Hip Hop Legacies of the 1980’s
Imagine its the year 1973, in the south of the Bronx in New York City, and your having fun at a house party. You hear turntables, which are a part of a record player which contains the platter that holds & spins your record while it plays. \
You hear this turntable, switching from record to record, and the Dj who goes by the name of DJ Kool Kerc, is playing a type of sound that you’ve never heard before. But little did you know, that you were witnessing & experiencing the humble beginnings of a brand new musical genre.
This genre being Hip Hop. Artists/ Dj’s such as DJ Kool Kerc, Grandmaster Flash, Dj Clue, Afrika Bambaataa , and many more paved the way for the artists were going to be speaking on today.
The Artists
One of the most influential time period of hip Hop was the 1980’s, the artists from this period created a legacy that will be continued for decades. Some of these artists were Dr Dre, N.W.A, Salt n Peppa, and Pulbic Enemy.
Dr. Dre & N.W.A
Andre Romelle Young, formally known as Dr. Dre unofficially started his career as a teenager in Compton California. He started Djing different parties and gigs. He then officially started his rapping career in the year 1985 with a group of the name World Class Wreckin’ Cru. But when the group disbanded He joined a rap group N.W.A
N.W.A – Stood for niggaz with attitudes, because in the 80/s Black people had transitioned into becoming proud of their black history, black skin, and reclaimed slurs that were/ still are used as derogatory terms. N.W.A is credited with establishing/ popularizing the Hip Hop genre , because of their members, and also the very eccentric, and vulgar Lyrics their songs possessed. The group’s members were Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, Jerry Heller, and Ice Cube. This new vulgar language used in music contained content such as sex, drugs, and living the new desired “Good Life.”
After the group ended in 1991, Dre Dre went onto have quite an amazing solo career. Releasing.a debut solo song with known other then Snoop Dogg Called “Deep Cover.” Then his first ever album was called “The
chronic”
Salt - N Pepa
Salt – N Pepa
was a hip hop trio formed in 1985 in New York. The group consisted of Salt or Cheryl James , Pepa – Sandra Denton, and DJ Spinderella (Deidra Roper). But the trio was first a two men show, Cheryl and Sandra. The women first met as freshman’s in Queensborough Community College. The group is called Salt and pepa becuase of their personalities being the complete opposite of one another, but thats why they got along so well. But then soon after they added Dj Spinderella to the group after meeting her. In the year 1986, The women got ther first deal, and signed to a label of the name Next plateau. There they released their first album. Hot, Cool and Vicious. One of their most famous hits was Push it! Salt n Peppa in fact were one of the first most popular female hip hop groups, and paved the way for female artists to have a voice in the music industry!
Public Enemy
Public enemy was another hip hop group formed in the original home of hip hop, New York City,
Long Island. The group was created by the artists such as Flavor Flov, and Chuck D. But the group all together was Chuck D Flavor Flav, DJ Lord, and Sammy Sam. What’s different about Public Enemy was their lyrics. This group provided the black community with something that other groups out threw weren’t suppling. This was loud, proud and very public social awareness. Their music ranged from topics about the ignorance and Blatant racism of white people to racial stereotypes. It wasn’t truly until the group released their album “It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back”, that they started to receive recognition. The group was praised not only for their sound, but their lyrical genius and flow. In 1989 Chuck D unfortunately received fire for un flattering remarks towards Elvis, and John Wayne for being racists. Also groups chief informant, claimed that Jews were the root of wickedness in the world. These occurrences had major repercussions and the group soon departed because of the negative feedback they were receiving. Although the end of the group wasn’t as pleasant at some, it doesn’t diminish the hip hop legacies they were!
SOURCES
https://www.kennedy-center.org/education/resources-for-educators/classroom-resources/media-and-interactives/media/hip-hop/hip-hop-a-culture-of-vision-and-voice/
https://www.biography.com/news/salt-n-pepa-story-origins
