Martin Stallworth

Listen to the Music

5/1/15
The Evolution of Hip-Hop
As I stated at the beginning of the semester, my favorite genre of
music is hip-hop. It is the music that I grew up with in my household and it
still resonates with me to this day. The lyrics are the most complex and
relatable, in my opinion, and the instrumentation is unrivaled in todays
music. Currently, hip-hop is the most popular genre of music; however, it has
not always been that way since its inception. Hip-Hop started out as a
movement that was only known in the black community, but it has evolved
to the point to where almost anyone can listen to and perform it.
It is often said that hip-hop was born in the year 1979. The first song
that really made the genre popular was The Sugar Hill Gangs Rappers
Delight. This song along with most of the early hip-hop music was heavily
inspired by the disco and funk movements. Dr. Renford Reese stated that,
This genre began in the`70s with funky beats resonating at house parties,
at basement parties, and the streets of New York (Reese 2000). This goes to
show how esoteric hip-hop music was in the beginning. Not many people
knew about this new genre at all except young, black men in poor New York
City neighborhoods. The music was just a new sound to dance to back then,
but as the genre went into the 1980s it further evolved.

Starting in the 1980s hip-hop began to be recognized in more regions

of the country and spread to new listeners outside of the New York region. At
this time the art of being a DJ and/ or a break dancer heavily influenced rap
music. This next step moved hip-hop away from its funk roots and a process
known as scratching became popular. In Henry A. Rhodes description of
scratching he said that, Scratching involves the DJ spinning a record
backwards and forward very fast while the needle is in the groove (Rhodes
1991). He also described a beat box which, was a machine that produced an
electronic beat. With this new sound members of the black community
created a new dance style called break dancing to accompany the music. It
involved a lot of complex movement that included things like spinning on
ones own head and what is now known as the moonwalk which was made
popular by Michael Jackson. Many of Michael Jacksons movements which
became popular in the mainstream actually originated from this new hip-hop
culture (Rhodes 1991). All of these new additions arose from the need for
artists and audiences to express themselves. Along with this new dance
movement and the beats, the lyrics in hip-hop music also evolved.
During the 1980s the lyrics in hip-hop music changed to become more
militant and carried more of a meaning. Run DMC, the first rap act to really
break into the mainstream, featured more aggressive lyrics in their music.
Their delivery of the lyrics, or flow, was also more aggressive than in the
original rap music. At this time rap started to spread outside of the black
community and started to gain more national attention. With this increased

national attention came controversy. The aggressive nature of hip-hop music

was criticized by older generations. In a detailed article, Lucien Flores
informed us that, Early rappers voiced their frustrations of a society in
which urban blacks were oppressed, powerless, vulnerable, and
underrepresented (Flores 2012). She went on to say, The first rappers
criticized institutions such as the police, the government, and media, as well
as the discrimination faced by blacks; the themes in these songs clearly
representative of the plight of blacks (Flores 2012). When music starts to
mix into politics controversy usually follows and this was no different from
the early rap music. A prime example is Public Enemys Fight the Power.
This song faced much scrutiny because of its accusations of continued
racism and inequality in the United States. This type of music was seen as
inspirational and sparked strong feelings in its target audience while
alienating most of the country.
The genre really became successful when it was able to transition into
suburban, white neighborhoods. This transition was kick-started by the show
Yo! MTV Raps which began in 1989. By airing music videos on MTV, hip-hop
artists were able to gain visibility and expand the genres audience base to
an ever-growing white market (Flores 2012). These music videos gave this
new audience their first view of life in inner-city black neighborhoods. The
lyrics in rap music further changed to reflect most of these artists lives
growing up in these violent, inner-city neighborhoods. The group that really
pushed this idea to the forefront was N.W.A. who also opened up the hip-hop

market for California. They were the first artists to verbally illustrate violence
to their audience. They were also one of the first artists to use explicit words
in their music which further angered older generations. At this time hip-hop
was still seen as a fad which was a means for their children to rebel. They did
not look at it as a legitimate art form in the vein of rock or classical music.
The artists were labeled as thugs by the media and parental advisory
stickers were soon placed on their albums. This moved rap into the 1990s
where a subgenre dubbed gangster rap was the most popular.
The 1990s ushered in a new era in hip-hop where controversy and
aggression was the norm in the music. Hip-Hop music in the 1990s is widely
known for its unapologetic use of lyrics that were sexually explicit, violent,
and for the popularity of the use of the n-word. However, 1990s hip-hop is
also known for its increase in the complexity of rhyme schemes and
instrumentation. There was also a large schism that took place in the rap
community at this time. There was a separation between the styles of New
York and Los Angeles rap music which were the centers of rap at this time.
New York, or East Coast, hip-hop favored the use of dense, complex lyrics
that still talked about life in urban neighborhoods. Their beats took an
approach called sampling. Sampling is the process of extracting recorded
sound and reusing those sounds in a new recorded sound product (Sewell
2013). For example, New York rapper Nas sampled Michael Jacksons Human
Nature in his song It Aint Hard to Tell. This style of rhyme and production
was popularized in the mainstream by The Notorious B.I.G. with his 1994

