The Different Styles of Hip Hop Music

There are four different styles of Hip Hop music. Check out this blog to learn about the different styles and when they started.

Introduction

Hip hop music originated in the 1970s in New York City. It is a style of music that is characterized by rhyming lyrics, often accompanied by rap. Hip hop music has evolved over the years, and there are now many different styles of hip hop.

One of the earliest styles of hip hop was disco rap. This style was popular in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Disco rap is characterized by its use of disco-style beats and often contains themes of partying or dancing.

Another early style of hip hop was gangsta rap. This style emerged in the mid-1980s and was popularized by groups such as N.W.A. Gangsta rap is characterized by its aggressive lyrics, which often deal with themes of violence, drugs, and crime.

In the 1990s, a more positive andconscious style of hip hop emerged, known as positive hip hop or conscious rap. This style is characterized by its lyrics, which often address social issues such as racism, poverty, and violence. Positive hip hop artists include Public Enemy and A Tribe Called Quest.

Today, there are many different styles of hip hop music, including trap, EDM-influenced hip hop, and Drill. Trap is a subgenre of hip hop that originated in the 1990s in the Southern United States. It is characterized by its use of 808 drums and dark melodies. Drill is a subgenre of trap that originated in Chicago in the early 2010s. It is characterized by its aggressive lyrics and dark beats

Old School Hip Hop

Old school hip hop is a style of rap music that was popularized in the 1970s and 1980s. The term “old school” is used to describe anything that is from an earlier era, and hip hop is no different. This style of music is characterized by its Afrocentricity, its emphasis on party-oriented anthems, and its use of samples from funk and soul records.

Defining Features

There are four main elemental categories of hip hop: MCing/rapping, DJing/scratching with turntables, break dancing, and graffiti writing. Other names for hip hop music include funk, rap, reggae-fusion, house-rap and pop-rap. According to Kurtis Blow, the early days of hip hop were characterized by divisions between fans and detractors of disco music. Hip hop was strongly influenced by disco in its early stages; however as the genre developed, it began to distance itself from the genre.

Key Artists

When people think of Hip Hop, they often think of the music that came out of New York City in the late 1970s and early 1980s. This is the music that was made famous by artists like Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaataa, and the Sugarhill Gang. This style of Hip Hop is often referred to as Old School Hip Hop or Golden Age Hip Hop.

Old School Hip Hop is characterized by its use of funk and disco samples, as well as rap vocals that were often delivered in a spoken word style. This style of Hip Hop was heavily influenced by Jamaican toasting, which is another type of rap music that was popular in Jamaica in the 1970s.

While Old School Hip Hop was the dominant style in the early days of Hip Hop, it wasn’t the only style that was being developed. In the mid-1980s, a new style of Hip Hop began to emerge out of Los Angeles. This style, which came to be known as Gangsta Rap, was characterized by its hard-hitting beats and explicit lyrics about gang violence and drug use.

Gangsta Rap quickly became the dominant force in Hip Hop in the late 1980s and early 1990s, with artists like N.W.A., Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, and Snoop Dogg becoming household names. However, Gangsta Rap was not without its critics, who accused it of glorifying violence and criminal activity.

In the mid-1990s, a new style of Hip Hop called G-Funk began to emerge out of Los Angeles. G-Funk was similar to Gangsta Rap in many ways, but it also incorporated elements of 1970s Funk music. This new style proved to be extremely popular, with artists like Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Warren G becoming some of the biggest names in Hip Hop.

Today, Hip Hop is more popular than ever before, with millions of people all over the world listening to it on a daily basis. While there are many different styles of Hip Hop music, Old School Hip Hop remains an important part of this musical genre’s history.

New School Hip Hop

New school hip hop is a style of hip hop characterized by heavy use of sampling, synthesizers, drum machines, and turntables. It emerged in the early 1980s and came to prominence in the mid-1980s with the rise of artists such as Run-D.M.C. and LL Cool J.

Defining Features

New School Hip Hop is a period in the evolution of Hip Hop music marked by the creative breakthroughs of a group of young artists who came to prominence in the mid-1980s. Following on the heels of pioneers like Afrika Bambaataa, Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five, KRS-One, Boogie Down Productions and Run-D.M.C., these artists began to move away from the simple party raps and dance tracks that dominated Hip Hop’s early years, instead creating more sophisticated songs that addressed social and political issues.

In many ways, New School Hip Hop was a reaction to the violence and drug addiction that had begun to plague the Rap world in the early 1980s. Artists like N.W.A., Ice Cube and Schoolly D had introduced gangsta rap, a subgenre that glorified drugs, gangs and guns. In response, artists like KRS-One and Public Enemy created what came to be known as “conscious rap” — songs that addressed social ills like poverty, racism and violence. Other artists, like De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest, took a more lighthearted approach, infusing their music with humor and positive messages.

