Hip hop music started as early as the 70’s in New York City. Back in the day, block parties had DJ’s which played popular music, especially funk and soul at the time.
The DJ’s would live mix songs with two turntables and isolate short percussive breaks. The second turntable allowed them to extend those breaks. Right around this time, technology had introduced things like drum machines and sampling. As this new music genre evolved, rhyme and verse became part of it. Rap became part of the sound and as MC’s became more varied in their vocal and rhythmic delivery its popularity grew even more.
One of the great things about this music is it’s ability to cross over and make use of a sample from just about any style of music. Many popular songs over the years used sampled ‘hooks’ to create new music from past classics.
Ice T has produced and directed the iconic film Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap, a documentary on the music’s origin with interviews shot on location mainly in New York, Los Angeles and Detroit. It includes just about everyone you can think of, from Snoop Dogg and Ice Cube to Kanye West, Eminem, Grandmaster Caz, Chuck D and more.
Possibly the most important beat in music history, known as the ‘Amen break’, a 6 second drum loop was sampled and used extensively in early hip hop. This short documentary discusses where it came from and how it helped shape music.
As a tribute to the music, Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake have performed The History of Rap several times. An impressive performance, it’s a compilation of some of the more memorable songs over the years. Late night house band The Roots do an epic job and it’s worth a watch.
Hip hop today has influenced music culture almost everywhere. What’s interesting is the elements sometimes associated with the music hasn’t been lost in translation, and each bring some of their own style and heritage to the local mix. Termed a cultural epidemic by National Geographic, it’s spread across the globe and now found in most societies.
France:
Germany:
Russia:
Australia:
Japan:
Thailand:
India:
It’s worth noting that the term ‘hip hop’ is not just about the music. It’s actually characterized by 4 elements; Rap (verse), Turntablism (DJing), Breaking (dance), and Graffiti (visual).
We’d like to leave you with one of our favorites: Ice Cube – Today Was A Good Day
Related:
Hip Hop Artist Sean “The Pen” Garrett on Three Things Every Man Should Know
The Most Important Rap Documentary You’ll See This Year – Esquire
25 Essential Hip Hop Albums – AskMen
About Dr. Eric J. Leech
Eric has written for over a decade. Then one day he created Urbasm.com, a site for every guy.
About Dr. Eric J. Leech