorded. DJs would play breaks from popular songs using two turntables and a DJ mixer. Prior to 1979, recorded hip-hop music consisted mainly ofPA system soundboard recordings of live party shows and early hip-hopmixtapes by DJs. Puerto RicanDJ Disco Wiz is credited as the first hip-hop DJ to create a "mixed plate," or mixed dub recording, when, in 1977, he combined sound bites, special effects and paused beats to technically produce a sound recording.[110] The first hip-hop record is widely regarded to bethe Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight", from 1979. It was the first hip-hop record to gain widespread popularity in the mainstream and was where hip-hop music got its name from (from the opening bar).[111] However, much controversy surrounds this assertion as some regard the March 1979 single "King Tim III (Personality Jock)" bythe Fatback Band, as a rap record.[112] There are various other claimants for the title of first hip-hop record.
By the early 1980s, all the major elements and techniques of the hip-hop genre were in place, and by 1982, the electronic (electro) sound had become the trend on the street and in dance clubs. New York City radio station WKTU featuredWarp 9's "Nunk", in a commercial to promote the station's signature sound of emerging hip-hop[113] Though not yet mainstream, hip-hop had begun to permeate the music scene outside of New York City; it could be found in cities as diverse as Los Angeles,Atlanta, Chicago, Washington, D.C.,Baltimore,Dallas,Kansas City,San Antonio, Miami,Seattle,St. Louis,New Orleans,Houston, andToronto. Indeed, "Funk You Up" (1979), the first hip-hop record released by a female group, and the second single released bySugar Hill Records, was performed bythe Sequence, a group fromColumbia, South Carolina which featuredAngie Stone.[114] Despite the genre's growing popularity,Philadelphia was, for many years, the only city whose contributions could be compared to New York City's. Hip-hop music became popular in Philadelphia in the late 1970s. The first released record was titled "Rhythm Talk", byJocko Henderson.
The New York Times had dubbed Philadelphia the "Graffiti Capital of the World" in 1971. Philadelphia native DJLady B recorded "To the Beat Y'All" in 1979, and became the first female solo hip-hop artist to record music.[115]Schoolly D, starting in 1984 and also from Philadelphia, began creating a style that would later be known asgangsta rap.
Influence of disco
Hip-hop music was influenced bydisco music, as disco also emphasized the key role of the DJ in creating tracks and mixes for dancers, and old school hip-hop often used disco tracks as beats. At the same time however, hip-hop music was also a backlash against certain subgenres of late 1970s disco. While the early disco was African American and Italian-American-createdunderground music developed by DJs and producers for the dance club subculture, by the late 1970s, disco airwaves were dominated by mainstream, expensivelyrecordedmusic industry-produced disco songs. According toKurtis Blow, the early days of hip-hop were characterized by divisions between fans and detractors of disco music. Hip-hop had largely emerged as "a direct response to the watered down, Europeanised, disco music that permeated the airwaves".[116][117] The earliest hip-hop was mainly based on hardfunk loops sourced from vintage funk records. By 1979, disco instrumental loops/tracks had become the basis of much hip-hop music. This genre was called "disco rap". Ironically, the rise of hip-hop music also played a role in the eventual decline in disco's popularity.
DJ Pete Jones, Eddie Cheeba,DJ Hollywood, andLove Bug Starski were disco-influenced hip-hop DJs. Their styles differed from other hip-hop musicians who focused on rapid-fire rhymes and more complex rhythmic schemes.Afrika Bambaataa, Paul Winley,Grandmaster Flash, andBobby Robinson were all members of third s latter group. In Washington, D.C.go-go emerged as a reaction against disco and eventually incorporated characteristics of hip-hop during the early 1980s. The DJ-based genre ofelectronic music behaved similarly, eventually evolving into underground styles known ashouse music in Chicago andtechno in Detroit.
The 1980s marked the diversification of hip-hop as the genre developed more complex styles.[118] New York City became a veritable laboratory for the creation of new hip-hop sounds. Early examples of the diversification process can be heard in tracks such as Grandmaster Flash's "The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel" (1981), a single consisting entirely of sampled tracks[119] as well asAfrika Bambaataa's "Planet Rock" (1982), andWarp 9's "Nunk", (1982)[120] which signified the fusion of hip-hop music withelectro. In addition,Rammellzee &K-Rob's "Beat Bop" (1983) was a 'slow jam' which had adub influence with its use ofreverb andecho as texture and playful sound effects. "Light Years Away", byWarp 9 (1983), (produced and written byLotti Golden and Richard Scher) described as a "cornerstone of early 80s beatbox afrofuturism," by the UK paper,The Guardian,[91] introduced social commentary from a sci-fi perspective. In the 1970s, hip-hop music typically used samples from funk and later, from disco. The mid-1980s marked a paradigm shift in the development of hip-hop, with the introduction of samples from rock music, as demonstrated in the albumsKing of Rock andLicensed to Ill. Hip-hop prior to this shift is characterized asold-school hip hop.
The Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer, a staple sound of hip-hop
In 1980, theRoland Corporation launched theTR-808 Rhythm Composer. It was one of the earliestprogrammable drum machines, with which users could create their own rhythms rather than having to use preset patterns. Though it was a commercial failure, over the course of the decade the 808 attracted acult following among underground musicians for its affordability on the used market,[121] ease of use,[122] and idiosyncratic sounds, particularly its deep, "booming"bass drum.[123] It became a cornerstone of the emerging electronic, dance, and hip-hop genres, popularized by early hits such asAfrika Bambaataa and theSoulsonic Force's "Planet Rock".[124] The 808 was eventually used on more hit records than any other drum machine;[125] its popularity with hip-hop in particular has made it one of the most influential inventions in popular music, comparable to theFender Stratocaster's influence on rock.[126][127]
Over timesampling technology became more advanced. However, earlier producers such asMarley Marl used drum machines to construct their beats from small excerpts of other beats insynchronisation, in his case, triggering threeKorg sampling-delay units through a Roland 808. Later,samplers such as theE-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. With the emergence of a new generation of samplers such as the AKAI S900 in the late 1980s, producers did not have to create complex, time-consuming tape loops.Public Enemy's first album was created with the help of large tape loops. The process of looping a break into a breakbeat now became more commonly done with a sampler, now doing the job which so far had been done manually by the DJs using turntables. In 1989, DJ Mark James, under the moniker "45 King", released "The 900 Number", a breakbeat track created by synchronizing samplers and vinyl records.[108]
The lyrical content and other instrumental accompaniment of hip-hop developed as well. The early lyrical styles in the 1970, which tended to be boasts and clichéd chants, were replaced with metaphorical lyrics exploring a wider range of subjects. As well, the lyrics were performed over more complex, multi-layered instrumental accompaniment. Artists such asMelle Mel,Rakim,Chuck D,KRS-One andWarp 9 revolutionized hip-hop by transforming it into a more mature art form, with sophisticated arrangements, often featuring "gorgeous textures and multiple layers"[128] The influential single "The Message" (1982) byGrandmaster Flash and the Furious Five is widely considered to be the pioneering force forconscious rap.
