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

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The Golden Era of Hip Hop was a period in the 80s and early 90s characterized by its diversity, innovation, and cultural influence. Hip Hop is considered to have been born in 1973, in South Bronx, New York by Jamaican-born Kool DJ Herc (Blanchard, B, 1999). He used a turntable technique at a Halloween party, which eventually became extremely popular at every party scene. The term “breakdancing” came to life shortly after. Rhymes over hip hop music, also known as rap, began first as a commentary of the ability of the DJ. MCs introduced DJs and their songs. This rhythmic music produced by DJs at parties combined with an increase of break dancers, graffiti artists, and importance of MCs, created what we know today as the culture of hip hop. …show more content…

Rap was called “the black CNN” by rapper Chuck D because they were reporting issues within the inner city community through mainstream media. This idea of rap as “the black CNN” can be seen from the descendance of rapper as griots. Griots were the keepers and purveyors of of knowledge, which included tribal history, family lineage, news of birth and death, and war (Blanchard, B, 1999). Rappers create songs that through performance and recordings, allows it to spread worldwide about their lives, dreams, and discontents. They are the voice of poor, urban African American youth whose lives are usually misrepresented or dismissed by mainstream media. Rappers become the keepers of contemporary African- American working-class history and concerns.

Public Enemy’s lyrics were dissected by critics in light of Chuck D’s statement. Their song called Fight the Power, recorded in 1989, caused uproar because of the blunt attacks of celebrities such as Elvis Presley and John Wayne. They called these two celebrities out on being racist instead of being a hero to them, Public Enemy or it could be generalized to the black community, as they were to everyone else. This song created a unified message that could apply to everyone, not just the African American community. Beneath the lyrics lie powerful messages about history and politics. When people listen and don’t understand the lyrics, it causes them to maybe want to do research to be more informed. Rappers such

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