Addison Kogami

Professor Frederick Lau

Music 407

23 June 2014

Hip-Hop Music

This research paper will be discussing the origins and development of hip-hop music, some of the characteristics that define hip-hop as a musical genre, and the social significance of hip-hop from its creation up until current day. The purpose of this paper is to inform and enhance the understanding of hip-hop music, drawing connections between musical stylistic origins and social influence throughout history on hip-hop music to create an unbiased, accurate account of how hip-hop music came to be what it is today. The genre of hip-hop music formed in the 1970s amongst African American Groups in urban New York City, during a time when “block parties” and it’s associated music started to become extremely popular. Credited with founding hip-hop music, DJ Kool Herc, an immigrant from Jamaica, started to extend the percussive breaks in popular funk and soul music (Dyson). This new sound became so popular that DJs needed to start using two turntables to lengthen percussive breaks, effectively creating an entire new sound and new genre of music (Bekman). Hip-hop music is characterized by four main elements: rapping, scratching (DJing), break dancing, and graffiti (Chang). Because music is dynamic and constantly changing, hip-hop started to develop sub-genres within hip-hop, such as southern trap music or west coast gangsta rap. Hip-hop music in different regions started to develop their own unique style of hip-hop, and although all of these sub-genres could be considered “hip-hop,” the music adapted and started to reflect some of the social issues within the region.
In order to further inform and achieve the goal of creating an unbiased account of how hip-hop music came to be what it is today, I have organized my paper into two main sections. The first section will detail the origins and development of hip-hop music, concentrating on the historical context, hip-hop’s creation and influences, and some key characteristics that represent hip-hop music. The next section will be discussing the social significance and cultural impact of hip-hop music, with emphasis on media interpretation of hip-hop music, media and hip-hop merchandise, as well as hip-hop music and fashion. In order to understand the various influences that have shaped hip-hop music, a brief historical background will be given in the first section.

ORIGINS AND DEVELOMENT OF HIP-HOP MUSIC
Historical Context
America through the 1960’s was a country facing severe social unrest, as many sub-cultures were at conflict with the changing laws and attitudes of American society. Of the various political and social movements of the decade, the African-American Civil Rights Movement was the most famous and highlighted racism and prejudice in American society that has greatly impacted the African-American sub-culture. Though the African-American Civil Rights Movement was created to end racial segregation and discrimination and enforce voting rights, American society was very slow to adopt these new ideals, and African-Americans were still treated by many as lower class citizens. Despite the movement being able to influence legislation to outlaw racial segregation and discrimination, it was not able to completely change the attitudes of a deep-rooted prejudiced American society (Woodward). No longer were black people required to live in certain areas, use separate bathrooms, go to separate schools, and hold only certain types of jobs. Although this was a step in the right direction, the reality at this time was that black people were still generally poorer due to their history of lower paying jobs, lacked higher-level education because only now were black people allowed to attend school with the same resources as white people, and lacked the ability to rise in social standing because of such a long history of oppression. Black people were confined to the inner cities of large urban areas, and were forced to live in close proximity and poor living conditions. Nevertheless, these circumstances help to bring the black community closer together and develop a sense of identity, as they were all facing the same conditions and could understand the viewpoints of each other very well.

Hip-Hop’s Creation and Influences
DJ Clive “Kool Herc” Campbell, a Jamaican born immigrant who resided in the South Bronx, was credited with being the major influence behind the creation of hip-hop music. In the early 1970s, most of the black community in New York was confined to the poorest, most population-dense areas of the city (Dyson). Residing in the South Bronx, DJ Kool Herc wanted to create a sound that was new, entertaining, and symbolized the African-American youth. Dance parties were very popular amongst the younger black community, and people were soon looking for a new type of music that provided hours of dancing on end. The music most often played at the dance parties was funk, jazz, soul, and rhythm and blues. These types of music failed to provide extended percussive sections that were easy to dance to, and DJ Kool Herc felt that there was a way to manipulate music to make it easier to dance to. DJ Kool Herc came up with the idea that if two turntables were used simultaneously to continuously loop the breaks of two identical songs, the resulting sound would be an extended drum break for a prolonged period of time (Bekman). He sampled his new music at dance parties all over the Bronx as it gained popularity and developed into the musical genre we know today as hip-hop.
Key Characteristics of Hip-Hop
As hip-hop music started to attract more and more followers, a “hip-hop culture” started to form and began to define itself through various activities associated with the music. Rapping, breakdancing, DJing and graffiti tagging were the four activities most closely associated with the hip-hop culture. Rap began as a spoken commentary regarding the skills of a DJ, and later moved towards story-telling and political advocacy. The creation of rap was heavily influenced by the Jamaican tradition of toasting (poetry and speech over music), as well as by the West African griots (folk poets) that shared the story of their life through oral tradition. Breakdancing was pretty much created at the same time as hip-hop music, as the music that DJ Kool Herc created was made specifically for dancing for long periods of time. Because the part of the song that was extended and looped was known as a “break”, the dancing during this prolonged period of time was known as “breakdancing.” Graffiti is activity associated with Hip-hip culture because early artists were often involved with other aspects of hip-hop culture, and their paintings were heavily influenced by hip-hop. The actual content of the graffiti is very similar to the content of rap, such as storytelling, boasting about skills, and political and social turmoil. DJing, or scratching, is the defining characteristic behind hip-hop music. The creation of the dual turntable was effectively also the creation of hip-hop music, as this enabled the isolation of “breaks” within a song that could be extended by looping over and over. At first, hip-hop music served the primary purpose of providing people with sound that are easier and more fun to dance to, and later evolved into an entire culture serving a variety of purposes. The four elements of hip-hop were each meant to represent a different embodiment of the culture, as rap symbolized the oral aspect, DJing symbolized the aural aspect, breakdancing symbolized the physical aspect, and graffiti symbolized the visual aspect.

