Hip-Hop
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The Key to Good Production
The key to good hip-hop is this – the music and lyrics need to work together. They need to enhance each other like a movie script and an actor. A script is great by itself but it doesn’t truly come alive until it is produced. Rap music goes way beyond beats and lyrics when it…
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A Brief History of Hip-Hop – Rap Gets Political
Read The Introduction, Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 In the late 1980s, we saw a shift in the lyrical content of rap songs. This new style is referred to as political rap. The emcees started to talk about real life issues. Chuck D, of the legendary group Public Enemy once referred to rap music as “the Black people’s CNN.” His…
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A Brief History of Hip-Hop – Part 7 Break Dancing
Read The Introduction, Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 In 1962 James Brown recorded his historic Live at the Appolo. His sound and performance really introduced a new form of dancing. In 1969 he recorded two songs that have had quite a lasting influence on hip hop culture; Sex Machine and Funky Drummer. His records emphasized the break down, the part…
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Album Spotlight # 6
Word…Life by O.C. The year is 1994. I faithfully tune into the Mastermind Street Jam on Energy 108 every Saturday afternoon from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. It’s about the only time that real hip-hop music makes it to the commercial airwaves in Hamilton. The show is a blessing and I take full advantage of it.…
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Blame The Art
There was violence beforeThere was jewelry before ithip-hop did nothing but reportthe reality we saw everywhere so, Blame the Art You’re outside the cultureso point your fingerit’s the easiest thing to doBlame the Art It makes you feel goodit gives you a targetbut you will never obliterate it.You know it too,that’s why youBlame the Art…
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Need Something to Blame, Why Not Hip-hop?
A speaker at last week’s teaching conference blamed the erosion of values on “Chuck E. Cheese” and “hip-hop culture.” Those were his exact words. Now I know that he was trying to make a point and while I agree with him that values do seem to be falling by the wayside, I can’t concede these…
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Album Spotlight # 5
Coast II Coast by Tha Alkaholiks I’ve known alcoholics and it is not a cool thing. That’s why when this rap group first came out I shunned them. I didn’t want to hear a group that just talked about getting drunk all the time. Their first album 21 and Over got a lot of play…
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A Brief History of Hip-Hop – Part 6 A Piece
Read The Introduction, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5 Graffiti rose in popularity in the 1960s and 1970s in New York. It went from simply writing a name on the wall or subway car, to painting larger, more complicated designs. This new form of graffiti art was called a piece,…
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A Brief History of Hip-Hop – Part 5 Graffiti Art
Read The Introduction, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4 To most people, graffiti has a negative connotation. It is often associated with vandalism and crime to those outside of hip-hop culture. It is probably the most misunderstood of the four elements. It is an element that often gets overlooked. It shouldn’t. It is significant and plays an…
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A Brief History of Hip-Hop – Part 4 Rap Becomes Popular
Read The Introduction, Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 Run-DMC signaled the new era. Their music was able to appeal to a very wide audience. Hip-hop moved beyond the ghetto and white fans gravitated toward the music. Run-DMC released three albums; a self-titled one in 1984, King of Rock in 1985, and the ground breaking Raising Hell in…