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.Greg Wilson was the first DJ to introduce electro hip-hop to UK club audiences in the early 1980s, opting for the dub or instrumental versions ofNunk byWarp 9, Extra T's "ET Boogie",Hip Hop, Be Bop (Don't Stop) byMan Parrish,Planet Rock andDirty Talk.[131]
In the early part of the decade,B-boying became the first aspect of hip-hop culture to reach Japan, Australia and South Africa. In South Africa, the breakdance crewBlack Noise established the practice before beginning to rap later in the decade. Musician and presenterSidney became France's first black TV presenter with his showH.I.P. H.O.P.[132] which screened on TF1 during 1984, a first for the genre worldwide. Sidney is considered the father of French hip-hop.Radio Nova helped launch other French hip-hop stars includingDee Nasty, whose 1984 albumPaname City Rappin' along with compilations Rapattitude 1 and 2 contributed to a general awareness of hip-hop in France.
Hip-hop has always kept a very close relationship with the Hispanic community in New York.DJ Disco Wiz and theRock Steady Crew were among early innovators fromPuerto Rico, combining English and Spanish in their lyrics.the Mean Machine recorded their first song under the label "Disco Dreams" in 1981, whileKid Frost from Los Angeles began his career in 1982.Cypress Hill was formed in 1988 in the suburb of South Gate outside Los Angeles whenSenen Reyes (born in Havana) and his younger brother Ulpiano Sergio (Mellow Man Ace) moved from Cuba to South Gate with his family in 1971. They teamed up with DVX from Queens (New York), Lawrence Muggerud (DJ Muggs) and Louis Freese (B-Real), a Mexican/Cuban-American native of Los Angeles. After the departure of "Ace" to begin his solo career, the group adopted the name ofCypress Hill named after a street running through a neighborhood nearby in South Los Angeles.
Japanese hip-hop is said to have begun when Hiroshi Fujiwara returned to Japan and started playing hip-hop records in the early 1980s.[133] Japanese hip-hop generally tends to be most directly influenced by old school hip-hop, taking the era's catchy beats, dance culture, and overall fun and carefree nature and incorporating it into their music. Hip-hop became one of the most commercially viable mainstream music genres in Japan, and the line between it and pop music is frequently blurred.
The new school of hip-hop was the second wave of hip-hop music, originating in 1983–84 with the early records ofRun-D.M.C. andLL Cool J. As with the hip-hop preceding it (which subsequently became known asold-school hip hop), the new school came predominantly from New York City. The new school was initially characterized in form bydrum machine-led minimalism, with influences from rock music, a hip-hop "metal music for the 80s–a hard-edge ugly/beauty trance as desperate and stimulating as New York itself."[134] It was notable for taunts and boasts about rapping, and socio-political commentary, both delivered in an aggressive, self-assertive style. In image as in song its artists projected a tough, cool, streetb-boy attitude.
These elements contrasted sharply with much of the previous funk- and disco-influenced hip-hop groups, whose music was often characterized by novelty hits, live bands, synthesizers, and "party rhymes" (not all artists prior to 1983–84 had these styles). New-school artists made shorter songs that could more easily gain radio play, and they produced more cohesive LP albums than their old-school counterparts. By 1986, their releases began to establish the hip-hop album as a fixture of mainstream music. Hip-hop music became commercially successful, as exemplified by theBeastie Boys' 1986 albumLicensed to Ill, which was the first rap album to hit No. 1 on theBillboard charts.[135]
The golden age is noted for its innovation – a time "when it seemed that every new single reinvented the genre"[143] according toRolling Stone. Referring to "hip-hop in its golden age",[144]Spin's editor-in-chief Sia Michel says, "there were so many important, groundbreaking albums coming out right about that time",[144]andMTV'sSway Calloway adds: "The thing that made that era so great is that nothing was contrived. Everything was still being discovered and everything was still innovative and new".[145] Writer William Jelani Cobb says "what made the era they inaugurated worthy of the term golden was the sheer number of stylistic innovations that came into existence... in these golden years, a critical mass of mic prodigies were literally creating themselves and their art form at the same time".[146]
The golden age spans "from approximately 1986 to 1997", according toCarl Stoffers ofNew York Daily News.[136] In their article "In Search of the Golden Age Hip-Hop Sound", music theorists Ben Duinker and Denis Martin ofEmpirical Musicology Review use "the 11 years between and including 1986 and 1996 as chronological boundaries" to define the golden age, beginning with the releases of Run-DMC'sRaising Hell and the Beastie Boys'Licensed to Ill, and ending with the deaths ofTupac Shakur andthe Notorious B.I.G.[138]The Boombox writer Todd "Stereo" Williams also cites the May 1986 release ofRaising Hell (which sold more than three million copies) as the start of the period and notes that over the next year other important albums were released to success, includingLicensed to Ill, Boogie Down Productions'Criminal Minded (1987), Public Enemy'sYo! Bum Rush the Show (1987), and Eric B. & Rakim'sPaid in Full (1987). Williams views this development as the beginning of hip-hop's own "album era" from the late 1980s to the late 1990s, during which hip-hop albums earned an unprecedented critical recognition and "would be the measuring stick by which most of the genre's greats would be judged".[147]
Many black rappers—including Ice-T and Sister Souljah—contend that they are being unfairly singled out because their music reflects deep changes in society not being addressed anywhere else in the public forum. The white politicians, the artists complain, neither understand the music nor desire to hear what's going on in the devastated communities that gave birth to the art form.
Gangsta rap is asubgenre of hip-hop that reflects the violent lifestyles of inner-city American black youths.[149]Gangsta is anon-rhotic pronunciation of the wordgangster. The genre was pioneered in the mid-1980s by rappers such asSchoolly D andIce-T, and was popularized in the later part of the 1980s by groups likeN.W.A. In 1985 Schoolly D released "P.S.K. What Does It Mean?", which is often regarded as the first gangsta rap song, which was followed by Ice-T's "6 in the Mornin'" in 1986. After the national attention and controversy that Ice-T and N.W.A created in the late 1980s and early 1990s, as well as the mainstreaming ofG-funk in the mid-1990s, gangsta rap became the most commercially-lucrative subgenre of hip-hop. Some gangsta rappers were known for mixing the political and social commentary ofpolitical rap with the criminal elements and crime stories found in gangsta rap.[150]
N.W.A is the group most frequently associated with the founding of gangsta rap. Their lyrics were more violent, openly confrontational, and shocking than those of established rap acts, featuring incessant profanity and, controversially, use of the word "nigga". These lyrics were placed over rough, rock guitar-driven beats, contributing to the music's hard-edged feel. The first blockbuster gangsta rap album was N.W.A'sStraight Outta Compton, released in 1989.Straight Outta Compton would establishWest Coast hip hop as a vital genre, and establish Los Angeles as a legitimate rival to hip-hop's long-time capital, New York City.Straight Outta Compton sparked the first major controversy regarding hip-hop lyrics when their song "Fuck tha Police" earned a letter fromFBI Assistant Director, Milt Ahlerich, strongly expressinglaw enforcement's resentment of the song.[151][152]
Controversy surrounded Ice-T's albumBody Count, in particular over its song "Cop Killer". The song was intended to speak from the viewpoint of a criminal getting revenge on racist, brutal cops. Ice-T's rock song infuriated government officials, theNational Rifle Association of America and various police advocacy groups.[153][154] Consequently,Time Warner Music refused to release Ice-T's upcoming albumHome Invasion because of the controversy surrounding "Cop Killer".[155] Ice-T suggested that the furor over the song was an overreaction, telling journalist Chuck Philips "...they've done movies about nurse killers and teacher killers and student killers. [Actor]Arnold Schwarzenegger blew away dozens of cops asthe Terminator. But I don't hear anybody complaining about that." In the same interview, Ice-T suggested to Philips that the misunderstanding ofCop Killer and the attempts to censor it had racial overtones: "The Supreme Court says it's OK for a white man to burn a cross in public. But nobody wants a black man to write a record about a cop killer."[153]
The subject matter inherent in gangsta rap more generally has caused controversy. The White House administrations of bothGeorge H. W. Bush andBill Clinton criticized the genre.[148] "The reason why rap is under attack is because it exposes all the contradictions of American culture ...What started out as an underground art form has become a vehicle to expose a lot of critical issues that are not usually discussed in American politics. The problem here is that the White House and wanna-bes like Bill Clinton represent a political system that never intends to deal with inner city urban chaos," Sister Souljah toldThe Times.[148] Due to the influence of Ice-T and N.W.A, gangsta rap is often viewed as a primarily West Coast phenomenon, despite the contributions of East Coast acts like Schoolly D andBoogie Down Productions in shaping the genre.