SOCIAL SIGNIFICANCE AND CULTURAL IMPACT OF HIP-HOP MUSIC
Rap music and hip-hop culture seems to have a love/hate relationship with the dominant culture in America. Hip-Hop music has been subject to various lawsuits and controversies in the media, while also influencing American fashion and style by introducing a new economic demand. The ever-changing hip-hop music is an example of cultural recycling as it has the ability to reenergize itself and keep the culture alive. Artists of today combine current culture and events with the themes of past artist’s verses. The media ignores the creativity, belongingness, and intelligence that hip-hop culture creates and creates a stigma around the culture by focusing on the “negative” aspects such as misogyny, sex, murder, and drugs.
Media Interpretation of a Hip-Hop Song: “Fuck tha Police”
“Fuck tha Police” written by the gangsta rap group Niggas With Attitude (N.W.A.) is a protest song that was released in 1988. It was written to express the anger and frustration NWA faced because the police were mistreating African-Americans even after the civil rights movement. Their claim is valid and evident still today with the high incarcerations rates of African-Americans. N.W.A.’s beats and compositions were simple, tough, and raw, yet innovative, just like their lyrics and overall message. At the time, this song was highly criticized although it was only offering an insider’s perspective of the violence and brutality of gang-ridden South Central LA. N.W.A. wanted to express their disgust with the repeated police harassment of young blacks and the continued oppressive feeling they had. However, a media storm developed over the controversial lyrics to the point that the FBI became involved and sent a warning letter to N.W.A.’s record distributor. The letter condemned the song for “advocating violence and assault” against police while associating the surge in violent crime at the time with the release of the song. This letter goes against the first amendment, freedom of speech. The media is such a major influence in American culture so their portrayal and interpretation of “Fuck tha Police” caused parents to ignore this contradiction to the first amendment and to think that the song lyrics would influence their children to behave badly and rebel. The song also caused members of N.W.A. to be targeted and arrested unnecessarily. For example, Dr. Dre and MC Ren were sitting on a porch with a bb gun and the police immediately threw them to the ground, handcuffed, and arrested them. The charges were later dropped since the police were obviously targeting them.
Although the media gave “Fuck tha Police” and the N.W.A. a bad reputation, young black youth related to NWA’s harsh words of high unemployment rates, alcoholism, drug abuse, racial profiling, and murder and found an identity. Many inner city minorities began to identify with the similar treatment and became inspired by the meaningful lyrics. The song describes a trial where the members of NWA are acting as white attorneys and judges. This type of role-play empowers NWA by portraying self-confidence, strength, and the ability to fight for what they believe in. In the first verse of the song, Ice Cube delivers the cacophonous lyrics with power and authority as he explains that many black people will never get the chance to gain equality with whites even if they hold the power to do so because of the racist past. He talks about how history has determined some peoples’ negative opinions of blacks and that they need to go “toe to toe” against the whites. He means that blacks should be equal to whites, but they still are not treated that way because of their long-lasting unequal treatment. He is also encouraging the black youth to stand up for themselves until they are seen and treated as equals. MC Ren raps the next verse and says, “they put up my picture with silence/cuz my identity by itself causes violence”. These blunt lines are still true today in that being African-American still carries a social stigma. This hip-hop, gangsta rap song shows how fear and hate fuel each other to create change in culture.
The Media and Hip-Hop Merchandise The media chooses what is exposed based on its importance, but even more so, based on what sells. Proprietors of hip-hop merchandise create products that will make them money and in the current society, sex and violence sells. Rappers know this as well, which is why they continue to rap about sex and violence, even if some do not necessarily believe in all they say. This creates a new cycle of supply and demand. Although merchandise is only one part of the hip-hop culture, it has a large impact on the community, especially the black youths. The media and savvy businessmen have subjugated the popularity of hip-hop to create profit. Commercialization has remained one of the objectives of people in the hip-hop culture. Hip-hop is half identity and half reality and it gives people the opportunity to show their talent, whether it is raping, breaking, MCing, or tagging, in order to live what is considered to be an ideal lifestyle.
Hip-Hop Music and Fashion
Hip-hop fashion, also known as urban fashion, has quickly spread all over the world and throughout various ethnicities. It is an expression of contemporary urban life shown through gestures and apparel. In the late 1970s, established sportswear and fashion brands such as Adidas attached themselves to the emerging hip-hop scene. Artists during the 1970s to mid-1980s wore functional, name-brand tracksuits, sheepskin, and leather bomber jackets with sneakers. Heavy and oversized, gold accessories, now known as “bling”, became a large part of hip-hop fashion as well. Hip-hop artists also sported different hairstyles like the jheri curl and the hi-top fade popularized by Will Smith. High-end companies like Louis Vuitton, Fendi, and Gucci also began to embrace hip-hop culture and continued to popularize hip-hop artists’ clothing choices. In the late 1980s, baggy clothing became popularized and this shape continued into the 1990s and 2000s. The 2000s were full of fashion changes as new trends were created and old trends were reinvented, just like hip-hop music. Today, many hip-hop artists have their own fashion lines, but economic differences can still be seen. Designer brands such as Louis Vuitton or Versace want to align themselves with influential hip-hop artists because of their potential financial gains, but will simultaneously maintain distance from these allies outside of advertising “almost with a keen desire to hold the controlling hand in these relationships” and control their public image (Miller). This shows the continued patterns of exploitation in which the designers or businessmen or media benefit disproportionately more than the hip-hop artists. Further, approximately 75 percent of the rap and hip-hop audience is nonblack (Reese). This shows that although hip-hop has created an identity for many African-Americans, it has also created a market where non-blacks have more power in that they provide majority of the money for the industry.

