Remix to Evolve
Introduction
Hip Hop is a musical genre that entails rapping i.e. a rhyming speech that is accompanied by a beat. This form of music developed from four stylistic elements i.e. rapping, break dancing, Deejaying, and graffiti writing. Hip Hop is synonymous with the four elements that have been used to identify hip hop, while rapping is considered to be the musical part, and therefore, musicians in the Hip Hop industry are referred to as Hip Hop artists or simply as rappers (Kitwana 42). Hip Hop was founded in New York during the 1970s, and it was associated with African American youths and their parties. At these parties, the DJs used to play popular songs using two turntables, and they would ‘mix these songs, and include breaks,’ making the songs to appear to be more funky (Gerard 12). Rapping would later develop as a vocal style in which artists would speak along a certain beat that they had been provided with. The notable artists at that time included Marley Marl, Doug E. Fresh, and Kool Moe Dee (Dyson 6).Hip Hop began making waves in the music industry with the emergence of artists such as Run D.M.C., LL Cool J, Public Enemy, EPMD, KRS-One, and a Tribe Called Quest in the 1980s and early 1990s. One of the sub-genres of Hip Hop that would popularize this music especially among urban youth was Gangsta rap that focused on violent lifestyles especially among the minority youth of America. Popular artists in this sub-genre included Ice-T, Ice Cube, and N.W.A. These artists also addressed political and social issues that affected minority groups, and therefore made their music popular in the urban regions (Edwards 18).
In the 1990s, Hip Hop was associated with violence mainly because of the East Coast-West Coast rivalry that affected two of the biggest Hip Hop stables i.e. Death Row, and Bad Boy records. The two artists at the center of this rivalry commonly referred to as a beef were Tupac Shakur, and Notorious B.I.G. and they were all shot dead in 1996 and 1997 respectively. After this rivalry most of the big names in Hip Hop such as Quincy Jones came out to speak against the violence, and use of drugs that has been glorified in this music genre (Motley 244). Today, Hip Hop is viewed as a reflection of the urban teenagers. It is associated with ‘flossing,’ and ‘flashy things.’ Most of the Hip Hop artists talk of ‘hustling’ to get money and then acquiring the best jewelry, cars, houses, and other amenities. Some of the biggest names in Hip Hop today are known more for their wealth than their music. For instance, rap artists such as Dr. Dre. Jay-Z, and P. Diddy are regularly featured in the Forbes because of the riches that they have been able to accumulate over the years (Chang and Herc 52).
Music Event That I Attended
On February 12th 2015, I was fortunate enough to attend the ‘Tip Off’ at the Madison Square Garden …