In 1990,Public Enemy'sFear of a Black Planet was a significant success with music critics and consumers.[156] The album played a key role in hip-hop's mainstream emergence in 1990, dubbed byBillboard editor Paul Grein as "the year that rap exploded".[156] In a 1990 article on its commercial breakthrough, Janice C. Thompson ofTime wrote that hip-hop "has grown into the most exciting development inAmerican pop music in more than a decade."[157] Thompson noted the impact of Public Enemy's 1989 single "Fight the Power", rapperTone Lōc's singleWild Thing being the best-selling single of 1989, and that at the time of her article, nearly a third of the songs on theBillboardHot 100 were hip-hop songs.[157] In a similar 1990 article,Robert Hilburn of theLos Angeles Times put hip-hop music's commercial emergence into perspective:
It was 10 years ago thatthe Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight" became the first rap single to enter the national Top 20. Who ever figured then that the music would even be around in 1990, much less produce attractions that would command as much pop attention as Public Enemy andN.W.A? "Rapper's Delight" was a novelty record that was considered by much of the pop community simply as a lightweight offshoot of disco—and that image stuck for years. Occasional records—includingGrandmaster Flash's "The Message" in 1982 andRun-DMC's "It's Like That" in 1984—won critical approval, but rap, mostly, was dismissed as a passing fancy—too repetitious, too one dimensional. Yet rap didn't go away, and an explosion of energy and imagination in the late 1980s leaves rap today as arguably the most vital new street-oriented sound in pop since the birth of rock in the 1950s.[158]
Rap is therock 'n' roll of the day. Rock 'n' roll was about attitude, rebellion, a big beat, sex and, sometimes, social comment. If that's what you're looking for now, you're going to find it here.
MC Hammer hit mainstream success with the multi-platinum albumPlease Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em. The record reached No. 1 and the first single, "U Can't Touch This" charted on the top ten of theBillboard Hot 100. MC Hammer became one of the most successful rappers of the early nineties and one of the first household names in the genre. The album raisedrap music to a new level of popularity. It was the first hip-hop albumcertifieddiamond by theRIAA for sales of over ten million.[159] It remains one of the genre's all-time best-selling albums.[160] To date, the album has sold as many as 18 million units.[161][162][163][164] Released in 1990, "Ice Ice Baby" byVanilla Ice was the first hip-hop single to top theBillboardcharts in the U.S. It also reached number one in the UK, Australia among others and has been credited for helping diversify hip-hop by introducing it to a mainstream audience.[165] In 1992 releasedThe Chronic. As well as helping to establish West Coast gangsta rap as more commercially viable than East Coast hip-hop,[166] this album founded a style calledG-funk, which soon came to dominate West Coast hip-hop. The style was further developed and popularized bySnoop Dogg's 1993 albumDoggystyle. However, hip-hop was still met with resistance from black radio, includingurban contemporary radio stations.Russell Simmons said in 1990, "Black radio [stations] hated rap from the start and there's still a lot of resistance to it".[158]
Despite the lack of support from some black radio stations, hip-hop became a best-selling music genre in the mid-1990s and the top selling music genre by 1999 with 81 million CDs sold.[167][168][169] By the late 1990s hip-hop was artistically dominated by theWu-Tang Clan,Diddy andthe Fugees.[166] The Beastie Boys continued their success throughout the decade crossing color lines and gaining respect from many different artists. Record labels based out ofAtlanta,St. Louis, andNew Orleans also gained fame for their local scenes. The midwest rap scene was known for fast vocal styles from artists such asBone Thugs-n-Harmony,Tech N9ne, andTwista. By the end of the decade, hip-hop was an integral part of popular music, and many American pop songs had hip-hop components.
Hip-hop has been described as a "mainstream subculture". The main reasons why hip-hop culture secured its subcultural authority despite becoming a part of the mass media and mainstream industries can be summarized as follows. First, hip-hop artists promoted symbolic andconspicuous consumption in their music from a very early stage. Second, the continuing display of resistance in hip-hop has continuously attracted new generations of rebellious fans. Third, owing to the subcultural ideal of rising from the underground, the hip-hop scene has remained committed to its urban roots. Fourth, the concept ofbattle rap has prevented hip-hop music from excessive cultural dilution. Finally, the solidarity within the African American community has shielded the subculture from erosion through mainstream commercialization.[170]
These graffiti arts are a tribute to East and West Coast rappersthe Notorious B.I.G. andTupac Shakur, both of whom were killed in (separate) drive-by shootings.
The East Coast–West Coast hip-hop rivalry was a feud between artists and fans of theEast Coast hip hop andWest Coast hip hop scenes in the United States. The rivalry began in the 1970s as hip-hop gained its popularity and the West Coast developed its own style. It intensified in the late 1980s and early 1990s and reached its peak in the mid-1990s. Focal points of the feud were East Coast-based rapperthe Notorious B.I.G. (and his New York-based label,Bad Boy Records, founded bySean Combs) and West Coast-based rapperTupac Shakur (and his Los Angeles-based label,Death Row Records, founded byDr. Dre). This rivalry started before the rappers themselves hit the scene. Because New York is the birthplace of hip-hop, artists from the West Coast felt as if they were not receiving the same media coverage and public attention as the East Coast.[171] As time went on, both rappers began to grow in fame and as they both became more known the tensions continued to arise. Eventually both artists were fatally shot following drive-by shootings by unknown assailants in 1997 and 1996, respectively.
The success of albums such asNas'Illmatic andNotorious B.I.G.'sReady to Die in 1994 cemented the status of the East Coast during a time of West Coast dominance. In a March 2002 issue ofThe Source Magazine,Nas referred to 1994 as "a renaissance of New York [City] Hip-Hop."[175] The productions of RZA, particularly for the Wu-Tang Clan, became influential with artists such as Mobb Deep due to the combination of somewhat detached instrumental loops, highly compressed and processed drums, andgangsta lyrical content. Wu-Tang solo albums such asRaekwon'sOnly Built 4 Cuban Linx...,Ghostface Killah'sIronman, andGZA'sLiquid Swords are now viewed as classics along with Wu-Tang "core" material. The clan's base extended into further groups called "Wu-affiliates". Producers such asDJ Premier (primarily forGang Starr but also for other affiliated artists, such asJeru the Damaja),Pete Rock (withCL Smooth, and supplying beats for many others),Buckwild,Large Professor,Diamond D, andQ-Tip supplied beats for numerous MCs at the time, regardless of location. Albums such as Nas'Illmatic,O.C.'sWord...Life (1994), andJay-Z'sReasonable Doubt (1996) are made up of beats from this pool of producers.
