A History of Hip Hop Music in the 1970s
Contents
A look at how hip hop music developed in the 1970s, with a focus on the major players and events that shaped the genre.
Introduction
Before hip hop music became the global phenomenon it is today, it was born in the urban neighborhoods of New York City in the 1970s. The earliest hip hop tracks were created by DJs who would isolate the percussion break from funk or disco songs and play them on repeat. This type of music soon began to be known as “breakbeats.” As more and more people became involved in creating and listening to breakbeats, the music began to evolve. MCs (rappers) started rhyming over the breaks, and turntablists (DJs who use turntables as musical instruments) began to manipulate records to create new sounds. Hip hop music was born.
The 1970s was a time of great change in the United States. The country was coming out of a decade of war and unrest, and many people were looking for ways to express themselves. For young people in urban areas, hip hop provided a way to do this. It was a way to escape the violence and poverty that surrounded them, and it allowed them to express themselves in creative new ways.
Hip hop quickly spread beyond New York City. By the late 1970s, it could be heard in cities all over the United States. It also began to influence other forms of popular music, such as rock and pop. In the 1980s, hip hop would become a worldwide phenomenon, with artists like Run-DMC, Public Enemy, and N.W.A becoming household names. But it all started in the 1970s, with a new style of music that would change the world forever.
Origins of Hip Hop
Hip hop music originated in the 1970s in the borough of the Bronx in New York City. It was a product of African American and Latino American cultures. The first hip hop songs were created by DJs who would isolate the percussion break from funk or disco songs and play them on their turntables.
DJ Kool Herc
DJ Kool Herc is considered to be one of the founding fathers of hip hop music. Born in Jamaica, Herc moved to the Bronx in 1967. It was there that he began DJing parties and developing the style of music that would come to be known as hip hop.
Herc’s style of DJing was based on playing extended passages of music, which he referred to as “the breaks.” By elongating the break, Herc was able to create a new groove that would get the dancers moving. This style of DJing would go on to influence other DJs and producers, and would become one of the defining aspects of hip hop music.
In 1973, Herc threw a party at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx, which is widely considered to be the birthplace of hip hop. This party would come to be known as the “Breakdown Siddity,” and it featured Herc playing extended breaks for the dancers. The party was a huge success, and helped to spread Herc’s style of DJing throughout New York City.
Grandmaster Flash
Grandmaster Flash, born Joseph Saddler in Barbados, is a hip hop pioneer who started his DJ career in the early 1970s. He is best known for his work with the Furious Five, a group that also included Afrika Bambaataa, DJ Kool Herc, and Melle Mel. Flash was a master of the turntable, and his effects-laden style influenced countless other DJs and producers. He helped to popularize hip hop music with mainstream audiences and is widely credited as one of the genre’s pioneers.
Afrika Bambaataa
Afrika Bambaataa is a including South Bronx-based DJ from the early hip hop scene. He is credited with helping to spread hip hop culture throughout the world. He is one of the three main originators of break-beating, along with Kool DJ Herc and Afrika Islam. As a teenager, he was a member of the gang The Black Spades. He later joined the organization Universal Zulu Nation.
The 1970s
1970s hip hop was a time of great change. There was a move away from the large band sound of the late 1960s, and a shift to smaller, more stripped down groups and solo artists. This was in part due to the economic realities of the time, as well as the increasing popularity of disco music.
The Bronx
The birth of hip hop is often traced back to the Bronx in the 1970s, where DJs would play soul, funk, and disco records at block parties and dance clubs. MCs would often talk over the music, using rhyming lyrics to hype up the crowd. This style of music soon became popular in other African American communities across the country.
New York City
In the 1970s, the culture of hip hop began to form in New York City. DJs would play records in parks and on rooftops, using turntables and speakers to bring music to people who wouldn’t otherwise have access to it. MCs would rap over the beats, adding rhymes and stories that spoke to the experiences of life in the city.
This era saw the birth of some of hip hop’s most iconic figures, including DJ Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa, and Grandmaster Flash. They pioneered new techniques and sounds that would shape the course of hip hop for decades to come. New York City was the epicenter of this cultural movement, and it remains one of the most important cities in hip hop today.
Los Angeles
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, a number of housing developments in South Central Los Angeles were demolished to make way for freeways. This displacement, combined with inner-city poverty and gang violence, led to the emergence of an innovative new musical style: hip hop.
Hip hop music was born out of a need for self-expression and creativity in the face of adversity. It was created by African American and Latino youth who were looking for a way to express their frustration and anger at a society that seemed to have left them behind.
In the early days of hip hop, DJs would play records at block parties and dance battles, using their turntables to create new songs by mixing together different tracks. This technique, known as sampling, would go on to become one of the most important elements of hip hop.
As hip hop spread from its origins in New York City to other parts of the country, Los Angeles became an important center for the new sound. LA’s burgeoning Hispanic population provided a ready audience for hip hop’s mix of black culture and Latino vibes. The city’s vast network of highways and its sprawling suburban neighborhoods also made it easy for DJs and MCs to travel around and perform at parties.
LA’s contributions to hip hop were many and varied. The region was home to some of the earliest hip hop clubs, like Eve After Dark in Hollywood and Club Kimball in Pasadena. LA-based DJs like Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa, and Dr. Dre helped innovate the art of turntablism, while groups like NWA popularized gangsta rap – a subgenre that would come to dominate the West Coast hip hop scene in the 1990s.
Conclusion
By the late 1970s, the first Hip Hop records were being released on major labels and the style was beginning to break through to a wider audience. This decade was pivotal for the development of Hip Hop as an art form, and many of the genre’s most iconic tracks were released during this time. As the popularity of Hip Hop continued to grow, so did its influence on fashion, dance, and pop culture. Hip Hop would go on to become one of the most popular and influential genres of music in the world, and its impact on global culture is still felt today.
