With merchandise such as dolls, commercials for soft drinks and numerous television show appearances, Hammer began the trend of rap artists being accepted as mainstream pitchpeople for brands.
Hip hop culture has had extensive coverage in the media, especially in relation to television; there have been a number of television shows devoted to or about hip hop, including in Europe " H.
For many years, BET was the only television channel likely to play hip hop, but in recent years [ when? Hip hop magazines describe hip hop's culture, including information about rappers and MCs, new hip hop music, concerts, events, fashion and history. It contained the first rap music record chart. They knew the art form very well and noticed the need for a hip hop magazine.
DJs and rappers did not have a way to learn about rap music styles and labels. The periodical began as the first Rap record chart and tip sheet for DJs and was distributed through national record pools and record stores throughout the New York City Tri-State area.
One of the founding publishers, Charles Carroll noted, "Back then, all DJs came into New York City to buy their records but most of them did not know what was hot enough to spend money on, so we charted it.
Another popular hip hop magazine that arose in the s was Word Up magazine , an American magazine catering to the youth with an emphasis on hip hop. It featured articles on what is like to be a part of the hip hop community, promoted up-coming albums, bringing awareness to the projects that the artist was involved in, and also included posters of trending celebrities within the world of Hip Hop.
Word Up magazine was highly popular, it was even mentioned in the popular song by The Notorious B. G - Juicy "it was all a dream, use to read WordUp magazine". Word Up magazine was a part of pop culture. New York tourists from abroad took the publication back home with them to other countries to share it, creating worldwide interest in the culture and new art form.
The "Hip Hop Hit List" was also the first to define hip hop as a culture introducing the many aspects of the art form such as fashion, music, dance, the arts and most importantly the language.
Most interviews were written verbatim which included their innovative broken English style of writing. Some of the early charts were written in the graffiti format tag style but was made legible enough for the masses. The Carroll Brothers were also consultants to the many record companies who had no idea how to market hip hop music. Vincent Carroll, the magazine's creator-publisher, went on to become a huge source for marketing and promoting the culture of hip hop, starting Blow-Up Media, the first hip hop marketing firm with offices in NYC's Tribeca district.
At the age of 21, Vincent Carroll employed a staff of 15 and assisted in launching some of the culture's biggest and brightest stars the Fugees, Nelly, the Outzidaz, feat. Eminem and many more. The 21st century also ushered in the rise of online media, and hip hop fan sites now offer comprehensive hip hop coverage on a daily basis.
Clothing, hair and other styles have been a big part of hip hop's social and cultural impact since the s. Although the styles have changed over the decades, distinctive urban apparel and looks have been an important way for rappers, breakdancers and other hip hop community members to express themselves.
As the hip hop music genre's popularity increased, so did the effect of its fashion. While there were early items synonymous with hip hop that crossed over into the mainstream culture, like Run-DMC's affinity for Adidas or the Wu-Tang Clan's championing of Clarks' Wallabees , it wasn't until its commercial peak that hip hop fashion became influential.
Starting in the mid- to late s, hip hop culture embraced some major designers and established a new connection with classic fashion. Brands such as Ralph Lauren , Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger all tapped into hip hop culture and gave very little in return. Moving into the new millennium, hip hop fashion consisted of baggy shirts, jeans, and jerseys.
As names like Pharrell and Jay-Z started their own clothing lines and still others like Kanye West linked up with designers like Louis Vuitton , the clothes got tighter, more classically fashionable, and expensive. As hip hop has a seen a shift in the means by which its artists express their masculinity, from violence and intimidation to wealth-flaunting and entrepreneurship, it has also seen the emergence of rapper branding.
By the early s, major apparel companies "[had] realized the economic potential of tapping into hip hop culture Tommy Hilfiger was one of the first major fashion designer[s] who actively courted rappers as a way of promoting his street wear ".
Hip Hop artists are trend-setters and taste-makers. Their fans range from minority groups who can relate to their professed struggles to majority groups who cannot truly relate but like to "consume the fantasy of living a more masculine life". In exchange for giving artists free wardrobes, Hilfiger found its name mentioned in both rhyming verses of rap songs and their 'shout-out' lyrics, in which rap artists chant out thanks to friends and sponsors for their support.
