Hip-Hop has its origins in the 1960s in New York within African American communities. In the beginning stages, Hip-Hop was mostly heard at parties or gatherings only within the black community of New York. Hip-Hop was first noticed on a global level in 1979 due to the group The Sugar Hill Gang’s success with the album Rapper’s Paradise.The success of the album allowed Hip-Hop to finally get into the spotlight and be recognized as a genre on a global scale. Rapping is not the only aspect of the genre, break dancing, graffiti art, beatboxing, deejaying, and many other components are also directly linked to the Hip-Hop genre.
As Hip-Hop continued to gain popularity throughout the United States and the rest of the world, the genre continued to change. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s hip-hop begin to evolve into expressing the social conditions of poor black neighborhoods. Hip-Hop music began to express the violence and oppression faced by black people who were living in lower income neighborhoods that lacked resources and were heavily policed. Also, as Hip-Hop continued to evolve technology also played a role in the changes that were occurring with the genre. Technology in studios were advancing and Hip-Hop artists were able to create different beats, sample other music, etc.
Hip-Hop today continues to express the social conditions of impoverished communities and use technology to enhance instrumentals but there are some distinctions. In today’s Hip-Hop music trap music has been introduced. Trap music tends to focus on the selling and distribution of drugs and the lifestyle that is associated with selling illegal drugs.
Many people both within and outside of the black community can relate to Hip-Hop music and culture. Hip-Hop is one of the most influential genres of today’s generation. Hip-Hop music has continued to evolve and gain popularity since its creation. Hip-Hop remains a genre that is popular on a global scale and continues to gain new followers.
