70S HIP HOP: LET'S TAKE IT WAY BACK!

What is Hip Hop?
It is a style of music best known for rap and its rhythmic beats. It was developed by a black American but also Puerto Ricans and Jamaicans played a central role in the development of hip hop culture in the early 70s. Hip Hop began in the south Bronx area of New York City. Instruments used would be rapping; singing; turntables; dJ mixer; drum machine; music sequencer; synthesizer; keyboard. Hip hop is a culture.

INFLUENCE OF HIP HOP

AMERICANS USE HIP HOP TO ARTICULATE THEIR IDENTITY, POLITICS, AND CREATE A MULTICULTURAL COMMUNITY AROUND THE COUNTRY. WHEN HIP HOP FIRST ORGINATED IT INCLUDED STYES OF EMCEEING, BREAKBEATS, AND HOUSE PARTIES. RAPPING BECAME A KIND OF STREET ART FOR PEOPLE. HIP HOP HAS BEEN AT IT'S HIGH THESE PAST THREE DECADES. HIP HOP NOW IS CONSIDERED MAINSTREAM MUSIC. IT ALSO SAVED A WAY FOR WOMEN RAPPERS TO EXPRESS HOW THEY FEEL THROUGH THIS GENRE OF MUSIC.

THE INFLUENCE OF HIP HOP CONTINUED...

THE GROWTH THAT HIP HOP HAD TOOK A HUGE TOLL ON THE YOUTH DURING THE 70s. YOUNG, AND INSPIRING RAPPERS WERE ENCING, BEAT BOXING, SCRATCHING RECORDS- ANYTHING YOU COULD NAME. THERE WERE MIMICKING WHAT THEY SAW AT THE TIME. THE RISE OF HIP HAD A MAJOR IMPACT ON THE BLACK YOUTH. DRUGS, AND GANG ACTIVITY/VIOLENCE WAS A SIGNIFICANT IMAGE. SOON AFTER, THE SUCCESS OF DJ KOOL, HE BECAME A GREAT SUCCESS BUT WITH A POSITIVE MESSAGE ABOUT HIP HOP. HE ENCOURAGED THE YOUTH THAT THEY COULD STILL HAVE A HEALTHY LIVING WITH HIP HOP IN THEIR LIFE AND TO STAY AWAY FROM THE DRUGS AND THE GANGS AND KIDS SLOWLY DREW AWAY FROM THAT LIFE.

SOCIAL AFFECT
HIP HOP TOOK OVER THE STYLE OF DANCING IN THE 70s. PEOPLE WOULD START TO BREAK DANCE, TO SHOW THEIR APPRECIATION TO THE MUSIC AND IT TOOK OVER THE COMMUNITY. YOU HAD EARLY BREAKER GIRLS, EARLY BREAKER AND CRAZY LEGS AND THEIR ROCKY STEADY CREW. IT EVEN CAME TO A POINT WHERE THEY HAD BATTLE SCARS FROM THEIR MOVEMENTS. BREAKING WAS KNOWN AS ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR FORMS OF MUSIC APPRECIATION OF THE TIME. IT INVOLVED QUICK MOVEMENT OF THE BODY, QUICK FOOTWORK, BODY TWISTS, AND ROBOTIC MOVEMENTS. THIS STYLES INCLUDE THE CHARLESTON FROMM 100 YEARS AGO THAT LOANED IT'S CHARACTERISTIC LEG KICK AND ARM SWING AS A TOP -ROCKING MOVE.

Historic Affect

As previously stated, Hip hops origin  resides in the Bronx of New york city. The south Bronx to be more specific. During this time there was an unbelievable amount of drug addiction, poverty due to unstable incomes in households, and gang affiliation within the youth. With all these negative outcomes, cane the influence that it had on hip hop which gave hip hop its negative association with drugs and gangs. However, the historical impact on hip-hop culture ultimately led hip-hop to have great success by acting as a platform for self-expression, gaining a social significance for the African American community and providing a path for kids in the hood to draw themselves away from the drugs, guns, and violence.


As hip-hop gained its popularity, the bottom of American society kept rising. New rappers were introduced into the scene and 1979 was when the creative energy of the minorities hit the jackpot. With the release of the “Rapper’s Delight” in October, all of a sudden, it was a biggest-selling record of the year. The album sold 100,000 copies in a week in NYC (193, Fricke).


POPULAR ARTIST

The Last Poets 

The last poets were a popular trio who performed genres of hip hop and spoken word. They arose around the late 60s early 70s. They were nominated for a grammy award for best rap performance by a duo or group. They began around 1968 and they still make music to this day. Many members have come and left from the group. They paved the way for the many socially committed Black emcees a decade later.


DJ Kool Herc

His name is Clive Campbell and he is better known as DJ Kool Herc. He is best known for originating hip hop in his apartment in New York city. This style of music quickly spread through the city. He began to isolate the instrumental portion of the record which emphasized the drum beat—the “break”—and switch from one break to another. The people who would dance to the music would be called  "break-boys" and "break-girls".


Sugarhill Gang

They are a hip hop trio who became the first rap single to become a top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching a peak position of number 36 later after releasing a song called rapper’s delight. They made history. They have won a grammy for the hall of fame. During the 80s they started getting noticed across Europe as well. Their music was very danceable as well. They are from Englewood, New Jersey and they started their group in 1973. They parted ways in 1985 but they made history while they lasted. 


 https://youtu.be/mcCK99wHrk0


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Hip hop was also influenced by the aspects of racims and discrimination that blskc people had been fscing during this time. The late 1960s had dated towards the ending of the civil rights era. However, during the early 70s, artists were still rapping about racial discrimination, prejudicism, black struggles, white racism, etc. They were allowed to put this pain into their music and create a story out of it, their story. The rap techniques in this song also highlight the beauty of hip-hop lyricism. “The use of perfect rhymes, assonance, multi-syllable rhymes, and the bending words brings richness and clarity to the music as it emphasizes the keywords in the lyric. For example, “Smacked in the back for the other man to mack '' (1, Genius) brings attention specifically to this line highlighting the power sequence between the working-class minority community and the rich white folks. The rhythm here is ordered not by natural speech but by creative pairing of syllables (47, Bradley). This style brings the hard delivery of each rhyme which ends up very effective to send the message of this song. The bold decision of rappers to follow the tradition of self-expression despite the hate by the public successfully led the black community to set foot and have a voice in American society.`` 


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