HIP HOP GENERATION

Erica EnssSamantha Johnson

A brief history…

• The hip hop phenomenon began in the late 60’s• The hip hop generation is known as those who

were born between 1965 and 1984• Hip hop is divided into two eras, the old school

era (1970-1985) and the golden age era (1985-1993)

• Hip hop was first introduced at Bronx in New York by a DJ who went by the name of “Kool Herc”

A brief history… cont’d

Afrika Bambaataa was the first person to coin the phrase “hip hop”

Here is a youtube video that gives another look at some hip hop history:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8IO2KHjXZg

WHAT IS HIP HOP MUSIC?

A form of popular music that originated among inner-city African-American youths in the early 1970s, drawing on rap, funk, street sounds, and fragments of melody and rhythm borrowed from previously recorded sources

Hip Hop Generation

• America is more multicultural than ever• Afrika Bambaataa, Grandmaster Flash, Melle Mels,

Kool DJ Herc, journalists like Nelson George, and hip hop moguls like Russell Simmons were all part of the “Bridge Generation”

• From the 1920’s to the 1960’s, black youths were likely to derive values and identity from family, church, and school– Today, the major influences are media and

entertainment

• Four elements of hip-hop:– Graffiti– Breakdancing– Dj-ing– Rap music

• Commercialization of rap expanded the definition of hip hop culture to include:– Verbal language– Body language– Attitude– Style– Fashion

• Much of the hip hop generation’s identity has been shaped by the major sociopolitical forces of their formative years

• Today black youth are turning to rap music, music videos, designer clothes, popular black films, and television programs

• Rap music more than anything else has helped shape the new black youth culture

Hip Hop Generation: Influences on the New Black Youth Culture

• By 1998, rap was the top-selling music format!• Mainstreaming of rap gave black youth more

visibility and a broader platform• Growth of the black middle class occurred at

the end of the 1990’s and black poverty rates began to decline

• This generation was the first to grow up outside the confines of legal segregation

• During Reagan’s “War on Drugs,” there was controversy regarding the difference in sentencing for crack cocaine and powder cocaine

• Under Clinton’s administration, the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act sanctioned the death penalty for crimes commonly associated with inner-city blacks and latinos.

• Chicago lawmakers enacted an “anti-gang loitering” ordinance

• Representation of blacks in the media was distorted

• Yet, there were also more black athletes and entertainers on tv

• Crimes committed by young blacks were given more coverage than crimes committed by young whites

• The growth of street gangs grew out of the 80s and 90s

• Three major issues among black youth that grew out of the 1980s and 1990s:– Homicide– Suicide– AIDS

Today there is a divide between the hip hop generation and the civil rights generation

Breakdancing

James Brown was the start of it all, with his dance called the “Good Foot” in 1969

The Good Foot became known as B-Boy, and then B-Boy became known as breakdancing.

It looked a little something like this…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dJ76l_Xtis

Our Playlist’s Featured Artists70’s, 80’s, 90’s, and 2000’s Hip Hop

• Sugar Hill Gang• Run DMC• MC Lyte• Salt N Pepa• UTFO• Kurtis Blow• Afrika Bambaataa• Grandmaster Flash• Public Enemy• Dr. Dre

• Positive K• Naughty By Nature• Notorious B.I.G.• Outkast• Nelly• 50 Cent• Ludacris• Nappy Roots• Snoop Dogg• Kanye West