Hilfiger's success convinced other large mainstream American fashion design companies, like Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein, to tailor lines to the lucrative market of hip hop artists and fans. Artists now use brands as a means of supplemental income to their music or are creating and expanding their own brands that become their primary source of income.
As Harry Elam explains, there has been a movement "from the incorporation and redefinition of existing trends to actually designing and marketing products as hip hop fashion". Hip hop music has spawned dozens of subgenres which incorporate hip hop music production approaches, such as sampling , creating beats, or rapping. The diversification process stems from the appropriation of hip hop culture by other ethnic groups. There are many varying social influences that affect hip hop's message in different nations.
In South Africa the largest form of hip hop is called Kwaito , which has had a growth similar to American hip hop. Kwaito is a direct reflection of a post apartheid South Africa and is a voice for the voiceless; a term that U. Kwaito is even perceived as a lifestyle, encompassing many aspects of life, including language and fashion.
Kwaito is a political and party-driven genre, as performers use the music to express their political views, and also to express their desire to have a good time. Kwaito is a music that came from a once hated and oppressed people, but it is now sweeping the nation. The main consumers of Kwaito are adolescents and half of the South African population is under Some of the large Kwaito artists have sold more than , albums, and in an industry where 25, albums sold is considered a gold record, those are impressive numbers.
In Jamaica , the sounds of hip hop are derived from American and Jamaican influences. Jamaican hip hop is defined both through dancehall and reggae music. Jamaican Kool Herc brought the sound systems, technology, and techniques of reggae music to New York during the s. Jamaican hip hop artists often rap in both Brooklyn and Jamaican accents.
Jamaican hip hop subject matter is often influenced by outside and internal forces. Outside forces such as the bling-bling era of today's modern hip hop and internal influences coming from the use of anti-colonialism and marijuana or "ganja" references which Rastafarians believe bring them closer to God. Author Wayne Marshall argues that "Hip hop, as with any number of African-American cultural forms before it, offers a range of compelling and contradictory significations to Jamaican artist and audiences.
From "modern blackness" to "foreign mind", transnational cosmopolitanism to militant pan-Africanism , radical remixology to outright mimicry, hip hop in Jamaica embodies the myriad ways that Jamaicans embrace, reject, and incorporate foreign yet familiar forms. In the developing world, hip hop has made a considerable impact in the social context. Despite the lack of resources, hip hop has made considerable inroads.
Hip hop has begun making inroads with more than black artists. There are number of other minority artists who are taking center stage as many first generation minority children come of age. One example is rapper Awkwafina, an Asian-American , who raps about being Asian as well as being female.
She, like many others, use rap to express her experiences as a minority not necessarily to "unite" minorities together but to tell her story. Many hip hop artists from the developing world come to the United States to seek opportunities. Maya Arulpragasm A. Jal is one of the few South Sudanese music artists to have broken through on an international level [] with his unique form of hip hop and a positive message in his lyrics.
Many K-Pop artists in South Korea have been influenced by hip hop and many South Korean artists perform hip hop music. In Seoul , South Korea, Koreans b-boy. Scholars argue that hip hop can have an empowering effect on youth. While there is misogyny, violence, and drug use in rap music videos and lyrics, hip hop also displays many positive themes of self-reliance, resilience, and self-esteem.
These messages can be inspiring for a youth living in poverty. A lot of rap songs contain references to strengthening the African American community promoting social causes. Social workers have used hip hop to build a relationship with at-risk youth and develop a deeper connection with the child.
The lyrics of hip hop have been used to learn about literary devices such as metaphor, imagery, irony, tone, theme, motif, plot, and point of view. Organizations and facilities are providing spaces and programs for communities to explore making and learning about hip hop. Many dance studios and colleges now offer lessons in hip hop alongside tap and ballet, as well as KRS-ONE teaching hip hop lectures at Harvard University.
