The Golden Era Of Hip Hop Was A Period In The 80S And Early

Hip Hop music had been around for about twenty years in the United Sates, but it was usually heard at block parties and discos where DJs would loop breakbeats and MCs would add live vocals.

Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power”, incorporated into Do The Right Thing, deals with his struggle dealing with racism towards African American’s in the 1980s. When they came out with this song in 1989, the main rapper Chuck D was 19 years old, one of the main reasons nobody took the group seriously. This song became popular amongst African Americans because it argued that African Americans and hip-hop should be political. Chuck D raps “You gotta go for what you know. Make everybody see, in order to fight the powers that be” (Fight). Public Enemy conveyed their opinion that the African American community needed to become more political and fight for what they wanted. Guthrie Ramsey’s article “Musing New Hoods, Making New Identities: Film, Hip-Hop Culture, and Jazz Music” discusses the idea that music plays a crucial role in films. As

This piece will demonstrate an understanding of the golden era of East coast hip-hop, from 1986 to 1993, focusing and analysing the historical roots, influences and inspirational individuals, giving reference to musical examples that shaped East coast hip-hop. Attention will also be centred on the legacy left, concentrating on the music that was influenced as well as the resulting change in fashion and political views.

Hip-hop culture began to develop in the south Bronx area of New York City during the 1970s. It had a significant influence in the music industry. Hip-hop music generally includes rapping, but other elements such as sampling and beatboxing also play important roles. Rapping, as a key part in the hip-hop music, takes different forms, which including signifying, dozen, toast and jazz poetry. Initially, hip-hop music was a voice of people living in low-income areas, reflecting social, economic and political phenomenon in their life [1]. As time moves on, hip-hop music reached its “golden age”, where it became a mainstream music, featuring diversity, quality, innovation and influence [2]. Gangsta rap, one of the most significant innovations in

Hip-Hop emerged in the 1970’s upon the arrival of a one Kool DJ Herc. Kool DJ Herc migrated to the United States from Kingston, Jamaica and settled in the West Bronx of New York. Kool DJ Herc was a disc jockey that attempted to incorporate his Jamaica style of disc jockeying, which involved reciting improvised rhymes over reggae records. Unfortunately for Kool DJ Herc New York seemed

An innovator in a sense, DJ Kool Herc founded Hip Hop by the early 70’s. MC’s, DJ’s, breakdancing, graffiti and music encompass the five pillars of Hip Hop. Modern inversions interpret these pillars in many different ways. Prevalent through all major cities, graffiti evolved to the murals on the side of buildings, and the creative aspect of music videos. Artists have visions interpreted in the way they decide to imagine their visuals. Breakdancing has become the advance dance crazes that sweep the nations. People in Japan are hitting the “Nae-Nae” because of Hip Hop’s mass globalization. MC’s are the talk show host and commentators of award shows and hosts of events and red carpet specials: media. Dispersion of Hip Hop through channels that connect Blacks across different scopes happens through the media. Modern day DJ’s introduce the new music with sets that keep nightclubs jumping from dawn to dusk. Displaying the

The genre created in very poor districts, like the Bronx, in New York by African-American and Latino teenagers. They learned how to use turntables by working as DJs at discos. DJs and MCs would play at free block parties. An MC is an abbreviation for Master of Ceremony his/her job is to focus on skills, lyrical ability, and subject. So, during block parties, the DJ would play music and the MC encouraged guest to have fun. Parties went on MCs slowly started to rhyme while they were performing. Hip-Hop was only played live at first until Sugar Hill Gang released Rappers Delight in 1979. Rappers Delight was a huge success for hip-hop. Personally, I consider the Sugar Hill Gang the founding fathers of Hip-Hop.

These stages can be seen in many Hip Hop songs, including “Fight the Power”. While Public Enemy does not dwell on the negative experiences, they do rap about problems that need to be changed, such as the lack of representation of African Americans in American culture. Chuck D raps, “I’m ready and hyped plus I’m amped/ Most of my heroes don’t appear on no stamps/ Sample a look back you look and find/ Nothing but rednecks for 400 years if you check.” Chuck’s lyrics show a unique perspective by revealing American history through the eyes of the oppressed. He expresses the frustration felt by African Americans when they could not look to traditional heroes or reap the benefits that those figures created for society. “Fight the Power” expresses the brutal experience of being excluded from American society and culture. Chuck verbally tears apart two of America’s favorite entertainers, Elvis and John Wayne. He says “Elvis was a hero to most/ But he never meant shit to me, you see/ Straight up racist that sucker was simple and plain/ Motherfuck him and John Wayne” (AZLyrics). These fearless lyrics challenge the American institution as a whole and liberate anyone who has ever felt excluded from American culture. The reality Chuck expresses in his song works to unite a group of people while also aligning with the first of Ralph Ellison’s