Slick Rick performing at the 2009 Fresh Fest concert in Los Angeles
The rivalry between the East Coast and the West Coast rappers eventually turned personal.[176] Later in the decade the business acumen of theBad Boy Records tested itself againstJay-Z and hisRoc-A-Fella Records and, on the West Coast,Death Row Records. The mid to late 1990s saw a generation of rappers such as the members ofD.I.T.C. such as the lateBig L andBig Pun. On the East Coast, although the "big business" end of the market dominated matters commercially the late 1990s to early 2000s saw a number of relatively successful East Coast indie labels such asRawkus Records (with whomMos Def and Talib Kweli garnered success) and laterDef Jux. The history of the two labels is intertwined, the latter having been started byEL-P ofCompany Flow in reaction to the former, and offered an outlet for more underground artists such asMike Ladd,Aesop Rock,Mr Lif,RJD2,Cage andCannibal Ox. Other acts such as the HispanicArsonists andslam poet turned MCSaul Williams met with differing degrees of success.
In the 1990s, hip-hop began to diversify with other regional styles emerging on the national scene.Southern rap became popular in the early 1990s.[180] The first Southern rappers to gain national attention were theGeto Boys out of Houston, Texas.[181] Southern rap's roots can be traced to the success of Geto Boy'sGrip It! On That Other Level in 1989, theRick Rubin producedThe Geto Boys in 1990, andWe Can't Be Stopped in 1991.[182] The Houston area also produced other artists that pioneered the early southern rap sound such asUGK and the solo career ofScarface.
What once was rap now is hip hop, an endlessly various mass phenomenon that continues to polarize olderrock and rollers, although it's finally convinced some gatekeeping generalists that it may be of enduring artistic value—a discovery to which they were beaten by millions of young consumers black and white.
During the golden age, elements of hip-hop continued to be assimilated into other genres of popular music. The first waves ofrap rock,rapcore, andrap metal — respective fusions of hip-hop and rock,hardcore punk, andheavy metal[184] — became popular among mainstream audiences at this time; Run-DMC, the Beastie Boys, andRage Against the Machine were among the most well-known bands in these fields. In Hawaii, bands such asSudden Rush combined hip-hop elements with the locallanguage andpolitical issues to form a style calledna mele paleoleo.[185]
During the late 1990s, in the wake of the deaths ofTupac Shakur andthe Notorious B.I.G., a new commercial sound emerged in the hip-hop scene, sometimes referred to as the "bling era"[187] (derived fromB.G.'s "Bling Bling"),[188] "jiggy era"[189][190] (derived fromWill Smith's "Gettin' Jiggy wit It"), or "shiny suit era" (derived by metallic suits worn by some rappers in music videos at the time, such as in "Mo Money Mo Problems" by the Notorious B.I.G.,Puff Daddy, andMase).[191] Before the late 1990s, gangsta rap, while a huge-selling genre, had been regarded as well outside of the pop mainstream, committed to representing the experience of the inner-city and not "selling out" to the pop charts. However, the rise of Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs'sBad Boy Records, propelled by the massive crossover success of Combs's 1997 ensemble albumNo Way Out, signaled a major stylistic change in gangsta rap (and mainstream hip-hop in general), as it would become even more commercially successful and popularly accepted. SilkyR&B-styled hooks and production, more materialist subject matter, and samples of hitsoul and pop songs from the 1970s and 1980s were the staples of this sound, which was showcased by producers such as Combs,Timbaland,the Trackmasters,the Neptunes, andScott Storch. Also achieving similar levels of success at this time wereMaster P and hisNo Limit label inNew Orleans; Master P built up a roster of artists (the No Limit posse) based out of New Orleans, and incorporatedG funk andMiami bass influences in his music. The New Orleans upstartCash Money label was also gaining popularity during this time,[192] with emerging artists such asBirdman,Lil Wayne,B.G., andJuvenile.
Dr. Dre remained an important figure in this era, making his comeback in 1999 with the album2001. In 2000, he producedThe Marshall Mathers LP byEminem, and also produced50 Cent's 2003 albumGet Rich or Die Tryin', which debuted at number one on theU.S. Billboard 200 charts.[194] Jay-Z represented the cultural triumph of hip-hop in this era. As his career progressed, he went from performing artist to entrepreneur, label president, head of a clothing line, club owner, and market consultant—along the way breakingElvis Presley's record for most number one albums on theBillboard magazine charts by a solo artist.
Rise of alternative hip-hop
Alternative hip hop, which was introduced in the 1980s and then declined, resurged in the early-mid 2000s with the rejuvenated interest inindie music by the general public. The genre began to attain a place in the mainstream, due in part to the crossover success of artists such asOutkast,Kanye West, andGnarls Barkley.[195] Outkast's 2003 albumSpeakerboxxx/The Love Below received high acclaim from music critics, and appealed to a wide range of listeners, being that it spanned numerous musical genres – including rap, rock, R&B, punk, jazz, indie, country, pop, electronica, and gospel. The album also spawned two number-one hit singles, and has beencertifieddiamond by selling 11 timesplatinum by theRIAA for shipping more than 11 million units,[196] becoming one of the best selling hip-hop albums of all time. It also won aGrammy Award forAlbum of the Year at the46th Annual Grammy Awards, being only the second rap album to do so. Previously, alternative hip-hop acts had attained much critical acclaim, but received relatively little exposure through radio and other media outlets; during this time, alternative hip-hop artists such asMF Doom,[197]the Roots,Dilated Peoples, Gnarls Barkley,Mos Def, andAesop Rock[198][199] began to achieve significant recognition.
Glitch hop and wonky music evolved following the rise oftrip hop,dubstep andintelligent dance music (IDM). Both glitch hop and wonky music frequently reflect the experimental nature of IDM and the heavy bass featured in dubstep songs. While trip hop has been described as being a distinct British upper-middle class take on hip-hop, glitch-hop and wonky music have much more stylistic diversity. Both genres aremelting pots of influence. Glitch hop contains echoes of 1980s pop music, Indianragas, eclecticjazz andWest Coast rap. Los Angeles, London,Glasgow and a number of other cities have become hot spots for these scenes, and underground scenes have developed across the world in smaller communities. Both genres often pay homage to older and more well establishedelectronic music artists such asRadiohead,Aphex Twin andBoards of Canada as well as independent hip-hop producers likeJ Dilla andMadlib.
Glitch hop is a fusion genre of hip-hop and glitch music that originated in the early to mid-2000s in the United States and Europe. Musically, it is based on irregular, chaoticbreakbeats, glitchybasslines and other typical sound effects used in glitch music, like skips. Glitch hop artists includePrefuse 73,Dabrye andFlying Lotus.[200] Wonky is a subgenre of hip-hop that originated around 2008, but most notably in the United States and United Kingdom, and among international artists of theHyperdub music label, under the influence of glitch hop and dubstep. Wonky music is of the same glitchy style as glitch hop, but it was specifically noted for its melodies, rich with "mid-range unstable synths". Scotland has become one of the most prominent wonky scenes, with artists likeHudson Mohawke andRustie.
Glitch hop and wonky are popular among a relatively smaller audience interested in alternative hip-hop andelectronic music (especially dubstep); neither glitch hop nor wonky have achieved mainstream popularity. However, artists like Flying Lotus,the Glitch Mob and Hudson Mohawke have seen success in other avenues. Flying Lotus's music has earned multiple positive reviews on the independent music review sitePitchfork.com as well as a prominent (yet uncredited) spot duringAdult Swim commercial breaks.[201][202] Hudson Mohawke is one of few glitch hop artists to play at major music festivals such asSasquatch! Music Festival.
ProducerLil Jon is one of crunk's most prominent figures.
