History of the genre Hip - Hop

By Bartek Wielblad

Word cloud of Hip - Hop

Old school hip-hop (1970’s - 1980’s)Old school hip hop was not so big back in the 1970’s however in 1979 a hip hop single was released by a rapper that went by the name Sugarhill Gang and the single was called ‘Rapper’s Delight’. This single reached top ten worldwide. After this success for the hip hop genre there were other very successful tracks such as Kurtis Blows song called The Breaks and also Afrika Bambaataa’s song called ‘Planet Rock’.However in 1982 there was a song released by the Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five and it was called ‘The Message’. This song changed hip hop as it was no longer fast paced and all about fun it was slow paced and focused mainly on the social problems that there was back in the 80’s such as poverty and crime.In 1980’s which was also known as the golden age there was more artists that created new things for the genre of hip hop for example a rapper called LL Cool J started to create new catchy melodies which he introduced into his music and it came out to be good for the genre.

Hip-hop from 1990’s to present The 90’s had a lot of successful styles of hip hop such as hardcore rap of New York and gangsta rap of Los Angeles.The hardcore rap was introduced by a clan called Wu-Tang Clan. They rapped about the gangster life over a hip hop beat. In 1994 a rapper called Nas released his first ever album called Illmatic. This album was known for the mid tempo beats and poetic rapping. This album done so well that it is one of the greatest albums of hip hop ever.There are many other rappers which have previously released hardcore rap music and these are Jay-Z, The Notorious B.I.G. , and 50 Cent. In the 21st Century hip hop has become a very large genre of music as many underdogs from different countries and local towns have started to write hip hop music and produce it. These people were influenced by the big worldwide artists. In the 21st Century hip hop singles and even albums have started to become top of the charts on a global scale. There has been local hip hop scenes which have developed many successful artist such as Dizzee Rascal (UK) and Drake (Canada). Not only it was men that started to be successful with this genre but also big successful artists such as Nicki Minaj or Lauren Hill also had some very successful songs and albums.

Artists who are significant within the hip hop genre

The Sugarhill Gang:The Sugarhill Gang is a hip hop group which originated in America and their first release was a very successful single called Rapper’s Delight which hit the top ten charts worldwide.This single and the group in general then inspired many other artists to produce hip hop music.

Grandmaster Flash:The Grandmaster Flash (Joseph Saddler) is a American DJ which specialises in hip hop music and. The grandmaster flash has studied various techniques which were used by previous DJ’s to find out three innovations which are now known as the Quick-mix theory, Clock theory and Scratching.

DJ Kool herc:DJ Kool herc (Clive Campbell) was known for originating the genre hip hop in new york. He isolated the instrument sections of hard funk music records.The beating pattern was then easily heard as it was rhythmical.

Music videos considered to be the ideals of a hip hop genre music video

Music videos considered to be the ideals of a hip hop genre music video -

Hip hop’s music videos usually show of the wealthiness and power. Some of the music videos use props such as very expensive clothing and brands and also expensive new technology such as newest smartphones and other new technologies. These props are used to show that the rapper has all of the money he wants to buy anything he wants. Also the power is shown in music videos by the different camera shots for example low camera shot which is looking up at the artist usually shows that he has the power as you are looking up to him.Some examples of music videos that show of this power and wealthiness are:

50 Cent - Candy Shop (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRcnnId15BA)

Kendrick Lamar - Money Trees (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtxmnBQmfZs)

Conclusion

This research has helped me chose what genre to pick for my music video. I went with the Hip Hop genre as that is the most interesting genre to me therefore i was more into doing a music video under the Hip Hop genre instead of something else. This research has developed my knowledge about the Hip Hop genre and how it use to be and how it is currently. This has helped me to chose wisely what to include in my music video and what not to include.