One of the biggest artists of early hip-hop Eazy-E, a member of N. A had died of AIDS in Since the age of slavery, music has long been the language of African American identity. Because reading and writing were forbidden under the auspices of slavery, music became the only accessible form of communication. Hundreds of years later, in inner-city neighborhoods plagued by high illiteracy and dropout rates, music remains the most dependable medium of expression.
Hip Hop is thus to modern day as Negro Spirituals are to the plantations of the old South: the emergent music articulates the terrors of one's environment better than written, or spoken word, thereby forging an "unquestioned association of oppression with creativity [that] is endemic" to African American culture".
As a result, lyrics of rap songs have often been treated as "confessions" to a number of violent crimes in the United States. This demands being proud of being from disadvantaged cities neighborhoods that have traditionally been a source of shame, and glorifying them in lyrics and graffiti. This has potentially been one of the ways that hip hop has become regarded as a "local" rather than "foreign" genre of music in so many countries around the world in just a few decades.
Nevertheless, sampling and borrowing from a number of genres and places is also a part of the hip hop milieu, and an album like the surprise hit Kala by Anglo-Tamil rapper M.
According to scholar Joseph Schloss, the essentialist perspective of Hip Hop conspicuously obfuscates the role that individual style and pleasure plays in the development of the genre. Schloss notes that Hip Hop is forever fossilized as an inevitable cultural emergent, as if "none of hip-hop's innovators had been born, a different group of poor black youth from the Bronx would have developed hip-hop in exactly the same way". He thus concludes that Hip Hop was a result of choice, not fate, and that when individual contributions and artistic preferences are ignored, the genre's origin becomes overly attributed to collective cultural oppression.
Hip hop music artists and advocates have stated that hip hop has been an authentic true and "real" African-American artistic and cultural form since its emergence in inner-city Bronx neighborhoods in the s.
Some music critics, scholars and political commentators [ who? Advocates who claim hip hop is an authentic music genre state that it is an ongoing response to the violence and discrimination experienced by black people in the United States, from the slavery that existed into the 19th century, to the lynchings of the 20th century and the ongoing racial discrimination faced by blacks. These two dissenting understandings of hip hop's scope and influence frame debates that revolve around hip hop's possession of or lack of authenticity.
Weheliye notes, "Popular music, generally in the form of recordings, has and still continues to function as one of the main channels of communication between the different geographical and cultural points in the African diaspora , allowing artists to articulate and perform their diasporic citizenship to international audiences and establish conversations with other diasporic communities.
In "Phonographies", Weheyliye explains how new sound technologies used in hip hop encourage "diasporic citizenship" and African-American cultural and political activities. What Gilroy calls the "Black Atlantic" music's rituals and traditions are a more expansive way of thinking about African-American "blackness", a way that moves beyond contemporary debates around essentialist and anti-essentialist arguments.
As such, Gilroy states that music has been and remains a central staging ground for debates over the work, responsibility, and future role of black cultural and artistic production. Old-school hip hop performer DJ Kool Herc , along with traditional hip hop artists Afrika Bambaataa and Grandmaster Caz , originally held views against mainstream rap. Regardless of such, b-boys and b-girls still exist to showing lack of support to jams and events that they feel represent the culture as a sport, form of entertainment and as well through capitalism.
In , hip hop and rap pioneer Chuck D , from the group Public Enemy criticized young hip hop artists from the s, stating that they have taken a music genre with extensive roots in underground music and turned it into commercialized pop music. Critics have also stated that hip hop music promotes drug use and violence.
Hip hop has been criticized by rock-centric critics who state that hip hop is not a true art form and who state that rock and roll music is more authentic. These critics are advocating a viewpoint called " rockism " which favors music written and performed by the individual artist as seen in some famous singer-songwriter -led rock bands and is against s decade -era hip hop, which these critics argue give too large a role to record producers and digital sound recording.
Hip hop is seen as being too violent and explicit, in comparison with rock. Some contend that the criticisms have racial overtones, as these critics deny that hip hop is an art form and praising rock genres that prominently feature white males. The hip hop music genre and its subculture has been criticized for its gender bias and its negative impacts on women in African-American culture.