Hip Hop was birthed in the neighborhood, where young people gathered in parks, on playgrounds, and neighborhood street corners, to verbalize poetry over spontaneous sounds and adopted melodies. Hip Hop was not just the music; it was also a way for the young to show their skills in break dancing, gymnastic dance style that was valued, and athleticism over choreographed fluidity. Hip hop was also fashion such as: hats, jackets, gold chains, and name-brand sneakers. Hip Hop was a form of graffiti, to a new way of expression that engaged spray paint on the subway walls as the canvas. In addition, today’s hip hop have changed as where the DJ was once is now the producer as the key music maker, and the park is now a studio.

Hip-Hop is a complex cultural movement formed during the early 1970s by African Americans in the slums of South Bronx, New York (Dyson 6), it propagated outside of the African American community in late 1980s, and by the opening of the 21th century it became the most spread culture in the world. Hip-Hop consists of four elements: Deejay, Break-Dancing, Rapping, and Graffiti. (Kenon 112)

Hip-Hop is a cultural movement that emerged from the dilapidated South Bronx, New York in the early 1970’s. The area’s mostly African American and Puerto Rican residents originated this uniquely American musical genre and culture that over the past four decades has developed into a global sensation impacting the formation of youth culture around the world. The South Bronx was a whirlpool of political, social, and economic upheaval in the years leading up to the inception of Hip-Hop. The early part of the 1970’s found many African American and Hispanic communities desperately seeking relief from the poverty, drug, and crime epidemics engulfing the gang dominated neighborhoods. Hip-Hop proved to be successful as both a creative outlet for

Around 1970, 44 years ago, hip-hop emerged in the West Bronx of New York. The culture of hip-hop incorporates many aspects besides just the music itself, such as DJing, graffiti, breakdancing, and urban fashion. Hip-hop mainly started from DJ’s separating the break in rock, funk and other types of songs, as well as the MC playing a major role in the development of hip-hop. In between the songs that the DJ was playing, the MC would speak in between the songs, make jokes and many other actions in order to get the crowd riled up. This eventually led up to the practice of hip-hop to become more conventional, resulting in the forming of hip-hop. Kool DJ Herc did all of this in 1970, who is believed to be the one who started the emergence of hip-hop. At first, DJ Herc would deliver rhymes over reggae track; however, this did not engage people’s attention enough. Because the people were not engaged, DJ Herc had to find another way to satisfy the audience, which came from him

Chuck D offered some less subtle lyrics in order to create a strong national dialogue. Public Enemy’s song “Fight the Power” is an anthem to stand up against the oppression and has been a rally cry for the people of the period as it focusses on not standing idly by and to come together to stand against the inherently racist United State

In the early 70's, a Jamaican, DJ known as Kool Herc attempted to combine his Jamaican style of disk jockey, that involved reciting improvised rhymes over the dub versions of his reggae records (Davey 1). He also invented turntables, which kept the music going, with the occasional voice on the top of records, which started the roots of rap music. Over time, the culture broke into mainstream, spread around the world, and young people who did not have much to do, created not only multi-million industry, but have also created a way we can speak to each other all around the world. Hip hop is linked to other music such as rap which is embraced by urban black population. It is raw self-expression, sometimes features expletive lyrics, and violence. “Hip hop artists spoke to despair and pain of urban youth and the poor who were often without a voice. The rappers themselves were, the product of that reality, and it was conveyed through their lyrics” (Muhammad 1).

Undoubtedly, rap music has become significantly popular within the music industry, being the most consumed music genre in the United States (Harris). In fact, today’s hip hop music is largely influenced by the ideals of gangsta rap, pioneered in the 1980s and early 1990s. One such group that heavily dominated the gangsta rap scene was NWA (Niggaz Wit Attitudes), consisting of rappers: Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, Arabian Prince, DJ Ren, and MC Yella. Through their vocalization of topics such as sex, drugs, and money, NWA expressed their identity while emphasizing the violence of street life. Furthermore, through my analysis of NWA, the group’s values of identity can be expressed through their influence of racial attitudes, their pioneering of