The late
1980's were also regarded by many as Hip Hop's golden age. Notable artists of
the time included Rakim from the hip hop duo Eric B. & Rakim. Rakim is
highly regarded as Hip Hop's greatest emcee with his fast lyrical flow.
Big
Daddy Kane was also highly regarded by many later rappers, he was also part of
the indomitable Juice Crew which featured many of the not-yet discovered Hip
Hop talent brought together by Marley Marl. The Juice Crew also featured rappers
Kool G Rap, Masta Ace, Biz Markie and Roxanne Shante among others. The forming of the Juice Crew lead to Big
Daddy Kane's stardom with his high acclaimed debut Long Live The Kane At the
time the Juice Crew were not the only group that featured several rappers who
had banded together to make music.
There was also Boogie Down Productions,
which featured the legendary KRS-ONE, D Nice as well as the late DJ Scott La
Rock. Descriptions of their violent, hedonistic lifestyle which would later
pave the way for Gangsta Rap. In the later years of Boogie Down Productions,
they would turn to more socially consciousness and political lyrics. In spite
of all that, many believed they were still under the shadow of Public Enemy.
Led by lyricists Chuck D and Flava Flav and producer Terminator X their debut
album "Yo! Bum Rush The Show" turned heads with its socially aware
lyrics. In addition to a sensational debut, their sophomore release "It
Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back" turned even more heads and
raised eyebrows with its thought provoking and at times controversial lyrics.
While Public Enemy raised awareness from a more socially proactive point of
view, West Coast hip hop group N.W.A shocked nations with its explicit lyrics
describing the violent lives of the members based in Compton, California.
Members of the group Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, MC Ren and DJ Yella would later
go on to become platinum-selling artists. At the time Run-D.M.C. the Hip Hop
trio consisting of Joseph "Reverend Run" Simmons, the late Jason
"Jam-Master Jay" Mizell and Darryl "D.M.C" McDaniels. With
their no nonsense style and trendy Adidas sneakers, they dominated not only Hip
Hop but also pop and rock among other genres. American emcees were not the only
emcees getting it on during the Golden Age, English emcee Slick Rick also burst
upon the scene with his debut The Great Adventures of Slick Rick. Slick Rick's
music, mainly appealed to the younger kids on the street, with songs like
"Hey Young World", "Teenage Love" and "Children's Story",
that encompassed vivid storytelling infused with messages of hope and civic
responsibility directed towards the younger generation. Other experts regard
the early 1990's, around 1992-1994, as the later part of the Golden Age.
The first rap records (Fatback Band's King Tim
III, Grandmaster Flash's Super Rappin and The Sugarhill Gang's Rapper's
Delight) were actually recorded by live musicians in the studio, with the
rappers adding their vocals later. This changed with DJ records such as
Grandmaster Flash's Adventures on the Wheels of Steel (known for pioneering use
of scratching, which was invented by Grandwizard Theodore in 1977) as well as
electronic recordings such as Planet Rock by Afrika Bambaataa and Run DMC's
very basic, all electronic Sucker MC's and Peter Piper which contains genuine
cutting by Run DMC member Jam Master Jay. These early innovators were based out
of New York City, which remained the capital of hip hop during the 1980s. This
style became known as East Coast hip hop.
Grandmaster
Flash & the Furious Five released a "message rap", called The
Message, in 1982; this was one of the earliest examples of recorded hip hop
with a socially aware tone.
In 1987, Public Enemy brought out their debut
album (Yo! Bum Rush the Show) on Def Jam, and Boogie Down Productions followed
up in 1988 with By All Means Necessary; both records pioneered a wave of
hard-edged politicized performers. The late 1980s saw a flourishing of
like-minded rappers on both coasts, and Public Enemy's It Takes a Nation of
Millions to Hold Us Back became surprisingly successful, despite its militant
and confrontational tone, appearing on both the club and rap charts, and
peaking at #17 and #11,
respectively. Aside from the lyrical innovations, Public Enemy's Terminator X
(along with Eric B., of Eric B. & Rakim) pioneered new techniques in
sampling that resulted in dense, multi-layered sonic collages.