Dre have, primarily in the 90's, rapped lyrics that portray women as sex toys and inferior to or otherwise dependent upon men. Hip hop music frequently promotes masculine hegemony and it depicts women as individuals who must rely on men. There is a high frequency of songs with lyrics that are demeaning, or depict sexual violence or sexual assault towards women.
The misrepresentation of women, primarily woman of color, as objects rather than other human beings and the presence of male dominance in hip hop extends back to the birth of the genre. However, many female artists have also emerged in shedding light on both their personal issues and the misrepresentations of women in hip-hip and culture.
Despite the success of them and others, female rappers remain proportionally few in the mainstream industry. Very few female artists have been recognized in hip hop, and the most popular, successful and influential artists, record producers and music executives are males. Women who are in rap groups, such as Lauryn Hill of the Fugees , tend to have less advantages and opportunities than male artists. Only one female artist has won Best Rap album of the year at the Grammy Awards since the category was added in Latinas, especially Cuban, Dominican and Puerto Rican women, are degraded and fetishized in hip hop.
White women and Asian women are also fetishized in hip hop but not as much as Latinas, who are referred to as "Spanish". Latinas, especially Puerto Rican models and Dominican models, are often portrayed as an object of sexual desire in hip hop videos. As well, the hip hop music community has been criticized with accusations of homophobia and transphobia.
Until the s, hip hop music has excluded the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender LGBT community. This has perpetuated a culture in hip hop that is prejudiced towards queer and trans people, making it a tough culture for queer artists to participate in.
One of the more notable members of the LGBT community in hip hop is Frank Ocean , who came out in and has released critically acclaimed albums and won two Grammy Awards. Having its roots in reggae , disco , funk and soul music , hip hop has since expanded worldwide. Its expansion includes events like Afrika Bambaataa's releasing of Planet Rock , which tried to establish a more global harmony.
In the s, the British Slick Rick became the first international hit hip hop artist not native to America. From Yo! Hip hop has been cut, mixed and adapted as it the music spreads to new areas. Early hip hop [ by whom? However, with the emergence of commercial and crime-related gangsta rap during the early s, violence, drugs, weapons, and misogyny , were key themes. Socially and politically conscious hip hop has long been disregarded by mainstream America in favor of its media-baiting sibling, gangsta rap.
Black female artists such as Queen Latifah , Missy Elliott , and MC Lyte have made great strides since the hip hop industry first began.
By producing music and an image that did not cater to the hyper-sexualized stereotypes of black women in hip hop, these women pioneered a revitalized and empowering image of black women in hip hop. These artists seek to expand ways of traditional thinking through different ways of cultural expression. In this effort they hope to elicit a response to female hip hop artists not with a misogynist lens but with one that validates women's struggle.
Many have written about these intersections of hip-hop and feminism. In her article, Shange discusses the inability to categorize Nicki Minaj's music as either specifically hetero or homosexual. She says that Nicki uses a sort of strategic queerness that uses her sex appeal both ways to attract her audience. Shange writes how even when looking at Nicki's music and persona from a homonormative lens, she defies categorization. She goes on to describe how Minaj "is a rapper whose critical, strategic performance of queer femininity is inextricable linked to the production and reception of their rhymes.
In addition, there is a vibrant scene outside the mainstream that provides an opportunity for women and their music to flourish. Queen Latifah used her award-winning song "U. However, many contemporary females in hip hop do not embody this mindset and counteract it. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Subculture including music, dance and graffiti. This article is about the culture in general. For the music genre, see Hip hop music. For other uses, see Hip hop disambiguation. This article or section possibly contains synthesis of material which does not verifiably mention or relate to the main topic.
Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. March Learn how and when to remove this template message. Main article: Turntablism. Main article: Rapping. Main article: Breakdancing.
Main article: Beatboxing. Main article: Hip hop production. Many black rappers--including Ice-T and Sister Souljah--contend that they are being unfairly singled out because their music reflects deep changes in society not being addressed anywhere else in the public forum.
The white politicians, the artists complain, neither understand the music nor desire to hear what's going on in the devastated communities that gave birth to the art form. This section may need to be rewritten to comply with Wikipedia's quality standards.