Crunk is a regional hip-hop genre that originated inTennessee in the southern United States in the 1990s, influenced byMiami bass.[203] One of the pioneers of crunk,Lil Jon, said that it was a fusion of hip-hop,electro, andelectronic dance music. The style was pioneered and commercialized by artists fromMemphis, Tennessee andAtlanta, Georgia, gaining considerable popularity in the mid-2000s via Lil Jon and theYing Yang Twins.[204] Looped, stripped-downdrum machine rhythms are usually used. TheRoland TR-808 and909 are among the most popular. The drum machine loops are usually accompanied by simple, repeated synthesizer melodies and heavy bass "stabs". The tempo of the music is somewhat slower than hip-hop, around the speed ofreggaeton. The focal point of crunk is more often the beats and instrumental music rather than the lyrics. Crunk rappers, however, often shout and scream their lyrics, creating an aggressive, almost heavy, style of hip-hop. While other subgenres of hip-hop address sociopolitical or personal concerns, crunk is almost exclusively "party music", favoring call and response hip-hop slogans in lieu of more substantive approaches.[205] Crunk helped southern hip-hop gain mainstream prominence during this period, as the classic East and West Coast styles of the 1990s gradually lost dominance.[206][unreliable source?]
While hip-hop music sales dropped a great deal in the mid-late 2000s, rappers likeFlo Rida were successful online and with singles, despite low album sales.
Starting in 2005, sales of hip-hop music in the United States began to severely wane, leadingTime magazine to question if mainstream hip-hop was "dying."Billboard magazine found that, since 2000, rap sales dropped 44%, and declined to 10% of all music sales, which, while still a commanding figure when compared to other genres, is a significant drop from the 13% of all music sales where rap music regularly placed.[210][211] According toCourtland Milloy ofThe Washington Post, for the first time on five years, no rap albums were among the top 10 sellers in 2006.[212]NPR culture critic Elizabeth Blair noted that, "some industry experts say young people are fed up with the violence, degrading imagery and lyrics." However, the 2005 reportGeneration M: Media in the Lives of 8–18 Year-Olds found that hip-hop music is by far the most popular music genre for children and teenagers with 65 percent of 8- to-18-year-olds listening to it on a daily basis.[213]
Other journalists say the music is just as popular as it ever was, but that fans have found other means to consume the music,[214] such as illegally downloading music through P2P networks, instead of purchasing albums and singles from legitimate stores. For example,Flo Rida is known for his low album sales regardless of his singles being mainstream and having digital success. His second albumR.O.O.T.S. sold only 200,000+ total units in the U.S., which could not line up to the sales of the album's lead single "Right Round". This also happened to him in 2008.[215] Some put the blame on hip-hop becoming less lyrical over time, such as Soulja Boy's 2007 debut albumsouljaboytellem.com which was met with negative reviews.[216] Lack of sampling, a key element of early hip-hop, has also been noted for the decrease in quality of modern albums. For example, there are only four samples used in 2008'sPaper Trail byT.I., while there are 35 samples in 1998'sMoment of Truth byGang Starr. The decrease in sampling is in part due to it being too expensive for producers.[217]
InByron Hurt's documentaryHip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes, he claims that hip-hop had changed from "clever rhymes and dance beats" to "advocating personal, social and criminal corruption."[218] Despite the fall in record sales throughout the music industry,[219] hip-hop had remained a popular genre, with hip-hop artists still regularly topping theBillboard 200 Charts. In the first half of 2009 alone artists such asEminem,[220]Rick Ross,[221]the Black Eyed Peas,[222] andFabolous[223] all had albums that reached the No. 1 position on theBillboard 200 charts. Eminem's albumRelapse was one of the fastest selling albums of 2009.[224]
By the late 2000s, alternative hip-hop had secured its place within the mainstream, due in part to the declining commercial viability of gangsta rap. Industry observers view thesales race betweenKanye West'sGraduation and50 Cent'sCurtis as a turning point for hip-hop. West emerged the victor, selling nearly a million copies in the first week alone, proving that innovative rap music could be just as commercially viable as gangsta rap, if not more so.[225] Although he designed it as a melancholic pop album rather than a rap album, Kanye's following808s & Heartbreak would have a significant effect on hip-hop music. While his decision to sing about love, loneliness, and heartache for the entirety of the album was at first heavily criticized by music audiences and the album was predicted to be a flop, its subsequent critical acclaim and commercial success encouraged other mainstream rappers to take greater creative risks with their music.[226][227] During the release ofThe Blueprint 3, New York rap mogulJay-Z revealed that next studio album would be an experimental effort, stating, "... it's not gonna be a #1 album. That's where I'm at right now. I wanna make the most experimental album I ever made."[228] Jay-Z elaborated that like Kanye, he was unsatisfied with contemporary hip-hop, was being inspired by indie-rockers likeGrizzly Bear, and asserted his belief that the indie rock movement would play an important role in the continued evolution of hip-hop.[229]
The alternative hip-hop movement was not limited only to the United States, as rappers such asSomali-Canadian poetK'naan, Japanese rapperShing02, andSri Lankan British artistM.I.A. achieved considerable worldwide recognition. In 2009,Time magazine placed M.I.A in theTime 100 list of "World's Most Influential people" for having "global influence across many genres."[230][231] Global-themed movements have also sprung out of the international hip-hop scene with microgenres like "Islamic Eco-Rap" addressing issues of worldwide importance through traditionally disenfranchised voices.[232][233]
Due in part to the increasing use of music distribution through social media and blogging, many alternative and non-alternative rappers found acceptance by far-reaching audiences, hence why this era of hip-hop is sometimes termed the "blog era".[234][235] Several artists, such asKid Cudi andDrake, managed to attain chart-topping hit songs, "Day 'n' Nite" and "Best I Ever Had" respectively, by releasing their music on free onlinemixtapes without the help of a major record label. Emerging artists at the time such asWale,Kendrick Lamar,[236]J. Cole,Lupe Fiasco,the Cool Kids,Jay Electronica, andB.o.B were noted by critics as expressing eclectic sounds, sensitive life experiences, and vulnerable emotions that were rarely seen in the prior bling era.[237][238]
Also at this time, theAuto-Tune vocal effect was bolstered in popularity by rapperT-Pain, who elaborated on the effect and made active use of Auto-Tune in his songs.[239] He citesnew jack swing producerTeddy Riley andfunk artistRoger Troutman's use of thetalk box as inspirations for his own use of Auto-Tune.[240] T-Pain became so associated with Auto-Tune that he had aniPhoneapp named after him that simulated the effect, called "I Am T-Pain".[241] Eventually dubbed the "T-Pain effect",[242] the use of Auto-Tune became a popular fixture of late 2000s and early 2010s hip-hop, examples beingSnoop Dogg's "Sexual Eruption",[243]Lil Wayne's "Lollipop",[244] Kanye West's album808s & Heartbreak,[245] andthe Black Eyed Peas' number-one hit "Boom Boom Pow".[242]
Trap music is a subgenre of Southern rap that originated in the early 1990s. It grew in the 2000s to become a mainstream sensation,[246] eventually reaching ubiquity in the mid-late 2010s and frequently having songs top theBillboard hip-hop charts.[247][248][249] It is typified bydouble or triple-time sub-dividedhi-hats,[250] heavykick drums from theRoland TR-808 drum machine, layered synthesizers and an overall dark, ominous or bleak atmosphere.[251] The strong influence of the sound led to other artists within the genre to move towards the trap sound, with a notable example beingJay-Z andKanye West on their joint song,"H•A•M". Non-rappers have also experimented with trap, such as "7/11" byBeyoncé and "Dark Horse" byKaty Perry (featuring rapperJuicy J).
