Category: Hip Hop

Hip hop Music

Hip hop is said to be more of a sub-culture and movement than a music genre. It is also called rap music. Hip hop started in New York City. Other elements of the movement, beside rap music, included beat boxing, hip hop fashion, being street smart, philosophical knowledge of what the sub-culture was about and hip hop language. It was mainly seen in outdoor block parties thrown by Black Spades, a controversial group that was rumored to be a gang.

Hip hop music was started in Bronx, New York City as a way for Latino and African American youths to express themselves especially about discrimination, by legal institutions and especially the police. The hip hop movement was mainly influenced by DJ Clive ‘Kool Herc’ Campbell. He was the first one to use DJing percussion in the music. He introduced toasting and from his experiments, he helped introduce ’scratching’. Rap, also known as emceeing, is another element of hip hop music. The rapping is usually boastful and deep often talking about societal issues. It also included sexual references. Rapping was often against competing groups and sought to gain favor from listeners and establish predominance. It was associated with graffiti, street dance, break dancing and producing. Hip hop only started to be commercialized in the 80s even though it was still not accepted well socially. It has since grown into one of the most popular genres with artists such as Lil Wayne, Eminem, Jay Z, Dr. Dre, Nas, Nicki Minaj, Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West and Machine Gun Kelly. It has grown from a racial movement into a globally acceptable movement genre.

The Effects Of Hip Hop Music

Hip hop has often been accused of encouraging homophobia and cultural appropriation. The use of obscene and vulgar language can be cause of erosion of morals. However, others have more socially conscious themes that make it possible to understand the problems with different communities. Hip hop music has helped in the empowerment of minorities in various communities. Appearances are a big part of the hip hop culture. It has, therefore, had an impact on the way people, especially the youth, use clothing and style to express themselves. Since the seventies, hip hop artists have played a major role in setting trends.

Characteristics of Hip Hop Music

Hip hop has evolved and it now has a number of sub-genres such as conscious rap, battle rap, crunk, snap, trap music and West Coast hip hop. However, it still has some distinctive features such as; heavy basslines, a tempo of about 70-100 beats per minute, syncopated drum beats and deep, meaningful lyrics. The lyrics are often meant to help listeners create a mental image of whatever the song is talking about. However, the lyrics could sometimes be about parties, bragging and insulting. It often includes poetry, spoken word and some singing. They have a constant beat and most rap songs use pre-recorded music in the background

Hip hop has provided a platform to express and therefore solve societal injustices since back in the seventies. It helped to address the problem of cultural oppression in the United States. Young people all across the world have been influenced both positively and negatively by the hip hop culture. Some lyrics and music videos have perpetuated objectification of women and violence. Some lyrics are seen to be anti-white and offensive.