Hip-Hop as a Product of Post Civil Rights Era America - Article Example

Professor Name Institution, course number Date Hip-Hop “Listening to art music is an art itself, and good listening is an active, creative experience. The listener must possess a fair measure of knowledge and experience in order for the cycle of creation, interpretation (performance), and appreciation of art music to be successfully completed” (Jean Ferris, 1985). Music is an integral part of people’s life, it touches their hearts and opens their souls. The life of ordinary people has been changing during the centuries, which predetermined the development of different music styles. The aim of this work is to make a revision of the most popular genre of music of 1990s, Hip hop, and to analyze the stages of its development. History of genre The history of music is very long, and it is impossible to cover all the stages of its development in one essay. Donald Jay Grout wrote: “The history of music is primarily the history of musical style, and cannot be grasped except by first-hand knowledge of the music itself” (1937). In this abstract we will talk about the hip hop style and its origin. “Hip-Hop is a product of post-civil rights era America, a set of cultural forms, originally natured by African-American, Caribbean-American, and Latin-American youth in and around New York in the 70s. Its most popular vehicle for expression has been music, though, dance, painting, fashion, video, crime and commerce are also its playing fields” (Nelson George, 1998). It is a musical genre or form, which comprises the combination of four different styles and is represented by different forms of music, from "light" genres such as pop and rap, to aggressive ones - hardcore rap and so forth. The content of the songs varies from the memories of the "good old days" to the raise of the social issues. The formation of hip-hop was influenced by other genres: rhythm and blues, soul, jazz, rock music, reggae and so forth. The subculture of this style of music appeared in 1974 in African-American and Latino neighborhoods of the Bronx. Hip-hop was developed in the streets of New York as a combination of four elements - MC, DJ, break dance and graffiti. However, these genres did not develop separately. At Jamaican parties, the deejays combined MC and Rap styles. Firstly, this method of creating tracks was used by Kool Herc. In 1970, the producer Sylvia Robinson created the label, called “The Sugar Hill” and numerous DJs began to work with it, developing a new style of music - a combination of scratching and recitative. The emergence of the "hip-hop" genre is dated from 1979. The basis of hip-hop was recitative imposed on funk or disco. This style was used by Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaataa and other artists. The time between the 1986 and 1993 is called "the golden era of hip-hop". The main themes used in the works of the artists were: Afrocentrism, political activism, and so forth. The "golden era of hip-hop," brought many innovations in this musical genre. The musicians often used samples with jazz or rock. The combination of texts aggressiveness and commercially oriented tracks took the majour place in the world mainstream. The end of “the golden era” is referred to the period of 1992-1993. It was the time of the development of the West Coast music, which created the competition between the rappers in New York and Los Angeles. The period of 1993-1994 is viewed as the "Second Golden Age", which was the time of high-quality albums. During this period, there were several new subgenres of hip-hop, the most important of which was the gee-funk (which arose from western rappers experiments with funk and synthesizer). A few albums of the "Second Golden Age", (which nowadays are recognized as the "classics of the genre") were released. These include Illmatic (Nas), Doggystyle (Snoop Dogg), Midnight Marauders (A Tribe Called Quest) and so forth. This time is also characterized by the complete domination of Western hip-hop scene on the East, which caused deep divisions between artists of both coasts and led to the conflict of the largest labels - Death Row Records and Bad Boy Records, which culminated in the murder of two leading artists of both coasts - Tupac and Biggie. Hip-hop musicians During the 1990s or “the Second Golden Era”, hip hop applied a lot of artists, who gained a great popularity among people. They were: “Public Enemy” – an American hip hop group, from Long Island, was famous for its songs with political context, the critics of mass media and the great interest in African-American Community. “A tribe called Quest” - an American hip hop group, formed in 1985 and famous for the combination of hip hop and jazz in its compositions. “Jungle Brothers” - an American group, formed in 1980s and famous for its lyrics. No doubts that there were hundreds of famous groups, but in this work, the most popular ones are described. Snoop Dogg Snoop Dogg is an American rapper, hip-hopper, producer and actor. Snoop Dogg began his career in 1992 after the meeting with the rapper and producer Dr. Dre. Snoop was the best known MC on the hip-hop scene of the West coast and one of the most talented protégé of Dr. Dre. His mother called him Snoopy for the expression in his eyes, and when he began recording, he used a new name Snoop Doggy Dogg after the famous cartoon character. The carrier