Lil Nas X was one of the rappers to emerge in the 2010s. He garnered mainstream success in 2019.[252] He is also the first openly gay rapper to be heavily nominated at the Grammy Awards.[253]
Critics of the trap genre have used the term "mumble rap" to describe the heavily auto-tuned, and sometimes hard to understand- delivery of verses from a majority of the artists.[261] Artists longstanding within the genre have had their own comments regarding the rise of mumble rap, such asRick Rubin stating that Eminem was confused by it,[262] and Snoop Dogg claiming that he can not differentiate between artists.[263]Black Thought, lead rapper fromthe Roots, stated that the "game has changed. It's different. The standards are different, the criteria that's taken into consideration in determining validity is different. We're at a point in history where lyricism almost comes last in very many regards."[264]
On July 17, 2017,Forbes reported that hip-hop/R&B (whichNielsen SoundScan classifies as being the same genre) had usurped rock as the most consumedmusical genre, becoming the most popular genre in music for the first time in U.S. history.[265][266][267][268]
The rise of streaming platforms such asSpotify andApple Music in the mid-late 2010s greatly impacted the entire music business as a whole.[273][274] Despite being a free streaming-onlymixtape with no commercial release,Chance the Rapper'sColoring Book wonBest Rap Album at the2017 Grammy Awards, being the first streaming album ever to win aGrammy Award.[275][276]Kanye West has stated that his own album,Yeezus, marked the death of CDs, and thus his subsequent release,The Life of Pablo was only released digitally.[277]The Life of Pablo was also nominated for 2017 Best Rap Album. In 2017, Drake released a free streaming-only project titledMore Life, which he called a "playlist", insisting that it was neither a mixtape nor an album.[278]
The online audio distribution platformSoundCloud played a massive role in the creation of various artists' careers in the latter half of the 2010s. Mainstream acts to start on SoundCloud includePost Malone,Lil Uzi Vert,Russ,Bryson Tiller,Lil Xan,Lil Pump,Lil Peep,Lil Skies,Smokepurpp,Ski Mask the Slump God,XXXTentacion,Trippie Redd,Playboi Carti,YBN Nahmir,Tay-K,ZillaKami,Ugly God,Nav, and others. These songs are usually closely related to trap, but have also been labeled separately asSoundCloud rap and sometimesemo rap. They have been characterized as usually having moody, sad undertones, and usually feature lo-fi rough production. The genre has been met with criticism for its perceived low effort in lyrics and production,[279] and the problematic nature of the artists to arise from it, such as Lil Peep's drug abuse that led to his death,[280] the multiple assault charges to XXXTentacion,[281] 6ix9ine pleading guilty to using a child in a sexual performance,[282] and the murder charges onTay-K.[283] On the contrary, the image of artists such as XXXTentacion have been met with praise due to perceived character improvement since their controversies.[284][285]
The most streamed hip-hop album of all time onSpotify is XXXTentacion's second album,? (2018).[286]
Pete Rock performing at Razel and Friends – Brooklyn Bowl, 2016
Hip-hop music has reached the cultural corridors of the globe and has been absorbed and reinvented around the world.[290] Hip-hop music expanded beyond the US, often blending local styles with hip-hop. 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 tenets 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 impact 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.[291]
Hispanics and people from the Caribbean played an integral role in the early development of hip-hop in New York, and the style spread to almost every country in that region. Hip-hop first developed in the South Bronx, which had a high Hispanic, particularly Puerto Rican, population in the 1970s.[292] Some famous rappers from New York City of Puerto Rican origin are the lateBig Pun,Fat Joe, andAngie Martinez. With Hispanic rap groups likeCypress Hill on the American charts, Mexican rap rock groups, such asControl Machete, rose to prominence in their native land.
In many Latin American countries, as in the U.S., hip-hop has been a tool with which marginalized people can articulate their struggle. Hip-hop grew steadily more popular in Cuba in the 1980s and 1990s through Cuba'sSpecial Period that came with the fall of theSoviet Union.[293] During this period of economic crisis, which the country's poor and black populations especially hard, hip-hop became a way for the country's Afro-descended population to embrace their blackness and articulate a demand for racial equality for black people in Cuba.[293] The idea of blackness and black liberation was not always compatible with the goals of the Cuban government, which was still operating under the idea that a raceless society was the correct realization of the Cuban Revolution. When hip-hop emerged, the Cuban government opposed the vulgar image that rappers portrayed, but later accepted that it might be better to have hip-hop under the influence of the Ministry of Culture as an authentic expression of Cuban Culture.[294] Rappers who explicitly speak about race or racism in Cuba are still under scrutiny by the government.[295] An annual Cuban hip-hop concert, beginning in 1995, held atAlamar inHavana helped popularize Cuban hip-hop. Famous Cuban rap groups includeKrudas Cubensi and Supercrónica Obsesión.
Black and indigenous people in Latin America and Caribbean islands have been using hip-hop for decades to discuss race and class issues in their respective countries.Brazilian hip hop is heavily associated with racial and economic issues in the country, where a lot ofAfro-Brazilians live in economically disadvantaged communities, known in Brazil asfavelas.São Paulo is where hip-hop began in the country, but it soon spread all over Brazil, and today, almost every big Brazilian city, includingRio de Janeiro,Salvador,Curitiba,Porto Alegre,Belo Horizonte,Recife andBrasília, has a hip-hop scene. Some notable artists includeRacionais MC's, Thaide, andMarcelo D2. One of Brazil's most popular rappers,MV Bill, has spent his career advocating for black youth in Rio de Janeiro.[295]
Reggaeton, a Puerto Rican style of music, has a lot of similarities with U.S.-based hip-hop. Both were influenced byJamaican music, and both incorporaterapping and call and response.[296] Dancehall music and hip from the United States are both popular music in Puerto Rico, and reggaeton is the cumulation of different musical traditions founded by Afro-descended people in the Caribbean and the United States.[297] Some of reggaeton's most popular artists includeDon Omar,Tego Calderón, andDaddy Yankee.
In Venezuela, social unrest at the end of the 1980s and beginning of the 1990s coincided with the rise ofgangsta rap in the United States and led to the rise of that music in Venezuela as well. Venezuelan rappers in the 1990s generally modeled their music after gangsta rap, embracing and attempting to redefine negative stereotypes about poor and black youth as dangerous and materialistic and incorporating socially conscious critique of Venezuela's criminalization of young, poor, Afro-descended people into their music.[298]
InHaiti, hip hop developed in the early 1980s. Master Dji and his songs "Vakans" and "Politik Pa m" are mostly credited with the rise of Haitian hip-hop. What later became known as "Rap Kreyòl" grew in popularity in the late 1990s with King Posse and Original Rap Stuff. Due to cheaper recording technology and flows of equipment to Haiti, more Rap Kreyòl groups are recording songs, even after the January 12 earthquake. Haitian hip-hop has recently become a way for artists of Haitian backgrounds in the Haiti and abroad to express their national identity and political opinions about their country of origin.[299] Rappers have embraced the red and blue of theFlag of Haiti and rapping inHaitian Creole to display their national origin. In theDominican Republic, a recording by Santi Y Sus Duendes andLisa M became the first single ofmerenrap, a fusion of hip-hop andmerengue.
