Introduction
From its inception in New York City in 1974 by Clive Campbell (b. 1955), known as DJ Kool Herc, hip-hopA musical genre and a mass culture movement developed in the United States by inner-city African American and Latino American youth, and is defined by breakdancing, graffiti writing, DJing, and MCing/rapping. continued to evolve into the twenty-first century, so thus far, it is the longest-lasting genre in all African American music. Though it has evolved in that time, hip-hop contains the same elements it had at its inception, unlike other genres that developed variations of the initial style.
In his book The History of Hip Hop, Eric Reese writes, "The genre consisted of DJs, break dancing, graffiti, and rap." Reese goes on to say, "Many believe that the genre can be seen as a way of life, given that it also brought about new ways of dressing, expression, and its unique outlooks on cultural, political, economical, and intellectual factors in society" (Reese 2019, viii). These elements of hip-hop were also discussed in lesson 24 in greater depth.
Let's look more closely at one of DJ Kool Herc's songs to ground our discussion of hip-hop and contemporary African American music. In his " Let Me Clear My Throat ," there's this "banging" bari-sax motif, absolutely packed with the idea of funk and disco genres happening concurrently. Let's study the lyrics:
Let Me Clear My Throat
Yeah, rock to the rhythm of the funky rhyme
So I can get this in just one more time
To the beat and ya don't quit
It's that ol' skool rap with that new skool hit Peter
Piper picked a pepper but Kool got the Run
And I can still rip up the house Every God damn
time I get on the mic, I go crazy
Peace out to Celo, Flex, and Doug Lazy I bet 'cha
never knew but now ya know
I'm the undisputed king of this disco
And I never let the mic, might not tire me no more
Cuz DJ Kool rip up the whole damn floor
Now I'ma rap a rhyme with the greatest of ease
And swing it like the man on the flying trapeze
And if you don't like it you grab on these
And now I need some help from the maestro please
DJ Kool Herc
It is pretty standard to find sportsman-like conduct in rap, such as Herc bidding a "peace out" to Celo, Flex, and Doug Lazy, his well-known competitors in the genre. By doing so, he also declares himself as "the undisputed king of this disco." The piece's title suggests his preparation to "rap and rhyme with the greatest of ease," which reflects the self-assurance often displayed in hip-hop music.
In this lesson, we will learn that hip-hop is more than just a musical genre. It is, in fact, a cultural evolution. We will explore the secular genres of hip-hop, rhythm and blues, rap, neo-soul, and other Black urban artistic expressions into the twenty-first century. In addition, this lesson will unveil some of the questionable practices of the media and music industry, whose agendas have often sought to paint a stereotypical image of Black Americans.
Although the origin of the term "hip-hop" is not certain, the expression reflects rage, bitterness, and anger, as expressed in some of the lyrical rhythms of Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls; a place of Afrocentricity with the rebirth of soul through Lauryn Hill and Jill Scott; and a place of strength in the tenacity and grit of LL Cool J, Jay Z, and Kendrick Lamar-all forms of "Blackness" amid the social ills that still besets Black Americans in the twenty-first century.
"Blackness" is the celebration of a culture of people who have the ability and awareness to transform daily life through artistic mediums of expression. "Blackness" carries with it a sense of endurance-the voice, the music, the culture, and the history of a race of people that, though oppressed, found creative means of identity amid the social constructs of White America.
