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Hip Hop

by Lasan Coger

In the 1970’s many black radio stations played only disco music which caused a negative reaction among African Americans. African Americans responded by hosting “block parties” within their own communities. The block party usually consists of a disk jockey (DJ) who played funk, disco, and soul music. Not soon after, Hip Hop began in the Bronx, after a DJ by the name of Clive “Kool Herc” Campbell used extended percussion break beats to create songs, which derived from Jamaican dance hall music. He used two turntables and an audio mixer to keep the beats extended so people could dance along. This series of events led to DJs mixing and scratching, which later became popular with remixes. As hip hop grew, performers who spoke in sync with the beat became known as MCs (emcee). Soon groups of MCs started to form throughout the country. One of the more popular groups, Afrika Bambaataa and the Zulu Nation, began introducing themselves and others to their audience which to this day is called giving “shout outs.” MCs would go on for hours with improvising lyrics with a plain four count beat and a basic chorus that allowed the MC to gather his thoughts (such as “one, two, one, two” and “to the beat ya’ll”).

The first rap records were the Sugar Hill Gang's Rapper's Delight (1979) and Kurtis "Blow" Walker's Christmas Rapping (1979) and The Breaks (1979). The latter was also the first rap single to reach certified gold. As dizzy break beats, sound effects, and fragments became the characterization of hip hop that separated it from other music genres, rappers began to focus more on lyrics. The topics of the songs became socially conscious such as The Breaks (1979) and Grand Master Flash’s The Message (1979). The Message was the first rap song to fuse descriptions of ghetto life, socio-political messages, with partying. Later Afrika Bambaataa came with a series of conscious records such Planet Rock (1982), Looking for the Perfect Beat (1982), and Renegades of Funk (1983). In 1983, Grand Master Flash created an anti-drug song called White Lines in light of the growing drug invasion in African American communities.

As hip hop’s style grew, so did its audience. Run DMC’s smash hit Walk This Way (1986) fused rap and rock ‘n roll with hard guitar rifts and hard core lyrics. This collaboration with Aerosmith became the first rap video to receive heavy rotation on MTV and song to reach the top five on The Billboard Hot 100. This huge success sprung Def Jam Records recording label, co-founded by Russell Simmons, into the forefront of the genre after realizing the potential to reach the masses. This era of hip hop was known as the “Crossover,” which started generating millions of dollars for the record industry. In years to come, Def Jam released several albums that would become blueprints to selling large quantities of records. Its roster boasted such names like, The Beastie Boys; an all white trio from Brooklyn, LL Cool J; who epitomized party rap by mixing mainstream rap with pop, and the pro black group, Public Enemy (PE). Public Enemy’s music help raise political awareness of the injustices imposed on the African American community by the government and media. Prior to PE, only a few songs by Ice T and KRS-One could be considered political rap. PE was the first rap group to base their whole image around a political position. Their hard hitting beats mixed with their militant and controversial lyrics exploded into the mainstream. PE saw such artists like Madonna and Lenny Kravitz sample there music for hit songs like Justify My Love. The album It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back made PE the first rap group to win The Village Voice Pazz and Jop’s album of the year award, which is ranked by predominately rock critics. PE went on to create five highly regarded albums but none more successful than the 1990 classic Fear of a Black Planet which was selected for preservation in the Library of Congress. It included the songs “911 is a Joke”and “Fight the Power”which is considered as their anthem. This song is regarded as the most influential and popular song in Hip Hop history and was also the lead song for the Spike Lee’s hit movie Do the Right Thing.

Today, Hip Hop is a billion dollar industry and is one the most popular music genres in the world. Artist such as Jay-Z, P Diddy, and 50 Cent are ranked in the Forbes Celebrity 100 list. Many HIP HOP artists such as Nas, The Roots, and Common tour the world giving concerts in countries such as Japan, Germany, South Africa, and Australia because of the path that was paved by Hip Hop’s forefathers.

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