In Europe, Africa, and Asia, hip-hop began to move from the underground to mainstream audiences. In Europe, hip-hop was the domain of both ethnic nationals and immigrants.British hip-hop, for example, became a genre of its own and spawned artists such asWiley,Dizzee Rascal,the Streets and many more. Germany produced the well-knownDie Fantastischen Vier as well as severalTurkish performers like the controversialCartel,Kool Savaş, andAzad. InFrance, hip-hop music developed itself from the end of the 80s. It can be divided into three eras:[300] The classical period, which extends from the end of the 1980s to the beginning of the 2000s marked by a majority of black artists likeOxmo Puccino,Mc Solaar,Kery James (withIdealJ),IAM,NTM,[301] the period of democratization from the 2000s,[302] with groups and artists like Lunatic,Diam's,Sinik,Rim'K,Sefyu,[303][304][305]Sniper,Rohff,La Fouine, which are beginning to affect the French population in general and to record the first significant commercial successes. Finally, from the 2010s, French-speaking rap experienced a rather paradoxical period of innovation, the logical start of new experiments that opened up French rap to new musical genres, such astrap,drill or "folk" rap. This period is distinguished by the great variety of French hip-hop music, where several movements beginning to separate, artists likeBooba,Kaaris,JuL,Gims,Freeze Corleone, Ziak orSoolking try to innovate and look for new tracks to explore. In the Netherlands, important nineties rappers include theOsdorp Posse, a crew fromAmsterdam,Extince, fromOosterhout, andPostmen. Italy found its own rappers, includingJovanotti andArticolo 31, grow nationally renowned, while the Polish scene began in earnest early in the decade with the rise ofPM Cool Lee. InRomania,B.U.G. Mafia came out ofBucharest'sPantelimon neighborhood, and their brand of gangsta rap underlines the parallels between life in Romania's Communist-era apartment blocks and in the housing projects of America's ghettos.
One of the countries outside the US where hip-hop is most popular is the United Kingdom.Grime, a genre of music derived fromUK Garage anddrum and bass and influenced by hip-hop, emerged in the early 2000s with artists such asDizzee Rascal becoming successful. Although it is immensely popular, many British politicians criticize the music for what they see as promoting theft and murder, similar to gangsta rap in America. These criticisms have been deemed racist by the mostlyBlack British grime industry. Despite its controversial nature, grime has had a major effect on British fashion and pop music, with many young working-class youth emulating the clothing worn by grime stars like Dizzee Rascal and Wiley. There are many subgenres of grime, including "Rhythm and Grime", a mix of R&B and grime, andgrindie, a mix ofindie rock and grime popularized by indie rock bandHadouken![citation needed]
The German rapperFler caused significant controversy with his music.
In Germany and France,gangsta rap has become popular among youths who like the violent and aggressive lyrics. Some German rappers openly or comically flirt with Nazism; for example,Bushido (born Anis Mohamed Youssef Ferchichi) raps "Salutiert, steht stramm, Ich bin der Leader wie A" (Salute, stand to attention, I am the leader like 'A') andFler had a hit with the recordNeue Deutsche Welle (New German Wave) complete with the title written in Third Reich style Gothic print and advertised with anAdolf Hitler quote. These references also spawned great controversy in Germany.[citation needed] Meanwhile, in France, artists likeKery James' Idéal J maintained a radical, anti-authoritarian attitude and released songs likeHardcore which attacked the growth of the French far right. In the Netherlands, MCBrainpower went from being an underground battle rapper to mainstream recognition in theBenelux, thus influencing numerous rap artists in the region. In Israel, rapperSubliminal reaches out to Israeli youth with political and religious-themed lyrics, usually with aZionist message.[citation needed]
In Asia, mainstream stars rose to prominence in thePhilippines, led byFrancis Magalona, Rap Asia, MC Lara and Lady Diane. In Japan, where underground rappers had previously found a limited audience, and popularteen idols brought a style called J-rap to the top of the charts in the middle of the 1990s. Of particular importance is the influence on East Asian nations, where hip-hop music has become fused with local popular music to form different styles such asK-pop,C-pop andJ-pop.[citation needed]
InSouth Africa, the hip-hop scene overlaps withkwaito, a music genre that emphasizes African culture and social issues. Rappers such as Pope Troy have harnessed the use of socio-economic issues plaguing the political spheres of South Africa and hip-hop as a whole whilst balancing his lingual approach in order to communicate with the masses about the technical aspects that are creating the issues,[315] South African hip-hop has evolved into a prominent presence in mainstreamSouth African music. Between the 1990s and 2010s, it had transcended its origins as a form of political expression inCape Town to produce artists likeHHP,Riky Rick andAKA. Prominent South African rappers includeStogie T,Reason,Da L.E.S,Cassper Nyovest,Emtee,Fifi Cooper,A-Reece,Shane Eagle,Nasty C,K.O,YoungstaCPT andBig Zulu.[316][317]
InTanzania in the early 2000s, local hip-hop artists became popular by infusing local styles ofAfrobeat andarabesque melodies, dancehall and hip-hop beats with Swahili lyrics.[citation needed]
In the 2010s, hip-hop became popular inCanada particularly inToronto, which has a large Afro-Caribbean and African population. The city expressed a new sub-genre calledToronto sound. AfterDrake achieved mainstream success, the Toronto sound began with works by producersT-Minus andBoi-1da.[318]
^abEncyclopædia Britannica article on rap, retrieved frombritannica.comArchived August 3, 2011, at theWayback Machine: Rap, musical style in which rhythmic and/or rhyming speech is chanted ("rapped") to musical accompaniment. This backing music, which can include digital sampling (music and sounds extracted from other recordings by a DJ), is also called hip-hop, the name used to refer to a broader cultural movement that includes rap, deejaying (turntable manipulation), graffiti painting, and break dancing.
^AllMusic article for Hip-hop/Urban, retrieved fromAllMusic.com: Hip-Hop is the catch-all term for rap and the culture it spawned.Archived March 11, 2012, at theWayback Machine
^Encyclopædia Britannica article on hip-hop, retrieved frombritannica.comArchived May 11, 2011, at theWayback Machine: Hip-hop, cultural movement that attained widespread popularity in the 1980s and '90s; also, the backing music for rap, the musical style incorporating rhythmic and/or rhyming speech that became the movement's most lasting and influential art form.
^Flipping, Robert Jr. (February 24, 1979). "Hollyburgh Swingers 'If You Funk Us, We'll Funk You'".New Pittsburgh Courier.
^"hip-hop, n."OED Online. Oxford University Press, September 2020. Web. September 17, 2020.
^Lawrence, Tim (2016).Life and Death on the New York Dance Floor, 1980–1983. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press. Chapter 21.ISBN9780822361862.
^Hagar, Steven. "Afrika Bambaataa's Hip-Hop",The Village Voice
^Hager, Steven.Hip Hop: The Illustrated History ofBreak Dancing, Rap Music, andGraffiti. St Martins Press, 1984.
^abCastillo-Garsow, Melissa; Nichols, Jason (2016).La Verdad: An International Dialogue on Hip Hop Latinidades. Columbus: Ohio University Press. pp. ix.ISBN978-0-8142-1315-5.
^"With the invention of sound recording, it was only a matter of time until the device which records itself becomes the instrument. The moment in popular culture a sound playback device became the instrument was in early hip-hop. The use of the turntable, and particularly two turntables, is characteristic. You could set up two turntables with two identical records, and keep a break going forever. So the birth of sampling coincided with the birth of...the idea of the loop."Lott, Ryan."AKAI MPC 2000/The History of Sampling". Joyful Noise Recordings. RetrievedSeptember 27, 2013.
