American Music: The Evolution of Hip Hop

American Music: The Evolution of Hip Hop is a blog that discusses the history and evolution of the hip hop music genre.

Origins of Hip Hop

Hip hop is a musical genre that originated in the United States in the 1970s. It is characterized by a four-beat drum pattern, off-beat rhyming lyrics, and a shared vocal style. Hip hop music was originally performed live, improvisationally, and by DJing and MCing over pre-recorded tracks.

African American music

African American music has its roots in the field hollers, work songs and spirituals of the African American slaves. These early songs and chants were often infused with the rhythms of Africa and incorporated call-and-response singing. The original songs were created to help pass the time while working in the fields and to make work feel less like, well, work.

After Emancipation, many African Americans moved from rural areas to cities like New Orleans, St. Louis and Kansas City. In these cities, they found work in factories, on riverboats and as Pullman porters. African American music began to evolve away from its roots in work songs and spirituals as it became more influenced by Jazz, Ragtime and Blues.

The earliest forms of hip hop were influenced by 1970s Disco music. Hip hop developed its own unique style with the help of pioneers like DJ Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa and Grandmaster Flash. These artists developed a new style of music by looping Funk and Soul records and adding their own lyrics over the top. This new style of music quickly caught on with inner-city youth who began holding illegal street parties, or “raves”, to hear this new sound.

Jamaican music

In the late 1960s, a group of New York City-based Jamaican musicians created a new style of music that would eventually come to be known as hip hop. These musicians, who were often influenced by the Rastafarian movement, blended Jamaican reggae and ska with American soul and R&B to create a new sound that was uniquely their own.

One of the earliest innovators of this new style was DJ Kool Herc, who is credited with inventing the breakbeat. By isolating the percussion breaks from songs and repeating them over and over again, Herc created a hypnotic sound that was perfect for dancing. His style of DJing would become enormously influential in the development of hip hop.

Other important early figures in hip hop include Afrika Bambaataa, an MC who helped popularize Herc’s breakbeats; Grandmaster Flash, another innovative DJ; and Sugar Hill Gang, one of the first rap groups to achieve mainstream success. In the 1980s, hip hop spread beyond New York City to other parts of the United States, as well as to Europe and Japan. By the 1990s, it had become one of the most popular music genres in the world.

Early Hip Hop in the United States

Hip hop music first emerged in the United States in the 1970s. This new form of music was a reaction to the existing music scene at the time. Hip hop was created by African American youth who were tired of the constraints of the older generation’s music. They wanted to create something new, something fresh. And so, early hip hop was born.

New York City

The first stirrings of hip hop in the Bronx were led by DJs such as Kool Herc and Afrika Bambaataa, who played R&B, soul, and funk records at outdoor block parties. As the rap and break-dancing scenes developed and gained popularity, a distinctive New York style emerged. This style incorporated elements from Latin American and Caribbean music, particularly the drumming patterns known as clave and bomba. New York MCs also began to experiment with rhyme schemes and wordplay, creating intricate narratives that told stories or detailed the lives of street toughs. By the early 1980s, this New York sound had gained national attention with songs like Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five’s “The Message” (1982) and Afrika Bambaataa’s “Planet Rock” (1982).

Philadelphia

Philadelphia is considered by many to be the birthplace of hip hop in the United States. While other cities, such as New York and Los Angeles, may lay claim to this title as well, it is undeniable that Philadelphia played a pivotal role in the development of this genre of music.

The first breakdancing crew is believed to have been formed in Philadelphia in the early 1970s. This crew, known as The Lockers, was made up of young African American and Latino dancers who performed for family gatherings and community events.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, a new style of music began to emerge from Philadelphia that would come to be known as “hip hop.” This new style was a mixture of different genres, including disco, soul, funk, and Jamaican reggae. Hip hop music was typically accompanied by breakdancing, which had also gained popularity in Philadelphia at this time.

