I wrote this blog post in 2016 when I was just a sophomore in college. As I revisit my love for hip-hop I decided to update this content as I have evolved as a writer, poet, archivist, and baby historian. I recently studied the evolution of hip-hop in regards to city culture and found some interesting mistakes made in history. Peak hip-hop in the 90s consisted of East Coast rap dominating the charts. A perfect representation of the heat during this time was the 1995 Source Awards. 1995 was a time when Nas, Biggie, and Sean Combs went up against the rappers of Death Row. Then you had Outkast & the Dungeon Family, who were initially bood after winning best rap group. It was here that Andre famously said “The south got somethin’ to say.” in 2021 Outkast is considered one of the greatest groups of all time, and East Coast rap is largely influenced by southern rappers such as Future, Lil Baby, and The Migos. What does that tell us about the waves of music and the music industry? In order for art to move forward, artists have to innovate. When I originally wrote this article the idea was to examine how hip-hop changed throughout the years and the pioneers that made these changes possible. The facts still remain. This is 2021 remaster:

  You don’t have to be a hip-hop enthusiast or expertise to understand that this genre created a significant wave in America and all over the world. Rappers like Grand Master Flash, Afrika Bambaataa, and Kurtis Blow had been rapping since the mid-70s, however, the first rap song ever to be recorded & charted on the billboards was released in 1979 called “Rappers Delight” by Sugarhill Gang. The founding men of hip-hop who influenced style and rhythmic poetry led a movement that has been recycled for over 40 years now, which is still relatively young. Birthed in The Bronx, hip-hop would become one of the many cultural inventions by African-Americans that would forever change the music industry.

A huge part of Rap music are the Deejays. What is known as turntables, or “scratching”, was a technique used to produce distinctive percussive or rhythmic sounds and sound effects by moving a vinyl record back and forth on a turntable while optionally manipulating the crossfade on a DJ mixer. The transitions in the mixes started out sloppy and chopped because you had to pause in between changing records. The concept of smoothly transitioning a vinyl began with Grand Master Flash using the “crayon technique”; this would change the standard of scratching and evolve mixing completely. 

 

 

Style and fashion are extremely important when discussing hip-hop.  Big chains, fly fits, and what was on your feet said a lot about you even to this day. In the early 80s, RUN DMC popularized the street style in rap. Adidas and tracksuits were the thing. Also emerging in the 80s was Dapper Dan, the man responsible for high fashion logo prints that are still being recreated in 2021. That’s why innovation is important. If you can change the wave of generations, you can live forever. 90s rap was a whole other monster. Stylists such as Misa Hylton would be responsible for the blueprint of sexuality in female rap, styling a large portion of Lil Kim’s most iconic looks. Another woman that was hot in styling was April Walker of Walker Wear. Walker Wear offered that laid-back, jersey and tracksuit style of the 90s.

Hip-Hop is limitless. How it ranges from LL Cool J to Rakim, Lauryn Hill to Lil Kim, Tupac to Uncle Luke. Another extremely innovative rapper is ICE-T, who essentially established “gangster rap”, a representation of street violence and everyday struggle in the hood. Different from trap music, which was first coined by T.I on his 2003 album Trap Muzik. Trap music is specifically about the life and mentality of a drug dealer. 

The leading ladies of hip-hop like Bronx artist MC Sha Rock, a member of the Funky Four Plus One is credited with performing the first rap song by a woman. The Sequence, a hip hop trio signed to Sugar Hill Records in the early ’80s, was the first all-female group to release a rap record, ‘Funk You Up’. Shortly after would come along Salt n Peppa, Roxanne Shante, etc. Since the barriers have been broken, women throughout the decades have found a deserved, and a necessary spot in rap that is a force to be reckoned with. Eve of Ruff Ryders, Nicki Minaj of Young Money, and Magnolia Shorty of Cash Money Records are able to exist because of the lane paved for how women could show up. 

Hip-hop will never die. Even in its evolution and different waves, it represents a love for the culture and our communities that will always have our hearts.