^abFitzpatrick, Rob, "The 101 strangest records on Spotify: Warp 9 – It's A Beat Wave", May 14, 2014[1]Archived December 21, 2016, at theWayback Machine
^Sha Rock And Iesha Brown (May 28, 2010).The Story of the Beginning and End of the First Hip Hop Female MC...Luminary Icon Sha-Rock. OuttaDaBluePublishing.ISBN978-0977825844.
^Toop, David (2000).Rap Attack 3: African Rap To Global Hip Hop (Expanded Third Edition), London: Serpent's Tail, p. 151,ISBN1-85242-627-6.
^Jennifer Lucy Allan, Oren Ambarchi, Matt Anker,Lindsay Barrett, Marcus Boon, Carla Bozulich, Can, Brian Case, Philip Clark, Byron Coley, Richard Cook, Jack Cooke, Julian Cowley, Alan Cummings, Einsturzende Neubauten, Phil England,Kodwo Eshun, Mark Fell, Edward Fox, Phil Freeman, Jason Gross, Alexander Hacke, Mike Hames, Andy Hamilton, Max Harrison, Richard Henderson, Tony Herrington, Ken Hollings, Simon Hopkins, David Ilic, David Keenan, Biba Kopf, Ulrich Krieger, Alan Licht, Eric Lumbleau, Lydia Lunch, Howard Mandel, Merzbow, Keith Moliné, Will Montgomery, Brian Morton, Joe Muggs, Alex Neilson, Andrew Nosnitsky, Kasper Opstrup, Ian Penman, Edwin Pouncey, Brian Priestley, Reinhold Friedl, Adrian Rew, Simon Reynolds, Sam Richards, Robin Rimbaud, Bruce Russell, Sarah Angliss, Irmin Schmidt, Peter Shapiro, Brian Shimkovitz, Mark Sinker, Mark E. Smith, Daniel Spicer, Joseph Stannard, Sue Steward, David Stubbs, Atao Tanaka, David Toop, Dan Warburton, Richard Whitelaw, Barry Witherden, Rob Young."A-Z of Electro".The Wire. RetrievedAugust 24, 2014.
^MCM retrospective on Sidney:« on peut dire aujourd'hui que Sidney est le papa duhip-hop français. Concepteur de l'émission H.I.P. H.O.P. en 1984 (1ère émission rap au monde diffusée à l'époque le dimanche à 14h00 avant Starsky & Hutch), ce Dj/rappeur/breakeur extravagant fait découvrir cette nouvelle tendance américaine aux Français, à peine remis de la vague disco, et crée des vocations (Joey Starr, Passi, Stomy Bugsy...) »H.I.P H.O.P – L'émission Mythique de SidneyArchived February 7, 2009, at theWayback Machine
^Ritchie, Ryan (February 28, 2007)."Eazy to be hard".Press Telegram. Los Angeles Newspaper group. Archived fromthe original on March 4, 2007. RetrievedJanuary 26, 2008.
^Avis Thomas-Lester; Marylou Tousignant (June 25, 1992)."Reaction to Ice-T Song Heats Up".The Washington Post. WP Company. RetrievedSeptember 27, 2022.
^Batey, Angus (October 7, 2010)."The hip-hop heritage society".The Guardian. London.Archived from the original on October 1, 2013. RetrievedNovember 8, 2011.
^abPerry, Marc D. (December 30, 2015).Negro soy yo: hip hop and raced citizenship in neoliberal Cuba. Durham: Duke University Press.ISBN9780822358855.OCLC903675195.
^abGates, Henry Louis (2011).Black in Latin America. New York: New York University Press. p. 219.ISBN9780814738184.OCLC692291843.
^Castillo-Garsow, Melissa; Planas, Melissa Castillo; Nichols, Jason (2016).La verdad: an international dialogue on hip hop Latinidades. Columbus. p. 84.ISBN9780814213155.OCLC945948404.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Castillo-Garsow, Melissa; Planas, Melissa Castillo; Nichols, Jason (2016).La verdad: an international dialogue on hip hop Latinidades. Columbus. p. 85.ISBN9780814213155.OCLC945948404.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Castillo-Garsow, Melissa; Planas, Melissa Castillo; Nichols, Jason (2016).La verdad: an international dialogue on hip hop Latinidades. Columbus. p. 253.ISBN9780814213155.OCLC945948404.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Hammou, Karim (2020)."Quarante ans de rap français".CRESPPA - Centre de Recherches Sociologiques et Politiques de Paris (in French). RetrievedNovember 30, 2022.
^"Sefyu: Retour sur la carrière du rappeur d'Aulnay".Hip Hop Corner: Actu rap français, US et culture (in French). July 4, 2017. RetrievedDecember 13, 2022.Pour raviver les souvenirs liés à Sefyu, il faut se reporter au début des années 2 000. Youssef Soukouna n'était à l'origine même pas dévoué au rap. Là ou il témoigne d'un talent précoce en rédigeant ses premières rimes assez tôt, c'est d'avantage sa maîtrise du ballon rond qui le caractérise. Toutefois membre d'un groupe local avec ses amis Baba et Kuamen(NCC: Nouveaux Clandés de la Cité, puis rebaptisé New City Connection) en parallèle, il délaissera finalement le sport afin de se consacrer pleinement à son activité artistique. A Londres, puisqu'il s'entrainait au centre de formation d'Arsenal, il se blesse grièvement au genoux et rentre à Paris. Quittant également NCC, il décide de s'immerger pleinement dans le rap. C'est l'occasion d'enchaîner plusieurs apparitions, notamment aux côtés de Rohff sur Code 187 (album "La Fierté des Nôtres").
^"Blockfest 2016".Visit Tampere (in Finnish). Visit Tampere Matkailuneuvonta. RetrievedApril 19, 2021.
^Liadi, Olusegun (2015).Popularity of Hip Hop Among Nigeria Youth: The Role of Multilingualism. Lap Lambert Academic Publishing GmbH KG.ISBN978-3-659-57269-2.
David Toop (1984/1991).Rap Attack II: African Rap To Global Hip Hop. New York. New York: Serpent's Tail.ISBN1-85242-243-2.
McLeod, Kembrew. Interview withChuck D andHank Shocklee. 2002.Stay Free Magazine.
Corvino, Daniel and Livernoche, Shawn (2000).A Brief History of Rhyme and Bass: Growing Up With Hip Hop. Tinicum, PA: Xlibris Corporation/The Lightning Source, Inc.ISBN1-4010-2851-9[self-published source]
Hess, Mickey (2009).Hip Hop in America: A Regional Guide: Volume 1: East Coast and West Coast Greenwood.ISBN0313343233
Potter, Russell (1995)Spectacular Vernaculars: Hip-Hop and the Politics of Postmodernism. Albany:SUNY Press.ISBN0-7914-2626-2
Light, Alan (ed). (1999).The VIBE History of Hip-Hop. New York: Three Rivers Press.ISBN0-609-80503-7
George, Nelson (2000, rev. 2005).Hip-Hop America. New York: Penguin Books.ISBN0-14-028022-7
Fricke, Jim and Ahearn, Charlie (eds). (2002).Yes Yes Y'All: TheExperience Music Project Oral History of Hip Hop's First Decade. New York: Da Capo Press.ISBN0-306-81184-7
Kitwana, Bakar (2004).The State of Hip-Hop Generation: how hip-hop's culture movement is evolving into political power. Retrieved December 4, 2006. From Ohio Link Database
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