The mid-1980s saw a flourishing of the first
hip hop artists to achieve mainstream success, such as Kurtis Blow (Kurtis
Blow), LL Cool J (Radio) and especially Run-D.M.C. (Raising Hell), as well as
influences in mainstream music, such as Blondie's Debbie Harry rapping in the
first non-black hit to feature rapping, "Rapture". LL Cool J's Radio
spawned a number of singles that entered the dance charts, peaking with "I
Can Give You More" (#21).
1986 saw two hip hop acts in the Billboard Top
Ten; Run-D.M.C.'s "Walk This Way" collaboration with Aerosmith, and
the Beastie Boys' "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)". The
pop success of both singles was unheard of for the time; "Walk This
Way" has proved especially memorable for its early mixture of hip hop and
rock (though it was not the first such mixture), and it peaked at an unheard of
#4 on the pop charts. Also, the mid-1980s saw the rise of the first major black
female group, Salt-N-Pepa, who hit the charts with singles like "The Show
Stoppa" in 1985. Ice-T's seminal "6n' Da Mornin'" (1986) is one
of the first nationally successful West Coast hip hop singles, and is often
said to be the beginning of gangsta rap (along with Schoolly D, LL Cool J and
N.W.A.).
While early
hip hop arose through the decline of funk and disco while still employing their
musicianship, there was the rise of artists who employed the use of the
turntable as an instrument in itself. Hip hop turntablist DJs use turntable
techniques such as beat mixing/matching, scratching, and beat juggling to
create a base that can be rapped over. Turntablism is generally focused more on
turntable technique and less on mixing. Each scratch of the turntable is
considered unique due to the complex waveforms produced and employing digital
sampling is considered an affront to a true Turntablist. Prominent artists
included the Invisibl Skratch Piklz, X-men, and the Beat Junkies.
The first gangsta rap album to gain a big
audience, selling more than 2.5 million copies, was N.W.A.'s Straight Outta
Compton (1988). N.W.A.'s controversial subject matter, including drugs,
violence and sex, helped popularize what became known as gangsta rap (said to
have begun with Ice-T's "6N' Da Morning").
Specifically, the song
"Fuck tha Police" earned the foursome the enmity of law enforcement,
resulting in a strongly-worded letter of discontent from the FBI. N.W.A.'s most
lasting impact, however, was placing the West Coast on the hip hop map.
Though women, whites and Latinos had long
been a part of the hip hop scene, it was not until the 1980s that groups other
than young African American males began creating popular, innovative and
distinctive styles of hip hop music.
The first rap recording by a solo female was
Philadelphia-based Lady B.'s "To the Beat, Y'All" (1980), while The
Sequence became the first female group to record. It was, not, however, until
Salt-N-Pepa in the middle of the decade that female performers gained
mainstream success.
The first groups to mix hip hop and heavy
metal included 1984's "Rock Box" (Run-D.M.C.) and "Rock
Hard" (Beastie Boys). Later in the decade, Ice-T and Anthrax were among
the most innovative mixers of thrash metal and hip hop. These fusions helped
move hip hop into new audiences, and introduced it to legions of new fans in
the States and abroad.
In Puerto Rico, Vico C became the first mainstream
Spanish language rapper, and his recorded work was the beginning of what became
known as reggaeton. Hip hop had always had a significant connection to the
Latino community in New York City including the first Latin DJ DJ Disco Wiz,
and hip hop soon spread amongst Latinos. In the late 1980s and early 1990s,
most Latin rap came from the West Coast of the United States. In 1989,
Cuban-American Mellow Man Ace became the first Latino artist to have a major
bilingual single. Mellow Man, referred to as the "Godfather of Latin
rap", brought mainstream attention to Spanglish rhyming with his 1989
platinum single "Mentirosa". In 1990, fellow West Coast artist Kid
Frost further brought Latinos to the rap forefront with his single "La
Raza."