CONCLUSION
Hip-hop, once limited to urban music and dance in New York City, has become a widespread form of communication and expression around the world. Hip-hop culture has evolved to incorporate a multi-billion dollar industry that influences everything from fashion and style to mass media and entertainment industries worldwide. The media and some businesses ignore the fact that hip-hop music has been sparked by artists’ longstanding frustration created by deep inequalities and the continuing prejudice, discrimination, and racism. This difference in understanding has continued to be a cultural barrier between hip-hop culture and the dominant culture in America. However, this difference also drives the continued development and change of hip-hop culture, which has become a way of life for many.

Works Cited
Bekman, Stas. "3]. What is "Dub" music anyway? (Reggae)." 3]. What is "Dub" music anyway? (Reggae). N.p., n.d. Web. 23 June 2014. <http://stason.org/TULARC/music-genres/reggae-dub/3-What-is-Dub-music-anyway-Reggae.html>.
Blanchard, Becky. "THE SOCIAL SIGNIFICANCE OF RAP & HIP-HOP CULTURE." THE SOCIAL SIGNIFICANCE OF RAP & HIP-HOP CULTURE. Ethics of Development in a Global Environment, n.d. Web. 23 June 2014. <https://web.stanford.edu/class/e297c/poverty_prejudice/mediarace/socialsignificance.htm>.
Chang, Jeff. Can't stop, won't stop: a history of the hip-hop generation. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2005. Print.
Dyson, Michael Eric. Know what I mean?: reflections on hip-hop. New York: Basic Civitas Books, 2007. Print.

Gregory Lewis, “Hip Hop Gives Birth to Its Own Black Economy,” The San Francisco Examiner, December 6, 1998, E3.
Miller, Janice. Fashion and music. English ed. Oxford: Berg Publishers, 2011. Print.
N.W.A. Fuck the Police. Priority Records, 1988. MP3
Reese, Renford. American paradox: young Black men. Durham, N.C.: Carolina Academic Press, 2004. Print.
Woodward, C. Vann. The strange career of Jim Crow. 3d rev. ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1974. Print.