Music Genre Research - Hip Hop/Rap (Morgan)

Hip Hop and Rap


History and Conventions

Hip Hop was born in the 1970s in the South Bronx, New York City by African and Puerto Rican Americans although it has Jamaican origins. It was a movement that manifested itself in art most synonymous however with music, dance and fashion. The youth would go to clubs and gatherings where they would showcase their best dance moves and styles. Many youngsters in each of the four boroughs of america would spray paint walls, bridges and trains so that everyone would see their tag.

In clubs Disk Jockeys (DJ's) were often seen as the coolest people, they selected what was played and controlled the whole mood and atmosphere of an environment, as they became more skilled at they're craft they quickly began to make names for themselves. Grandmaster Flash (Joseph Saddler) was the most notorious for-father of the art of mixing, cutting and DJ-ing, part of his story is featured in the 2016 Netflix series 'The Get Down' written by Baz Lurhman which depicts the lives of the youth in New York in the 1970s who are at the forefront of the Hip-Hop movement.

Soon wordsmiths began to rhyme and recite poetry over the beats mixed and crafted by the DJ's, this became known as Raps.

1980s


In the 80's groups and collectives began to appear and become recognised not just regionally or nationally but globally. Rap music was commercially doing well which was a surprise to some as it came up from the underground circuit and many of the artists started off simply on the streets, battle-rapping and performing in clubs.

(Run Dmc and A Tribe Called Quest)


Shoe endorsements for hip-hop artists were first introduced in the 1980's, most notoriously with the collective Run- Dmc who were sponsored by Adidas, a company who still endorse rap artists today including A$AP Rocky, Big Sean, Pusha T and Kanye West.


Perhaps the most relevant artists from the 80's are the group NWA who inspired countless rappers that are thriving in the game today like Kendrick Lamar and his collective Black Hippy which also includes Schoolboy Q, Jay Rock and AB-Soul.
NWA were the subject of the 2015 biopic smash hit 'Straight Outta Compton' that tackled issues of race, police brutality and educated the audience on the origins of rap in L.A in the mid-early 80's.

1990s


The 90s was perhaps the golden age of rap, artists such as Tupac, Biggie Smalls, Jay-z, Nas and Snoop Dogg rained supreme alongside the likes of NWA with Ice Cube, Dr Dre and Eazy E.
However the 90's was rife with murder, gang violence and illegality in the streets and in the music industry. The two biggest rappers in the game sparked a rivalry which was blown outward by the media, Tupac from L.A and Biggie from New York were involved in a bitter war of West coast vs East coast which lasted less than a decade and unfortunately in the suspected death of the both of them Tupac 1996 and B.I.G 1997 although both murders were never solved. Both artists released diss tracks aimed at exposing and humiliating each other, something which became a bit of a trend in the decade. Jay-Z and Nas sent for one another as well as Ice Cube and his former collective NWA.

(Nas, Tupac and Snoop Dogg)



Arguably the greatest rap album ever was released in the 90s, in 1994 East Coast rapper Nas dropped his debut studio project 'Illmatic' whilst signed to Colombia Records, it featured legendary rap singles such as 'N.Y. State of mind', 'The World Is Yours' and 'Represent'.

The styles and fashions of the 1990s in hip-hop was baggy and expensive. Big chains, baggy jeans, white t-shirts and timberlands were a common site amongst fans and rap artists alike. Denim was also very in much fashion with items such as jean jackets and dungarees'.




2000s

Since the turn of the century Hip-Hop/ Rap has seen its biggest shift in interpretation and innovation with the introduction of alternative styles such as Drill, Trap and it's responsible for inspiring international artists from all over the world in sub-genres of rap such as grime. Mainstream rap artists such as A$AP Rocky and Kanye West tend to be well rounded musicians that delve into several genres outside of hip/hop in the aim to find that new innovative sound that they relentlessly search for.

The Kanye Years (2003 - present)

Kanye West is without doubt the 'most relevant voice past the age of 35'. West is a model student of the rap game and he is now a role model to young and upcoming artists. For years he studied the art of rhyming whilst he tried to break onto the hip-hop scene, it was a long struggle as he had already become notorious for his beats that he crafted as a youth and people want to hear him they simply only wanted his instrumentals.


After a tragic car accident he dropped his single 'Through the Wire', which he recorded with his jaw wired shut (hence the song name) he finally began to make waves and since then he never looked back, Roc Boys finally put him on and allowed him to create as an artist with full backing and soon enough 'The College Dropout' was released and it revolutionised everything about the game.
























Even today Kanye West is respected as one of the most relevant artists regardless of genre and he is also seen as an innovator in video production, stage production and album/record visuals with a number of his album covers telling a story of his own progression and growth through an animalistic motif of a teddy bear.

Hot Boy (Hot N****) - Bobby Shmurda (2014)

As much as i hate to admit it as i am i genuine fan of rap music, this 2014 song embodies this 21st century movement of innovation in the genre, artist Bobby Shmurda from Brooklyn, New York is categorised as a trap/drill artist and was experiencing mainstream success and gaining worldwide recognition before his arrest the year following, shortly after the release of his 2014 hit song Bobby Bitch.

The success of his single ' Hot Nigga' was helped by it's popular dance named the 'shmoney dance' something which took off and trended worldwide most likely due to social media buzz through sites such as Vine and Instagram with athletes, celebrities and other artists seen replicating the dance.

Present Day

The modern day hip-hop artist is typically versatile and dabbles in producing as well as writing and rapping. Fashion has always been at the forefront of the hip-hop movement and today is no different than before, today you can almost identify different sub-genres of hip-hop by the way they dress and their accessories. Artists such as A$AP Rocky and Kanye West strive for high fashion looks, they attend fashion shows and have their own collections, they even have their own shoe deals respectively.

(Kanye at his own Yeezy season 2 fashion show, sporting his own adidas signature shoe - Yeezy 750)


Hip-hop music is entering a new and uncertain age, an age of auto tune, trap and mumble rappers. However with such diverse cultures and sub genres we have the possibility to enjoy all of these new school and old-school sounds and even collaborations with the new and old.

Today artists such as Drake dominate the game commercially alongside Kendrick Lamar who has more of a critical acclaim earning 5 grammies and 11 nominations at this years awards. With young artists such as Joey Bada$$, Denzel Curry and Vic Mensa earning their stripes and a more forward thinking mentality in terms of business and creative collaboration between artists as appose to conflict i feel hip hop is in safe hands for years to come.