Cypress Hill, of which Mellow Man Ace was a member before going
solo, would become the first Latino rap group to reach platinum status in 1991.
Ecuadorian born rapper Gerardo received heavy rotation on video and radio for
his single "Rico, Suave." As a result of the success of these
artists, countries throughout Latin America such as Cuba, the Dominican
Republic and Mexico created their own hip hop scenes.
While Run DMC laid the groundwork for East
Coast rap, "Planet Rock" (Afrika Bambaataa) was one of the first
electro tracks. Based on a sample from German rock group Kraftwerk
(Trans-Europe Express), "Planet Rock" inspired countless groups,
based in New Jersey, New York City and Detroit, among other places, to make
electronic dance music (called electro) that strongly influenced techno and
house music, and especially the burgeoning electro music scene in northern
England, the Midlands and London.
"Planet
Rock" influenced hip hop outside of New York as well, such as Latin hip
hop (also Latin freestyle or freestyle) such as Expose and The Cover Girls, as
well as Los Angeles-based electro hop performers like the World Class Wreckin'
Cru and Egyptian Lover.
By the end of the 1980s, hip hop was known in
almost every major city in the US, and had developed into numerous regional
styles and variations. Outside of New York City, New Jersey and Philadelphia,
where hip hop had long been well-established, the 1980s saw intense regional
diversification.
The first Chicago hip hop record was the
Groovy Ghost Show by Casper, released in 1980 and a distinctively Chicago sound
began by 1982, with Caution and Plee Fresh.
Chicago also saw the development of
house music (a form of electronic dance music) in the early 1980s and this soon
mixed with hip hop and began featuring rappers; this is called hip house, and
gained some national popularity in the late 1980s and early 90s, though similar
fusions from South Africa, Belgium and elsewhere became just as well-known into
the 90s.
Los Angeles hardcore rappers (Ice-T) and
electro hop artists (Egyptian Lover) began recording by 1983, though the first
recorded West Coast rap is possibly Disco Daddy and Captain Rapp's "Gigolo
Rapp" in 1981. In Miami, audiences listened to Miami bass, a form of
sultry and sexually explicit dance music with a heavy bass sound, which arose
from Los Angeles electro; it frequently included rapping. In Washington D.C. a
hip hop-influenced form of dance music called go go emerged and incorporated
rapping and DJ-ing.
Beginning in the early 1980s, hip hop culture
began its spread across the world. By the end of the 1990s, popular hip hop was
sold almost everywhere, and native performers were recording in most every
country with a popular music industry. Elements of hip hop became fused with
numerous styles of music, including ragga, cumbia and samba, for example. The
Senegalese mbalax rhythm became a component of hip hop, while the United
Kingdom and Belgium produced a variety of electronic music fusions of hip hop,
most famously including British trip hop.
Hip hop also spread to countries like Greece,
Spain and Cuba in the 1980s, led in Cuba by the self-exiled African American
activist Nehanda Abiodun and aided by Fidel Castro's government. In Japan,
graffiti art and break dancing had been popular since the early part of the
decade, but many of those active in the scene felt that the Japanese language
was unsuited for rapping; nevertheless, by the beginning of the 1990s, a wave of
rappers emerged, including Ito Seiko, Chikado Haruo, Tinnie Punx and Takagi
Kan. The New Zealand hip hop scene began in earnest in the late 1980s, when
Maori performers like Upper Hutt Posse and Dalvanius Prime began recording,
gaining notoriety for lyrics that espoused tino rangatiratanga (Maori
sovereignty).
