Rap lyricists expand our relationship with words. Their expansive diction, including slang that has become ubiquitous even among non-hip hop fans, broadens our perceptions.
Hip hop culture has grown rapidly throughout the years. It has influenced dance, graffiti art and other cultural expressions; some forms, like Gangsta Rap, have even caused some controversy due to their depiction of violence and promiscuity.
Origins
Hip hop has become an international cultural phenomenon since its origins in New York’s Bronx during the early 1970s. The movement began as a collaboration between black, Latinx, and Caribbean American youth at block parties featuring DJs spinning soul and funk music from DJs such as Kool Herc; these DJs began isolating certain percussion breaks within songs to be used as dance sequences to form what later became known as breaking.
Breakbeats were combined with freestyle, in which an MC verbally expressed their emotions during a song in response to its beat, adding excitement and energy to each performance by encouraging audiences to dance, greeting them warmly or telling humorous stories or anecdotes. By the mid 1980s, hip hop had entered mainstream society and included various styles.
This period is known as the Golden Age of Hip Hop and saw major innovations in drum kits, sampling techniques and rapping style. Notable artists of this period included Public Enemy, KRS-One and Ice-T. Additionally, Gangsta Rap emerged during this time frame to reflect urban youth violence; artists like N.W.A were part of this subgenre.
Since its conception, hip hop has given birth to an entire culture consisting of deejaying (turntabling), rapping, graffiti art and poetry slams. Furthermore, its lyrics often raise controversy with references to drugs, violence, promiscuity and misogyny; many even accuse hip hop of encouraging homophobia while many openly gay or lesbian artists have had success within its genre.
Styles
Hip hop music combines rhythmic lyrics with an inimitable vocal style known as rapping, featuring poetic techniques such as alliteration and rhyme in his or her verses. Rapping is often interspersed with an instrumental track known as a beat which may be sampled from another recording or created by DJ or producer; many hip hop beats feature long percussion breaks to encourage breakdancing or other dance moves; they may also feature synthesizers, pianos and other instruments in its beats.
Hip hop’s worldwide influence can be felt across cultures and musical genres, even touching literature such as Into the Hoods by S. E. Hinton or Will Power’s Seven Against Thebes with adaptations inspired by its aesthetic. Furthermore, its art of graffiti writing as well as dance styles associated with it has all been affected.
Breakdancing has long been one of the hallmarks of hip hop culture, particularly in America where it gained wide renown and gave birth to various dance styles and activities, such as graffiti. Recently it has even made an appearance on fashion runways; designers incorporating elements from it into clothing lines. Hip hop has since spread around the world thanks to dancers and graffiti artists taking its energy beyond borders.
Hip hop music has often come under scrutiny for its hyper-masculinity and homophobic lyrics, depicting anti-establishment themes like wars and coup d’etats with hyperbole. Some offending words may even be altered or removed altogether by replacing them with another line from another song; as a result, some forms of censorship exist to address these offenses. It also has its own vocabulary – like what’s up, homie or whatever not – often adopted by non-hip hop speakers who still associate them with its music genre.
Subgenres
Hip hop music has grown into an international phenomenon, while still reflecting its roots and urban culture of its birth. This complex movement comprises four elements: deejaying (turntabling); rapping or “MCing”, breakdancing, breakdance style dance and graffiti art. Furthermore, it encompasses its own language including vocabulary slang as well as clothing and other cultural signifiers.
Hip hop music centers around an instrumental track known as a beat. This instrumental is usually performed by DJ or produced from scratch by an instrumentalist and often made up of samples from funk and soul recordings; rappers then use rhythmic lyrics with rhyme and assonance to accompany these instrumental tracks.
Hip hop music began to diversify and evolve significantly during the 1980s. Subgenres included alternative rap, jazz rap and gangsta rap; some artists even integrated rock bands into their songs. Furthermore, political commentary within hip hop was becoming more controversial; its depictions of war and coup d’etats led to criticism and even censorship from critics and regulators.
One of the most prominent styles of hip hop, known as gangsta rap, features aggressive and violent lyrics that have become immensely popular since it became mainstream musical genre during the 1990s. Notable gangsta rap artists include Dr. Dre (The Chronic), Snoop Dogg (Doggystyle), and Mobb Deep (Ready to Die).
Hip hop music contains numerous socially conscious artists, such as Kendrick Lamar (Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers). Such artists can tell stories through their music while still adhering to hip hop’s core aesthetic.
MCs
Rappers (MCs) and DJs are two main components of hip hop music, which first emerged as part of a cultural movement during the 1970s before eventually becoming part of modern popular culture in the 1980s. Other elements associated with hip hop include breakdancing and graffiti art as well as breakdancing and graffiti art by breakdancers; breakdancing; graffiti art by breakdancers and associated fashion and slang are associated with it as well as its political nature that often depicts war and coup d’etats that overthrow governments which has caused more trouble than any other musical genre genre due to censorship issues relating to it being overrun by its counterparts.
Hip hop MCs first emerged as DJs who isolated the percussion breaks of funk and disco songs before rapping over them to keep audiences excited. Between songs, they would give exhortations to dance as well as greeting audience members with greetings or make jokes between songs. Over time, their style advanced as MCs wrote rhymes with inherent themes or flows, developing unique personas such as cool-and-collected or tough personas for themselves and creating their own personas that could range from being cool-and-collected or tough gangland tough.
During the hip hop revolution of the 1990s, gangsta rap rose in popularity and caused much debate about its content. Some rappers used their songs as a vehicle for political activism while others addressed drug use, sexual abuse and gang violence through lyrics they sang; this material was often heavily censored by radio stations and television producers.
Hip hop has become an international craze, encompassing fashion, dance and graffiti art as its core components. Hip hop’s popularity can even be found in China and Iran.
Rappers often explore topics such as materialism and racism when writing songs. Rappers may promote specific products like automobiles or alcohol beverages while other may glorify lavish living. Furthermore, rappers in hip hop use an uncommon language that may be difficult for non-fans to interpret – for instance “flirt”, “dis”, and “yo”.