One of my favorite hip hop rap groups has to be Wu Tang Clan. I like them because they have a really raw, gritty, almost disrespectful vibe to them. The crew has such an original style you can't help but acknowledge it. Although the members of wu tang clan are known for some irreverent behavior, the have proven themselves to be intellegent and wise as well.
Wu Tang is a sword style of kung fu martial arts prscticed in China, the term "wu tang" translates into the english word battle (WU-TANG CLAN Frequently Asked). The rap group consists of 9 members: Ghostface Killah, Masta Killa, Rza, Gza, U-God, Inspectah Deck, Method Man, Raekwon, and Ol' Dirty Bastard. They formed in 1993 in Staten Island, and are one of the most successful rap groups ever. Rza was basically the leader of the clan, abd stated by an article found on The Wu Tang Corp website:
The vision of the Wu-Tang Clan is undoubtedly due to the musical skills of RZA. Under his direction, the group - through its own efforts and the solo projects, all of which he produced or co-produced - created a hazy, surreal, and menacing soundscape out of hardcore beats, eerie piano riffs, and minimal samples. Over these surrealistic backing tracks, the MCs rapped hard, updating the old-school attack with vicious violence, martial arts imagery, and a welcome warped humor. By 1995, the sound was one of the most instantly recognizable in hip-hop (Wu-Tang Clan).-
The first Wu Tang single was Prorect Ya Neck, which became an underground hit. Then record labels started offering the group contracts but they declined. They didn't sign with a label until they got a deal that would let each member record solo albums (Wu-Tang Clan). The group released a group album, and then each member went and did a bunch of solo projects. They debuted their first album, Enter the Wu-Tang, November 9, 1993 and it went platinum (Wu Tang Clan Biography).
Many people tend to misunderstand hip-hop, and look down upon hip hop music in comparison to other genres of music. There are a lot of 'rappers' who misrepresent hip hop, and this is the main reason why people have these misconceptions that they have. Listeners are only exposed to mainstream rap played on the radio; they aren't going to be into the underground artists whose music actually has substance.
Many artists who are new to the music industry are very often taken advantage of by record labels. These labels exploit the artists' talents, and abuse the artists for profit. Usually the companies will change up the entire artist, from how they dress and act in public, to what their music sounds like. These artists are naive and will do anything the record labels tell them will make them famous.
In an article by News Week Magazine gives examples of Salt 'n' Pepa, who were taken advantage of by their record label:
CHERYL JAMES AND SANDY DENTON knew very little about the music business when they landed their recording contract that transformed a couple of Sears' customer-service reps into rap's most successful girl group: Salt 'N' Pepa. How little? In 1985, when their manager said sign on the dotted line, they did: a 1~year contract with Next Plateau Records for 50 cents per album sold with no option to renegotiate even if they were to become, say, a top 40 hit machine. Three platinum albums later, they made about $100,000 a year each, while their manager and record company raked in millions. "I always knew something wasn't right with it, but I didn't know what," says Denton of their ironclad deal. "We were intimidated by this white business-man telling us it was the right thing to do." Adds James: "We never even thought of a lawyer" (A Risky Business).
These rappers who don't know what to expect when it comes to record labels usually end up with little to no money once they are not famous anymore. And the music they come up with is a false representation of who they and where they come from. When in fact they put on a facade created by the record company so that the artist will be praised by the audience. Then once the artist's prominence has dwindled and they no longer have a use for them they spit them back out into the real world without having actually made any real money. The music that is being made by such rap artists make songs that often cheapens any other artists' music, from the perspective of someone who doesn't acknowledge hip hop's full potential.
Rap music does have a tendency to be negative and materialistic. The hip hop music that is put out is a reflection of our society's current state. In Jeff Mendelman's rendition of Mos Def's song Hip hop, he stated: “rap music will reflect and analyze wherever we’re at in America. If we’re virtuous, so too will rap. If we remain a misogynistic, malevolent, materialistic society, so too will rap” (Mendelman).
There are just certain artists who portray hip hop in a very negative way. It isn't limited to only mainstream, but that tends to be what most people hear and base their attitude towards hip hop solely off what is played on the radio.
"A Risky Business." Newsweek 18 July 1994: 56-57. Rap Coalition. Web. 10 Apr. 2013. <http://www.rapcoalition.org/A%20Risky%20Business.htm>.
Mendelman, Jeff. "From Jay-Z to Kanye West: Does Rap Music Promote Bad Values?"PolicyMic. N.p., 2012. Web. 10 Apr. 2013. <http://www.policymic.com/articles/3001/from-jay-z-to-kanye-west-does-rap-music-promote-bad-values>.
The first djs would only play the breakdown of the record; they would play just the beat of the record. A break beat can come from any record that has a break down beat in it. So famous djs would only play the breaks of records and people would dance over the breaks of the record and these were called break dancers.
Break dancing is one of the most popular forms of dancing all over the world. People would take their aggression out in dancing, instead of going out and robbing people or participating in gang related activities. Hip hop dancing began in the Bronx, and requires a lot of energy, athleticism, and creativity. It is an important element of hip hop, just as important as emceeing, beatboxing, and djing.
There are many different styles of dances in break dancing. There are 7 basic moves: the drops, the foot work, the floor rock, the power moves, the top rock, the suicides, and the freezes (Kulkarni). These basic moves also break down into various sub categories. The most fascinating part about break dancing is that people can create their own moves all the time, there are little to no rules when it comes to breaking, so any move can be made up.
