History and Origins Of Hip Hop Music

By Vickram Singh

HistoryHip hop is a subculture that originated from an African and Latino American community during the 1970s in New York City, specifically in Morris Heights, Bronx, then later spread its influence to Latin American communities. While the term is often used to refer to hip-hop music, in its broader sense hip-hop culture is characterized by the four elements of rapping, DJing, breaking and graffiti.DJ Afrika Bambaataa of the hip-hop collective Zulu Nation outlined the pillars of hip hop culture, including: MCing, DJing, B-boxing and graffiti writing. Since its emergence in the South Bronx, hip-hop culture has spread to both urban and suburban communities throughout the world.

Hip-hop music first emerged with Kool Herc and contemporary disc jockeys and imitators creating rhythmic beats by looping on two turntables, more commonly referred to as juggling. This was later accompanied by "rap", a rhythmic style of chanting or poetry often presented in 16-bar measures or time frames, and beat boxing, a vocal technique mainly used to provide percussive elements of music and various technical effects of hip hop DJ s. An original form of dancing and particular styles of dress arose among fans of this new music. These elements experienced considerable adaptation and development over the course of the history of the culture.

What is Hip Hop?

Hip Hop music is generally focused around one or more rappers who are telling their story. Storytelling is the foundation of hip hop music. To tell the story in an entertaining way, rappers use the same techniques as successful poets, utilizing alliteration, assonance, and rhyme to carry the message to the audience. In addition, rappers also use accompanying instrumentals, which is referred to as the “beat”. The beat is a key part of hip hop music – many failed hip hop artists are usually remembered for not having the right “beat” to go with their story.

The beat is generally consistent, and lasts the entire song. Of course, many rappers have deviated from this formula, choosing to switch up beats to add even more variety. The beat truly is important – many newcomers to the hip hop music scene will get attached to songs they hear based on the “beat” the rapper has decided to use in a song. Even those that have been listening to rap music for a long time will still weight the beat of a song very heavy in determining the worth of a song. That means that for some people, the beat that a rapper chooses to use when making a new hip hop song determines whether or not it's a good song. A beat can make or break a song in other ways – if a rapper uses too many “old school” beats, they are bound to get criticized for it, and told to be more original. The key to making hip hop music work is to find a beat that truly makes the story both entertaining and original.

Origins of Hip Hop music?Origins of Hip Hop Music Hip hop music originated in the mid 70's. It became a

part of modern pop culture in the late 80s. Its stylistic and cultural origins are rooted in Jamaica, where it was apart of dance hall toasting alongside R&B, disco, and funk. Hip hop music then wasn't standalone, but blended into the dance scene with everything else. Culturally speaking, hip hop music started in the late 60s and early 70s in Kingston, Jamaica. In the early 70s, rap came to the United States, mainly in the South Bronx of New York City. At that time, rap music was primarily part of African American and Latino culture only. Hip hop culture is divided into segments – rapping, dancing, DJing, and art.

Hip hop culture started as an inner-city youth cultural movement, and it still has those roots today. The artists credited with bringing rap music to the masses are Kool Herc, DJ Hollywood, and Afrika Bambaataa. These were artists who were either first or second generation Caribbean-Americans. This reflects where rap music comes from – Jamaica. Kool Herc and DJ Hollywood are credited with introducing the unique Jamaican feel of rap music into the musical culture of the South Bronx. Kool Herc turned the turntable into a musical instrument, cutting and mixing songs with skill. Kool Herc threw parties so people that couldn't make rap music themselves could come and listen to him. Many recorded the music from these parties and spread them like wildfire through the community.

Who listens to Hip Hop Music?Hip Hop music is everywhere, many people from all walks of life listen to hip hop music. This may sound surprising, as a common view is that hip hop music is only for African Americans and Hispanic people. In the United States, it is thought that over 70% of rap music is bought by non-African Americans. Those that listen to rap music aren't even confined to American inner cities – many live in well-to-do suburbs and towns. Everyone from those living in Hawaii to those living in Iceland listen to rap music. Hip hop music is a popular form of music worldwide, and as time goes by, has only grown in popularity. Each region has made hip hop unique to their environment, but the fact remains that many people listen to hip hop music, not just a select few. Most rappers from one area will try to tour in other areas, to get people exposed to their music. For example, many American rappers often take tours in Europe and other regions, as their fans are all over the world. In other cases, it may be to try to get those fans in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and beyond exposed to what message they have to give.

Future of Hip Hop?Every year hip hop music gains more popularity. Television channels that used to never play too much hip hop, such as VH1 and MTV, have now adopted a far more urban style than some would like. Many artists who aren't in the hip hop genre still borrowing from it, including Justin Timber Lake and other pop artists. Gaining crossover success seems to be the new goal, with even hip hop artists taking from other genres to create unique songs for their fans. For example, Jay-Z and Linkin Park came together to make an album called Collision Course that was very popular.

It was a mixture of rock and rap music. While some of the claims that opponents of hip hop music cite could be valid, those arguments have not slowed down the waves of people going to see hip hop artists perform, or those that go to the music store near them to purchase their music, nor has it ceased the record number of hip hop music sites on the Internet. No matter what side of the argument you take, the impact of hip hop music on our society, even our world cannot be ignored. The very nature of hip hop music – the encouragement to artists to create, mix, and sample – is appealing to many people, especially young people looking for an identity within a group. From the United States to Japan, creative artists are sampling, mixing, and beat boxing their way into a genre that accepts all who have a story to tell.