The Evolution of Hip-Hop

Malik Shannon
Eng 22
Maddox
March 9, 2013

The Evolution of Hip-Hop

The world of music alone is always evolving, however we've come to a

conclusion that the message the artist convey in hip-hop music in this generation are

not helping out or paving the way for the next generation. The focus is to inform the

readers that "smoke weed everyday" or "finding Molly" getting women is not what

the hip-hop scene is all about. Hip-hop artists tell stories, or teach listeners about the

everyday life whether it is a privileged life, or a suffering part of life. Through the

evolution of hip-hop there were many styles that artists have came across. Styles such

as conscious rap, battle rap, and political rap have swept the listeners of hip-hop off

their feet.

Hip-hop is a form of popular music that is compromised mainly of

emceeing and deejaying. This genre of music originated in New York during the 70's.
American DJ Afrika Bambaataa, also known as the "godfather," were one of the

originators of break-beat deejaying. Afrika Bambaataa is also known for giving hip-

hop it's name. The hip-hop culture is characterized by the four elements of rapping,

breakdancing, deejaying, and graffiti. The hip-hop culture started from house parties

where deejays would mix samples of records. From the Bronx, the culture then would spread to urban and suburban communities across the world. Rap is a rhythmic style

of poetry presented in 16-bar measures. These elements experienced considerable

adaptation and development over the course of the history of the culture.
Conscious rap is a sub-genre of hip-hop that focuses on creating

awareness and communicate knowledge. Conscious political rappers speak out

on violence, discrimination, and other social ailments. Conscious rap contain

positive, uplifting messages, often delivered over smooth, ear-grabbing beats.

Some notable conscious hip-hop artists are KRS-One, Common, Talib Kweli,

The Roots, KanYe West, Mos Def, Pharaoh Monch, Nas, K-O's, and Lauryn Hill.

Battle rap is a style of hip-hop that stems from the quest to be

competitive within the culture. This style of hip-hop is used to sharpen the artists

"lyrical swords." Battle emcees focus on boastful lines and self-glorifying rhymes

about one's proficiency or level of success, accompanied by verbal insults hurled at

the other party, directly or subliminally.

With Afrika Bambaataa and DJ Kool Herc pioneering the first ever hip-

hop movement, The Sugar Hill Gang released the first ever hip-hop single called

"Rapper's Delight" in the year 1979. Sugar Hill Gang's single hit the billboard charts

at number 36. Various rap singles were soon released by Grand Master Flash and

Furious 5, Kurtis Blow, Fab 5 Freddy, and the Soul Sonic Force. The forefathers of

hip-hop pioneered the movement that has rapidly changed the music industry. Ice-T

came out with a single called "Body Rock" which pioneered the gangsta rap

movement. N.W.A. also called N****s Wit Attitude helped pioneer the gangsta rap

movement with a single called "Straight Outta Compton" in the year 1989. The group

called The Fugees, a group which consisted of Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean, and Pras.

The Fugees were the first hip-hop group to pioneer socially conscious rap, a style of

hip-hop which is similar to political rap in which the artist promotes social ideals.

To show a comparison between the old generation of hip-hop and the

new generation let's take a look at some of the lyrics. Public Enemy, a group which

consisted of Chuck D., Flavor Flav, Professor Griff, and DJ Terminator X, was

known for there politically charged lyrics and American criticism. In one song called

"Fight The Power," one verse reads "I'm black and I'm proud I'm ready and hyped

plus I'm amped, most of my heroes don't appear on no stamps." The unfortunate

stupidity and ignorance that is associated with racism forced defeat with this song in

particular. Another old school song is by a group called N.W.A. This group consisted

of Ice Cube, MC Ren, Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, DJ Yella, and Arabian Prince. In one song

called "Express Yourself" one verse reads "I'm expressing with my full capabilities,

and now I'm living in correctional facilities." Dr. Dre sums up how censorship has

challenged the freedom of speech we as Americans are entitled to.

Now let's fast-forward a little bit in time to the new generation of hip-hop

music. Lil' Wayne had a hit single called "Got Money" featuring T-Pain. In this song

one verse reads "I make it snow, I make it flurry. I make it out alright tomorrow,

don't worry." Lil' Wayne reminded us that hip-hop never really had a sense of humor.

Another song that comes in this generation is called "Flat Line" by an artist named

Chief Keef. One verse reads "She said she like me, and I say money ain't a damn

thing. I spend it all on the same thing, same Gucci, the same jeans, Gucci Gucci

Gucci." This boy is 17 years old and lives in Chicago and is another statistic of the

prison system. Chief Keef is another Chi-town gangbanger that constantly raps about

the hood life. Because he is signed to a record label, he feels a need to write about his

riches. His lyrics are far from meaningful.
"Old school" hip hop music began in the early 1970's inspired by funk

music. A large number of artists split from mainstream disco movement and

began creating hip-hop bases on a funk bass line. This new musical style was

pushed to the underground with a small, yet loyal, fan base. However, disco was still

a superior form of music at the time. Due to the small fan base came a lack of funding and musical technology to create music, thus sampling was born. Sampling is the

process of taking brief segments of sound (i.e. song, movie, or elsewhere) and using

that sound to form another sound or musical piece. Many of the earliest hip-hop

musicians were criticized about the the dishonest nature of sampling copy-written

material. This sparked a negative attitude towards rap music.

From the simple beginning of hip-hop and rap music has evolved, and

continues to evolve. The title of "new school" reflects the change that has occurred

both in instrumental hip-hop, as well as its lyrics. Most artists considered "new

school" released music after the year 1985. Instrumentals were the first to change and

lyrics soon followed. Starting in the early 1990's, many rappers began abandoning

their harder lyrics full of mistrust and replacing these values with life stories, positive

messages, and calls for good causes. With this change, hip-hop music reached its

most refined form of expression, allowing artists to express any emotion with their

music. Once rap music had public support, many artists used their influence to preach

their morals and standards, or just to tell their life story. This slow evolution has

made it explosive and long-lasting force within the music community.