6 Hip Hop

As of 2021, hip hop is the most popular and influential genre of current popular music, both within the United States and globally. Even songs categorized in other genres, such as pop, rock, and country, display influences from hip hop music, whether it be a backing beat, rap-like vocal approach, or even a guest verse by an established rapper. Hip hop is a globalized musical form that has spread throughout the world. Many of the genres and styles addressed in other chapters in this text display hip hop influences, such as the new version of bhangra, a Punjab Indian folk music and dance tradition, that emerged in the 1980s.  Hip hop has also frequently been combined with indigenous styles to provide a voice for marginalized populations, such as with Hiplife in Ghana and Kwaito in South Africa.

Hip hop music was developed in impoverished areas of the Bronx in New York City during the 1970s, though, as with many musical forms, its roots can be traced back even further. It was initially featured at neighborhood block parties where the emphasis was more on the DJ, who played the songs on turntables, than on the MC, the Master of Ceremonies.  These block parties built upon the foundation of the Jamaican sound system, which referred to the DJs, MCs and engineers that put on similar types of parties in the mid-1900s playing Jamaican styles such as reggae, ska, and rocksteady. Early versions of rapping could be found during these parties in Jamaica, with toasts or chants made over the recording. Similar uses of ‘toasting’ is found in other African and African-derived genres.

Jamaican-born DJ Kool Herc was one of the early pioneers in hip hop. Much of the foundation of hip hop music was built upon funk and soul of the past decade and Herc was credited as being one of the first to isolate and elongate the instrumental break found in those styles using his two turntables. Others furthered the art of turntablism, adding new percussive sounds, such as scratching where the DJ moves the record back and forth on the turntable, in addition to artfully splicing together records.  Eventually the role of the MC, or rapper, increased in prominence.  Early in the history of hip hop the MC would introduce the DJs, encourage dancing, and energize the crowd. During 1980s the role of the rappers became more foregrounded, paralleling a greater emphasis on lyrical innovation as the genre moved beyond its party origins. While the DJ still serves a prominent role in hip hop music, it is the rapper or MC that is more commonly known and celebrated.

Grandmaster Flash

GRANDMASTER FLASH & THE FURIOUS FIVE

Formed in 1978 in New York City, Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five (Keith Cowboy, Melle Mel, The Kidd Creole, Mr. Ness/Scorpio, Rahiem) were one of the great innovators, both sonically and lyrically, in early hip hop. They are credited with broadening both the sound and lyrical content of hip hop music, as well as coining the name of the genre itself (Keith Cowboy is credited with originating the term hip hop while scat singing syllables to mimic the marching cadence of soldiers). The group was also the first hip hop act inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Born Joseph Saddler in the Barbados, Grandmaster Flash grew up in New York City attending some of the earliest parties that featured hip hop music. Fascinated with electronics and vinyl records at an early age, Grandmaster Flash experimented with DJing techniques, developing new ones such as back-spinning (looping a beat, potentially indefinitely, by switching between two copies of the record) and perfecting others, such as scratching. His approach to the turntable helped elevate its status as an instrument that could provide its own unique sonic contributions. He was able to weave together and manipulate previous records to create a new composition, as demonstrated in his 1981 recording “The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel.”

“THE MESSAGE”

The 1982 song “The Message,” credited to Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, marked a shift away from the more party-oriented music of early hip hop such as The Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight” (1979), the first hip hop song to chart on the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100.  “The Message,” instead, presented more socially conscious lyrics about the experience of African-Americas in decaying urban centers. This broadening of lyrical subject matter to include more gritty realism and social commentary helped lead to new styles of hip hop music in the 1980s. The song lacks the innovative turntablism of Grandmaster Flash, as only rappers Duke Bootee (who originated the song and was not a member of the group) and Melle Mel are featured on the record.  Regardless, the backing track displays the funk and disco roots of hip hop and, as of 2020, has been sampled in over 270 songs.