You can help. The discussion page may contain suggestions. December Main article: List of hip hop genres. Main article: Misogyny in rap music. This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
February Learn how and when to remove this template message. Main article: Latina stereotypes in hip hop. Main article: Homophobia in hip hop culture. This section possibly contains original research.
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United States portal. Queerty Inc. Archived from the original on December 11, Retrieved December 9, Born in the Bronx. He has not signed with a major label or even released a full-length album, but his fan base is rabid, growing through Facebook, YouTube videos and sales of singles on iTunes. Or I do. I want to see parallels in his career and mine. Last year, I left my job to become a contract copywriter, to give me the freedom to pick up freelance magazine work.
I put up a web site, and watched it grow from page views a month to 50, Work began to come in. After years of writing e-mails to national magazines and hearing nothing back, I got a few feature stories printed. Big checks. I was finding my voice. I wrote a book-length manuscript, hoping not for a big publisher to take it on in a one-in-a-million shot, but for someone to merely print it so I could sell it, grassroots-style, like Macklemore.
I think about two-plus decades of listening to this urban, black music, and not knowing how to feel about it. These black men from New York, from Brooklyn and Queens — and now white men from Seattle— had always talked about writing rhymes.
Their songs contained far more words than traditional songs with sung lyrics. I loved the words in hip hop, and the DIY ethic, and the guys coming up from having nothing and making a living making art. Brendan, your writing really hits home. I am 36 and grew up and still live in Iowa. I love old school hip hop and punk and still get psyched to hear something new.
I got into it late was busy with REM at the time, and no excuses there but will never give it up. Thanks for all the memories I just got to relive. I listened to so much hip hop back in the day and still do …. Trust me, everything becomes elevator music over time. Took me back to my days of smoking weed in the woods. Tags from the story.
You may also like. And yeah: Chuck D could out-spit almost anyone. This distinct trait is evident in everything from the beautiful graffiti plastered on the most dank, gritty canvases, to the creation of the music itself. Sampling has been a significant aspect of hip hop extending from its early beginnings in the Bronx. Is it unoriginal or a testament to the genres creativity and ingenuity?
Once I discovered the role of the producer, I instantly became a beat head. Pete Rock, J. These are just a few examples of some of the sample based masterpieces that have guided me on my musical journey. A filter here, a 4-bar sample chop here, a sampled trumpet stab there and you could be on your way to a classic. This allows another element of creativity that extends beyond genre. Each of these eclectic combos can be put together beautifully and still remain within the genre that is hip hop.
Fans may stumble upon new music through searching for the original track that may have been sampled in a song. On the opposing end of the spectrum is the need and love for money. This brings to light the classic conflict of artistry vs business, and just how to attain the perfect balance to walk this thin line.
Should creativeness be constrained by the power of the almighty dollar or should the legalities be sacrificed to promote creativity and preserve the essence of the genre? This is a concept that is very fleeting. Drake's empowering female anthem was released with a stunning music video starring some of the biggest women in entertainment but did you recognise the mesmerising sample throughout?
Drake's colossal single caused some controversy in the Hip Hip world for its similarity to DRAM's 'Cha Cha' but few people will recognise the actual sample used throughout. Drizzy actually sampled a 70's soul anthem by singer Timmy Thomas. The catchy melody and bassline on 'Hotline Bling' is all a sample!
Rihanna - 'Famous'. Kanye West reignited his long-running feud with Taylor Swift in his controversial song 'Famous' but did you notice the Reggae sample weaved in-between the lyrics? Drake - 'Work'. Rihanna and Drake's catchy anthem is one of the biggest tracks of but the sample may be less familiar. The infectious bassline that runs throughout 'Work' is a sample taken from track 'Sail Away'.
But the song's refrain: "Could we get much higher?
Jan 08, · UMG (on behalf of Cash Money Records/Young Money Ent./Universal Rec.); Global Music Rights LLC, LatinAutor - PeerMusic, SOLAR Music Rights Management, EMI Music Publishing, Warner Chappell, PEDL.