of this singer during the 1990s was only at the beginning of its development. From 1989-1991 Snoop spent time in prison. His inmates paid him 20 dollars for the rap about them. In 1993 appeared his debut album “Doggystyle”. The title track of the album “Gin & Juice” was created as an ordinary single, but eventually turned into a classic hip-hop. In July 1995 Snoop established a recording studio “Doggy Style Records”. In November 1996 appeared his second album “The Doggfather”, which was dedicated to the memory of Tupac Shakur. The most famous singles of Snoop Dogg during the 1990s were: “Jin and Juice”, “None of the above/other”, “What’s my name”, “Down for my Nyggaz” and so forth. The most famous songs of 1990s Montell Jordan. “This Is How We Do It” – is a debit song of Montell Jordan, appeared in 1995. DMX. “Ruff Ryders’ Anthem” – is the great representation of the American hip hop, appeared in 1998. MC Hammer. “U Can’t touch this” – is the song, created in 1989, based on the popular song “Super Freak” written by Rick James. Nas. “N.Y. State of mind” was created in 1994. The song was the most popular composition of the singer and had several different versions in the albums. Eminem. “My name is”. The song came in 1999 and took the second place in the UK Singles Chart. Snoop Dogg. “What’s my name?” - appeared in 1993 in the album “Doggystyle”. Music Instruments of 1990s In 1990s the attention of the musicians was concentrated on the electronic music instruments. The electronic effect was used for different styles from hip-hop to rock, rap and so forth. The integral music instruments of the groups of 1990s were: a drum, a synthesizer, a keyboard and a guitar. The analysis of the song of MC Hammer “U can’t touch this” Lyrics: You cant touch this (4 times) My, my, my music hits me so hard Makes me say "Oh, my Lord" Thank you for blessing me With a mind to rhyme and two hype feet It feels good, when you know youre down A super dope homeboy from the Oak town And Im known as such And this is a beat, uh, you cant touch I told you, homeboy (You cant touch this) Yeah, thats how we living and you know (You cant touch this) Look at my eyes, man (You cant touch this) Yo, let me bust the funky lyrics (You cant touch this) Fresh new kicks, advance You gotta like that, now, you know you wanna dance So move, outta your seat And get a fly girl and catch this beat While its rolling, hold on Pump a little bit and let em know its going on Like that, like that Cold on a mission so fall them back Let em know, that youre too much And this is a beat, uh, they cant touch Yo, I told you (You cant touch this) Why you standing there, man? (You cant touch this) Yo, sound the bell, school is in, sucker (You cant touch this) Give me a song or rhythm Making em sweat, thats what Im giving em Now, they know You talking about the Hammer, you talking about a show Thats hype and tight Singers are sweating so pass them a wipe Or a tape, to learn Whats it gonna take in the nineties to burn The charts? Legit If you work hard well you might as well quit Thats word because you know You cant touch this, you cant touch this Break it down Stop, Hammer time Go with the funk, it is said If you cant groove to this Then you probably are dead So wave your hands in the air Bust a few moves Run your fingers through your hair This is it, for a winner Dance to this and youre gonna get thinner Move, slide your rump Just for a minute lets all do the bump, bump, bump Yeah (You cant touch this) Look, man (You cant touch this) You better get hype, boy Because you know you cant (You cant touch this) Ring the bell, schools back in Break it down Stop, Hammer time You cant touch this (3 times) Break it down Stop, Hammer time Every time you see me The Hammers just so hype Im dope on the floor and Im magic on the mic Now why would I ever stop doing this? With others making records that just dont hit Ive toured around the world, from London to Dubai Its "Hammer, go Hammer, MC Hammer, yo, Hammer" And the rest can go and play You cant touch this (3 times) Yeah, you cant touch this I told you, you cant touch this Too hype, cant touch this Get way outta here, you cant touch this The song “U can’t touch this” by MC Hammer was written and sang in the humorous way. The author of the song starts his story with the statement that his music is the best. MC Hammer applies rhyme, rhyme and meter in order to make the words of the song livelier. The song consists of the background vocal and instrumental riff of 1981. The main instruments used in the song are: drums and a keyboard. The tempo of the song is allegro. The song is very dynamic and energetic. The emotional content of the song is revealed through the explanation of the author, the reasons, which make his music the best. Concluding this article, it is important to mention that the hip hop style of 1990s had a great contribution to the musical culture of the world. Hip hop is not only the musical style, but a reflection of the way of life of its singers and listeners. Works Cited Nelson George. Hip Hop America. England: Viking, 1998. Print. Jared Green. Rap and Hip Hop. Examining pop culture. The USA: Greenhaven Press, 2003. Print. Donald Jay Grout. A History of Western Music. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. INC., 1973. Print. Jean Ferris. Music. The art of listening. Iowa: Wm. C. Brown Publishers Dubuque, 1985. Print Read More