Alicia Del Re | Contributor
Featured Image: Hip-hop music has continuously influenced society with its authentic mixes and rapping. | Courtesy of StockSnap via Pixabay
Hip-hop is a genre of music that combines stylized rhythmic sounds with rapping, a form of vocal delivery that incorporates style, rhythmic composition, and street vernacular. The earliest forms of hip-hop can be traced back to Africa and the Caribbean in the Atlantic Slave Trade, when slaves brought with them a tradition of oral storytelling that is often set to drums and dancing.
This authentic genre of music began to influence several sub-genres, such as “Jamaican Dancehall,” where DJs and singers work harmoniously in creating a “call-and-response” hook. However, the one place where hip-hop’s became solidified into popular culture was at a birthday party in 1973 in the West Bronx, New York.
A young and prominent person named Clive Campbell, otherwise known as DJ Kool Herc, began spinning two different records at the same time to create an extended instrumental break, which allowed people to dance longer. He cared about how people would respond to his mix, so he analyzed his audience and their reaction to his set. Kool Herc realized that people waited for certain parts of the mix where they were able to dance. So, he created a “breakbeat” to go back and forth between two of the same records.
Over time, this modernized genre of hip-hop garnered the attention of poets and rappers alike, who included rhymes and stories to the record mix. A few of these artists use various techniques, such as sampling, to convey Gesamtkunstwerk, or a “total work of art.” They take a sample of a different song and include it into their own mix, making the art their own version. This often resonates well with their audience, as it adds in relatable lyrics with authentic bass and mixes. Modern-day rappers, such as N.W.A, the Notorious B.I.G., Eminem, P. Diddy, Drake, Kanye West, and many more, have heavily impacted the way hip-hop music is listened to in the current age.
One of the most popular and impactful hip-hop songs out there is Notorious B.I.G.’s “Hypnotize.” The song’s lyrics are unpredictable, following a different rhyme scheme at every verse. At times, Biggie’s sentences are long, while some are short. It has been referenced, sampled, and covered multiple times since the day it came out in 1997. “Hypnotize” perfectly captures the essence of hip-hop: the smooth and changing rhyming scheme, the intuitiveness in hitting every beat and bass mixed, and an easy tempo for the audience to better enjoy. It gives the people a story to interpret—thus forming a one-of-a-kind, profound connection between listener and artist.
“It’s the type of music I grew up with as a kid, so that’s why I prefer hip-hop more than other genres. I listened to Tupac and Biggie a lot. Their ability to tell stories in a song is what got me hooked not only to both artists but to the genre itself,” explains York student Delmon Jno Baptiste as to why he likes hip-hop.
“It’s hard to choose one subgenre of hip-hop, since I listen to [many]. However, if I were to pick one, I’d go with conscious hip-hop (a sub-genre that challenges social, political, and cultural values). As I said before, the storytelling is what got me hooked, and up until today, it’s been that constant variable in the sub-genre.”
With all the devastating current events that surround us every day, many artists and listeners turn to music to voice their opinions. Hip-hop has become an increasingly significant and political force over the course of time, becoming a platform for social awareness. It’s a genre that has grown from the cool and synthetic sounds of Tupac, Dr. Dre, or Eric B. & Rakim, to the fearless voices of Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Kanye West, or Jay-Z, against the injustices of the world. Each artist has taken inspiration from one another, allowing them to put out music that brings us back to the principles of storytelling—and the interconnectedness of us all.