One of the earliest and most popular hip hop groups to come out of Philadelphia was The Fresh Prince & Jazzy Jeff. This duo became known for their hit song “Parents Just Don’t Understand,” which won them a Grammy Award in 1988.

Other notable Philly hip hop artists include Will Smith (who later went on to star in the popular television show The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, Steady B, Schoolly D, Cool C, and Beansie Sigel.

Los Angeles

Los Angeles is considered the birthplace of gangsta rap. While New York is where hip hop first started, LA is where it evolved into something darker and more aggressive. Gangsta rap is a subgenre of hip hop that emerged in the late 1980s. It is defined by its lyrical content, which often includes themes of crime, violence, and poverty.

Los Angeles gangsta rap was largely influenced by the African American experiences in South Central LA. The 1992 Rodney King riots were a turning point for the genre, as they brought national attention to the issue of police brutality against black people. After the riots, many gangsta rap artists began to talk about social injustice and racism in their music.

One of the most famous and influential gangsta rap groups was NWA, whose song “Straight Outta Compton” became a huge hit in 1988. NWA’s music reflected the harsh realities of life in South Central LA, and their lyrics often glorified violence and crime. Other notable gangsta rap groups from Los Angeles include Snoop Dogg, Tupac Shakur, Dr. Dre, and Ice Cube.

The Golden Age of Hip Hop

Hip hop music originated in the 1970s in the Bronx, New York City. It is a style of music that is based on African American culture and is characterized by a strong rhythmic beat. Hip hop music has evolved over the years and has become one of the most popular genres of music in the United States.

The East Coast-West Coast rivalry

In the early 1990s, the American hip hop scene was divided between two regional scenes: East Coast hip hop and West Coast hip hop. The main point of contention between the two scenes was the style of music each scene was producing. East Coast hip hop was characterized by a heavier, more aggressive sound, while West Coast hip hop had a lighter, more laid-back sound.

The rivalry came to a head in the late 1990s when several high-profile murders took place, including the murder of rapper Tupac Shakur in 1996 and the murder of rapper The Notorious B.I.G. in 1997. The murders were attributed to the rivalry between the two coasts, and they effectively ended the East Coast-West Coast feud.

The Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur

The Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur were two of the most prolific and well-known rappers of the 1990s. Both artists achieved massive success and popularity, but their lives were cut short by gun violence.

B.I.G., born Christopher Wallace, was shot and killed in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles in 1997. His murder has never been solved. Tupac, born Tupac Amaru Shakur, was fatally shot in Las Vegas in 1996. His killer was also never caught.

The deaths of these two rap legends sent shockwaves through the music industry and the world at large. They were both only 25 years old at the time of their death, and many felt that hip hop had lost its way without them.

The murder of Tupac Shakur is often cited as the beginning of the East Coast/West Coast hip hop rivalry, which culminated in the deaths of several other rap artists over the next few years. The late 1990s and early 2000s were a dark time for hip hop, but the genre has since rebounded and is now more popular than ever before.

Hip Hop Today

In its infancy, hip hop was an underground music movement with little mainstream appeal. But over the past few decades, it has exploded in popularity, both in the United States and around the world. Today, hip hop is one of the most popular genres of music, and its influence can be seen in everything from pop to country.

Mainstream appeal

Hip hop’s popularity increased throughout the late 1990s and 2000s due in part to the commercialization and cross-over appeal of artists such as Outkast, Eminem, Missy Elliott, and G-Unit. The genre’s popularity expanded outside of the United States when American hip hop was introduced to other parts of the world, particularly in East Asia, South Asia, Australia, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

Social media

Social media has had a major impact on the evolution of hip hop. In the past, if an artist wanted to reach a larger audience, they would have to go through a record label and hope that radio stations would play their music. With social media, any artist can upload their music directly to platforms like SoundCloud and YouTube, and then share it with their followers on Twitter and Instagram. This has made it easier for unsigned artists to build up a following and get noticed by record labels. It has also made it easier for fans to discover new music, as they can just follow their favorite artists on social media and see what they’re listening to.