Hip-hop has globalized into many cultures
worldwide. We now find hip-hop in every corner of the globe, and like the South
Bronx, each locale embodies a kind of globalism. Hip hop has emerged globally
as an arts movement with the imperative to create something fresh by using
technology, speech, and the body in new ways. The music and the art continue to
embrace, even celebrate, its transnational dimensions while staying true to the
local cultures to which it is rooted. Hip-hop's inspiration differs depending
on each culture. Still, the one thing virtually all hip hop artists worldwide
have in common is that they acknowledge their debt to those Black and Latino
kids in New York who launched this global movement in the first place. As
hip-hop is sometimes taken for granted by Americans, it is not so elsewhere,
especially in the developing world, where it has come to represent the
empowerment of the dis-enfranchised and a slice of the American dream. American
hip-hop music has reached the cultural corridors of the globe and has been
absorbed and reinvented around the world.
In the
1990s, gangsta rap became mainstream, beginning in 1992, with the release of
Dr. Dre's The Chronic. This album established a style called G Funk, which soon
came to dominate West Coast hiphop. Other artists such as Tupac Shakur (a.k.a.
2Pac), who would start his rapping career in 1991, would dominate in the 90s
(before being shot and killed in a drive-by in 1996) becoming the highest
selling rapper ever with over 75,000,000 albums sold world wide and played a
major role in the East Coast-West Coast hip hop rivalry having beefs with East
Coast rappers The Notorious B.I.G. (a.k.a. Biggie) and Sean "Puffy"
Combs (now known as Diddy) and Bad Boy Records.
Also The Notorious B.I.G. would
rise to fame around the same time. Being from New York, Biggie brought the East
Coast back into the mainstream at a time when the West Coast mainly dominated
rap. He also played a major role in the East Coast-West Coast feud during the
90s and had beefs with Death Row Records artists. Record labels based out of
Atlanta, St. Louis, and New Orleans also gained fame for their local scenes. By
the end of the decade, especially with the success of Eminem, known for his
controversial lyrics beginning in 1999 with his second studio album The Slim
Shady LP, hip hop was an integral part of popular music, and many American pop songs
had a major hip hop component. The midwest rap scene also had good achievements
with unique fast rapping styles from artists such as Bone Thugs-n-Harmony and
Twista.
In the 90s and into the following decade,
elements of hip hop continued to be assimilated into other genres of popular
music; nu soul, for example, combined hip hop and soul music and produced some
major stars in the middle of the decade, while in the Dominican Republic, a
recording by Santi Y Sus Duendes and Lisa M became the first single of
merenrap, a fusion of hip hop and merengue.
New York City experienced a heavy Jamaican
hip hop influence during the 90s. This influence was brought on by cultural
shifts particularly due to the heightened immigration of Jamaicans to New York
City, and the American-born Jamaican youth who were coming of age during the
90s. Hip hop artists such as De La Soul and Black Star have both produced
albums influenced by Jamaican roots.
In Europe, Africa and Asia, hip hop began to
move from an underground phenomenon to reach mainstream audiences. In South
Africa, Poland, Germany, France, Italy and many other countries, hip hop stars
rose to prominence and gradually began to incorporate influences from their own
country, resulting in fusions like Tanzanian Bongo Flava and Kenyan Genge.
By the end of the 90s Hip Hop was one of the
most popular types of music in the world.
Snoop Doggy Dog
After
N.W.A. broke up, Dr. Dre (a former member) released The Chronic (1992), which
peaked at #1 on the R&B/hip hop chart, #3 on the pop chart and spawned a #2
pop single with Nuthin' but a "G" Thang. The Chronic took West Coast
rap in a new direction, influenced strongly by P funk artists, melding the
psychedelic funky beats with slowly drawled lyrics—this came to be known as G
funk, and dominated mainstream hip hop for several years through a roster of
artists on Death Row Records, including most popularly Snoop Doggy Dogg, whose
Doggystyle included the songs What's My Name and Gin and Juice, both Top Ten
pop hits.