Despite their different approaches, all of these artists shared a commitment to expanding Hip Hop’s musical palette beyond the basic drums and rhymes of its earliest days. They experimented with new beats and flows, borrowed sounds from other genres like jazz and funk, and pioneered the use of sampling — a technique that would come to define Hip Hop in the years to come.

Key Artists

New School Hip Hop is a style of hip hop music that emerged in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Often characterized by its use of intricate rhyme schemes, myriad sampling, and an overall focus on lyrical prowess, New School Hip Hop was a sharp departure from the party-centric attitude of earlier hip hop styles. Instead, artists like A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, and Public Enemy brought a more socially conscious and introspective approach to hip hop that would come to dominate the genre in the 1990s.

West Coast Hip Hop

West Coast hip hop is a regional genre of hip hop music that encompasses any style originating in the West Coast region of the United States. The style is commonly characterized by its laid-back, often Gangsta rap-influenced beats and lyrics concerning issues such as urban crime and life, as well as Southwestern US culture.

Defining Features

West Coast hip hop is a regional genre of hip hop music that encompasses any artist or music originating in the West Coast region of the United States. The style is widely considered to have been pioneered by Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, who popularized G-funk, a subgenre of hip hop characterized by a distinctive mode of production and rap delivery.

In contrast to East Coast hip hop, which relies heavily on samples and breakbeats, West Coast hip hop is often characterized by robust bass lines and synthesizers. As G-funk gradually gave way to more experimental styles in the early 1990s, West Coast rappers such as Warren G and Tupac Shakur began to experiment with new sounds and subject matter.

Key Artists

There are a variety of different styles of hip hop music, each with its own distinct sound and feel. Here are some of the key artists from the West Coast scene who helped to shape this unique style of music:

– Dr. Dre: One of the most influential figures in West Coast hip hop, Dr. Dre is a producer, rapper, and record executive. He is best known for his work with N.W.A., and has since gone on to produce records for a number of other high-profile artists including Snoop Dogg, Eminem, and 50 Cent.

– Tupac Shakur: A hugely popular and influential rapper, Tupac was tragically gunned down in 1996. His posthumous releases have continued to be hugely successful, and he is widely considered one of the greatest rappers of all time.

– Snoop Dogg: Another hugely successful rapper from the West Coast, Snoop Dogg has been active since the early 1990s. He is best known for his work with Dr. Dre, and has also enjoyed success as a solo artist and actor.

East Coast Hip Hop

East Coast hip hop is a regional subgenre of hip hop music that originated in New York City during the 1970s. The style developed as a response to the West Coast’s G-funk sound, which was characterized by its heavy use of sampling, and the focus on synthesizers and drum machines.

Defining Features

East Coast hip hop is a subgenre of hip hop music that originated in New York City in the 1970s. The style is known for its use of sampling, /* including */ turntablism, and beats. It is also characterized by its use of difficult, often violent lyrics.

While East Coast hip hop has never been as commercially successful as its West Coast counterpart, it has been influential /* on artists */ from both coasts and has exerted a significant influence on the development of the genre as a whole.

Key Artists

artists from the East Coast include RUN-DMC, Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, A Tribe Called Quest, Nas, The Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z, and Mobb Deep. These artists are often credited with pioneering and popularizing the genre, and many have achieved mainstream success.

Southern Hip Hop

Southern hip hop, also known as Southern rap, is a subgenre of hip hop music that emerged in the Southern United States in the early 1990s. The style is noted for its heavy use of African-American Vernacular English, as well as its incorporation of elements from Southern hip hop, R&B, and crunk.

Defining Features

Each of the four hip hop elements play a significant role in the music originating from the South. While rap is typically the most prominent element, all four are often used in combination to create a unique sound. The defining features of Southern hip hop include:

– heavy use of Southern slang and dialects
– often slower tempo than other regional styles
– focus on making music that is fun and entertaining
– use of call and response techniques in rap verses
– incorporation of elements from other genres, particularly country and blues

Key Artists

In the 1990s, southern hip hop was dominated by artists from Atlanta, New Orleans, Houston, Memphis, and Birmingham. These artists created a new style of hip hop that was influenced by southern soul and country music. Some of the most popular southern hip hop artists include Outkast, UGK, Goodie Mob, 8Ball & MJG, and Three 6 Mafia.

Conclusion

In conclusion, there are many different styles of hip hop music. Some are more popular than others, but all have their own unique sound. You may like one type of hip hop over another, or you may enjoy all of them equally. No matter what your preference is, there is sure to be a style of hip hop that you will enjoy.