East Coast Rap example essay topic

By the 1940's and 1950's, black disc jockeys were adding to the language and style of jazz. Deejays attracted huge audiences in cities across the nation. Between spinning records and instrumental breaks of songs, deejays passed messages between lovers, commented on local affairs all while keeping listeners entertained with catchy lines and phrases. Such talk became known as jive talk. The jive and rhyming skills of deejays had a great deal to do with their individual popularity. In this sense, they were the forefathers of the deejay / performer role that many early rappers assumed.

While this new black culture of speech and music developed in the streets and over the airwaves comedians were adding humor although, some was degrading it still proved to be funny. Out of this form of humor emerged the dozens. The dozens were good-natured vocal competitions in which opponent's made disparaging remarks about each other's mother. The dozens were always played with an audience, which encourage the two opponents to outdo or "cap" each other. By the year 1978 American music was flat. The dull thud of disco dominated the airwaves.

Bored with the artificial thud on the radio black kids began to rummaging through the record collections of their parents' in search of a new beat to party to. Two Bronx deejays, DJ Hollywood and DJ Kool Herc, who have sense, became known as the fathers of rap. Herc born Jamaican immigrated to New York City when he was twelve years old. By that age he had taken a great interest in the world of rap. In 1975 Herc started deejay ing at teen clubs, community centers, and parties in the Bronx. At his shows he began spinning short sections of different records and talking over them.

Soon after that he began to play records on two turntables at the same time. With the aid of a sound mixer he was allowed to fade in and out between records, Herc developed the technique of mixing passages from one song into another. He became notorious for incorporating the most obscure records into his mixes. Herc along with other deejays began using MCs in their shows. In the summer of 1979, rap hit the scene in full force.

A trio called the Sugar Hill Gang unleashed "Rappers Delight". (Margolis 23) The Sugar Hill Gang was brought together by, former soul singer, Sylvia Robinson. The group was named after a fashionable Harlem neighborhood that boasted doctors, lawyers, and ministers among its residents. "Rapper's Delight" sold over 500,000 copies and hit number one on the pop music charts.

Terms like hip-hop and other enduring rap phrases came out of the song (Perkins 5). Another pivotal force in the early days of rap was Afrika Bambaata and his Zulu Nation. Bambaata was a Bronx street deejay who spun records at block parties and in the parks. Unlike, other deejays he incorporated a strong element of cultural awareness into his shows.

He became accepted as a unifying force in an area that was plagued by turf wars between gangs. Punk rockers were the first group outside the ghetto to acknowledge rap. Fab 5 Freddy, a struggling Harlem-born artist was a pivotal figure in bridging the gap between the worlds of punk and rap. Rap's first non-ghetto acknowledgment came from the punk-rock group Blondie. After emerging with punk the music industry still wasn't ready to take rap seriously. Many of the music industry's initial dismissals of rap were laced with racism.

In addition industry executives assumed that rap was just a fad created by poor black kids from New York's ghettos and that it was "too raw", and "too ethic" to gain mass popularity (Nelson, Gonzalez xv ). Run-D.M.C. was rap's first superstars. The trio's image rejected many of rap's norms. They performed in street clothes.

They were rap's pioneer b-boys. The group broke many barriers for rap, and became living legends. Somewhere, along the rode of its growing popularity rap and the messages rappers told in their lyrics went from mainstream to big screen with movies like Boyz N the Hood. Today, there is an array of hip-hop artists, both male and female.

With an increase in the amount of artists, hip-hop has went from being just something to do to being a way of living. Rap has emerged from being just rap to being, East Coast, West Coast, and Down South Rap. With the West Coast rap you sort of hear something also known as, Gangster Rap". You have artists such as Tupac Shakur (R.I.P. ), Snoop Dog, Ice Cub, and others that rap about the violence that surrounds them and the harsh realities of growing up as a boy male in the inner city.

East Coast rap takes on a calmer voice. Rappers such as Notorious B.I.G. (R.I.P. ), Nas, Lil Kim, Puffy Daddy, and others don't really rap about violence, but instead about the struggle of how they became successful and about the hardships they faced on the path to success. Southern states, especially South Florida, are well known for the fast, booty popping beats that accompany most of the songs by artist from the area. Most of the artists that reside in South Florida live in Miami.

Miami is known for its sunny beaches, big ball ers (people with money), sexy women, and handsome men. Sex sells and that is what a lot of the artist try to incorporate within the lyrics of their songs. Uncle Luke is the world-renowned nasty man. He is known for his sexual and vulgar lyrics and dancing.

Rappers also rely on hip-hop / rap to give representation to their hometown or set. With a close listen to the lyrics of most rap songs you will hear rappers sneak in a mention of them being from one particular place. For example, the female rapper Eve always like to make mention to the fact that Philly is where she is from. Philly is short for Philadelphia.