album Ready to Die. Meanwhile Los Angeles, or the West Coast, favored
production that lead by synthesizer and bass that was known as G-Funk. The
lyrics typically either addressed a party lifestyle or a gangster lifestyle that
advocated violence. This was the more popular style during the 1990s. This
style of music caused controversy in the media because the lyrics were seen
as too violent and sometimes derogatory towards women. This controversial
music was spearheaded by Tupac Shakur. While a good portion of his music
was seen as political and moving, some of it was violent and disrespected
women. He was a controversial figure in many ways and even served a jail
sentence. He heavily promoted the thug life which caused much
controversy even though his music was widely popular. The difference in
styles eventually caused a large rift between the two contrasting audiences.
This especially became evident when tension grew between Tupac Shakur
and the Notorious B.I.G. Fans believed they were forced to choose sides and
concerts often resulted in violence. The ongoing violence between the two
respective coasts eventually led to the murders of both of the
aforementioned artists in the late 1990s. Even though it still caused a
massive amount of controversy in the media, this period of time proved that
hip-hop music had staying power. This era is often regarded as the classic
era in hip hop because many landmark albums were released in the 1990s.
Nas Illmatic is often regarded as the best hip-hop album of all time.
Hip-Hop finally reached its peak when it was proven that a white artist
could become successful in the genre. One of the most successful hip-hop

artists of all time is Eminem. However, he is not a stranger to controversy

himself. His lyrics usually entailed graphic depictions of violence and drug
use. Despite this, he still became massively popular to the point where his
2000 album Marshall Mathers LP became the fastest selling rap album of
all time with 1.76 million copies sold in its first week. His presence made hiphop even more accessible to middle-class white audiences which has led to
hip-hop becoming more diverse in todays era.
The current era of hip-hop is the most diverse it has ever been. While
the 1990s were dominated by Gangster Rap, Chicagos Kanye West was
able to break new ground and make creative, socially-conscious rap
mainstream with his 2004 album The College Dropout. On top of that,
southern rap became the most popular form in the 2000s because of its
emphasis on catchy melodies and simplistic lyrics. Singing began to become
more prominent in hip-hop music especially with the arrival of Drake in 2009
with his popular debut So Far Gone. He also displays sensitivity that has
not been addressed in hip-hop especially when dealing with topics of love
and women. This has made him one of the most relatable voices to the new
generation of youth who are not as interested in aggressive lyrics that were a
staple of the 1990s.
The genre of hip-hop has evolved greatly over the course of its over 35
year history. It began as disco-inspired music that did not have much lyrical
depth but only served as music to be played in party settings. In the 1980s,
the lyrical content changed to become more political in its message with a

sound that was more booming in nature. The artists of this era acted more
like the voices of the voiceless and took their position seriously. In the 1990s,
there was a rift created between artists who wanted to share stories of their
environment to those that could relate and those who advocated the fast-life.
These differing messages led to violence between the opposing factions and
their respective audiences as artists were now seen as leaders and
influences on societys youth. In the 2000s, the music became even more
varied with the emergence of music from the Midwest and Southern regions
of the United States. Currently, hip-hop music is accepted as an art form
worldwide that anyone of any background can participate in. An artist no
longer has to be from the same environment as their target audience to gain
popularity. The United States has fully embraced hip-hop culture with modern
popular music taking influence from hip-hop. There are so many styles of hiphop that it would be almost impossible to find a variation that did not fit your
tastes. Individuals who are more interested in socially conscious lyrics or
someone that can be the voice of the oppressed can listen to artists like J.
Cole or Kendrick Lamar. Others who are more interested in simple music that
is enjoyable can listen to artists like Drake. The evolution of hip-hop is similar
to that of classical music in the idea that each new era is a response to the
previous one and each new era expands on the previous one. The socially
conscious music is reminiscent of the Romantic era where artists are trying
to draw strong emotions from their listeners. Meanwhile, the simpler more
enjoyable form is reminiscent of the classical era where the artists only goal

was to keep the audience happy and entertained. Audiences at concerts

even act similarly to how they did in the classical era. Concerts are seen as
social events just like how they were seen in that era. Even though they are
different stylistically, all forms are music are the same at the core and they
all should be recognized as art. There is still more progress to be made, but
hip-hop has made waves and is beginning to get the recognition it deserves.

References

Reese, Renford. "FROM THE FRINGE: THE HIP HOP CULTURE AND ETHNIC
RELATIONS." Dr. Renford R. Reese's Homepage. Renford Reese Ph.D, 2000.
Web. 01 May 2015. https://www.cpp.edu/~rrreese/HIPHOP.HTML
Flores, Lucien J. "Hip-Hop Is for Everybody: Examining the Roots and Growth
of Hip-Hop." www.studentpulse.com. Student Pulse, 2012. Web. 1 May 2015.
http://www.studentpulse.com/articles/639/2/hip-hop-is-for-everybodyexamining-the-roots-and-growth-of-hip-hop.
Rhodes, Henry A. "The Evolution of Rap Music in the United States."
www.yale.edu. Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute, 2015. Web. 01 May 2015.
http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1993/4/93.04.04.x.html
Sewell, Amanda. "A Typology of Sampling in Hip-Hop." Academia.edu. Indiana
University, May 2013. Web. 01 May 2015.
http://www.academia.edu/3492661/A_Typology_of_Sampling_in_Hip-Hop