I really love how some break dancing moves are influenced by martial arts. Martial arts techniques and fighting styles are beautiful in their own way, and the way people utilize them as part of their dance is captivating. I was watching an old Kung-Fu movie one day and noticed a lot of the moves were similar to break dancing moves.
Capoeira, which is Brazilian martial arts, that consists of a stylized dance, performed in a circle called the 'roda', with music playing in the background. It involves self-defense, combat, dance-like expression, acrobatics, and music. Capoeira isn't fought, it is 'played'. Then two capoeiristas enter the roda or circle and perform a dance-like battle (What is Capoeira). I find Capoeira interesting because it reminds me a lot of break dancing. There are probably many break dancers who are influenced by Capoeira, and incorporate it into their dance.
This is what a Capoeira performance looks like:
An MC or master of ceremonies is the word used to describe a
rapper who MC’s while the DJ mixes the music. However, the term is not limited
to only hip-hop, MCing, or emceeing, is utilized in many genres of music. They
are known to host events and perform in front of an audience and keep the event
entertaining. In addition to performing live, emceeing can also be done in a
recording studio. Although many people believe hip hop and rap music is simple and holds no importance it actually led to many things being accomplished just through music. Emceeing is the verbal component of hip-hop; it is also an essential
element of hip-hop.
Many people believe rapping started in New York, but it
actually manifested in Jamaica. Rapping then found its way to New York when a legendary
MC named Kool Herc brought it with him from Jamaica. In the 60’s Jamaican
sound-system operators only had one turntable, so they employed people called ‘chanters’.
These chanters would ‘toast’ over tracks in between records so that the people
dancing wouldn’t get bored and walk away. Eventually the chanters realized that
they could profit from this, and began recording, thus creating rap (Rap Music
Began). Kool Herc brought this style of toasting to New York and would liven
the crowd up by shouting things such as “throw your hands in the air, and wave ‘em
like you just don’t care” (Mcing).
This eventually evolved into rapping when other people
copied Kool Herc’s style of chanting over music, and fused it with poetry. Rap music started as something so simple and grew greater than anyone would've ever thought it could. The lyrical and vocal portion of hip hop is vital because it gave many people a voice. They were able to speak on things through music that they weren't able to before. This was the starting point to a whole new movement that no one had seen before.
"Mcing." Real Hip Hop. N.p., n.d. Web.
28 Feb. 2013.
"Rap Music Began on Jamaica in the 1960's." The
New York Times. The New York Times, 15 June 1988. Web. 28 Feb. 2013.
Most people don’t
realize how much the music on a son is, apart from the lyrics/vocals. Although
the main focus of the song is the rapper's vocals, I believe the beats
contribute a lot to the song. The beat of a song in hip hop is commonly known
as the instrumental of a song. A song would not be complete without a well-made
instrumental. Instrumentals aren't really recognized by most people because the main focus of a song is usually the artist rapping on the song. In a lot of underground rap instrumentals are held in high regard. A lot of underground rappers collaborate with producers and make some of the best mix tapes I've ever heard. With some of the new technologies producers are able to create some of the most original beats. Some of my favorite producers/collabs are Curren$y and The Alchemist, Blue and Exile, and MF Doom and Madlib.
Sometimes I
even like to listen to only instrumentals of songs. The instrumentals are the music portion of a hip hop song that doesn’t include
any rapping or vocals. Instrumentals are usually made by a producer. The
producer is the person who makes the instrumental, using all types of types of techniques
and samples to set off the song.
Sampling is
when a piece of one song is cut and put into another song and used as part of
the beat as an instrument. This technique originated when DJs didn't have many
other resources so they would use what they had. Producers use samples from
virtually anything, the more original the sample the better the beat turns
out. Producers incorporate samples into beats looping the sample, which is
done by cutting the sample so it plays continuously. Then adding a couple of
drum sounds onto the sample.
Here are some good examples of samplings and instrumentals:
I believe one of the most important things about current rap or hip-hop is preserving the things that hip-hop revolve around. I feel as though if people begin to forget what makes hip-hop so great, it won't leave the mark in history that it deserves. I really like when current hip-hop artists incorporate classic components into songs, it shows how much of an appreciation they have for hip-hop. I find songs with that quality, recorded in a low-budget studio, crackly, vintage-y sound somehow beautiful. Lo-fi, which is another word for low-fidelity, which is basically that grainy sounding, low quality music, but it's done on purpose. It gives the song a more classic hip-hop sound, many people would say it depreciates the song, however, I conceive it to make the song even better. It gives off a nostalgic vibe, almost as if the song were from the 90's/80's. Another element that can be used to give songs a classical feel is the scratching. Scratching is a technique used by turntablists, which is taking the sound on a record, and moving the record back and forth to create a scratching noise. Most people don't know how many different techniques are used by turntablists. Turntablism is a lot more complicated than playing records on a turntable, which can take quite a long time to fully master. Originally the main role of a DJ was to play songs on turntables, which are what records are played on, and mix tracks in between songs to make them flow together. Many famous DJs developed a technique to find precise points in a song by dropping the needle on a record, these are called turntablists. They are called turntablist because they are able to use a turntable in a different and unique way. As defined by "turntablism defined" a turntablist is someone who uses the turntables to manipulate sounds and beats on a record, and create their own music or sounds to it (Turntablism Defined).
True hip-hop lovers want to keep these elements alive because there are lot of people who aren't familiar with where these sounds originated. I hope one day old school hip-hop elements will make their way back into modern day songs and make an even bigger impact on music than it did before.
An example of current rappers involving classic hip-hop elements in their songs:
"JUICE DJ BATTLE." YouTube. YouTube, 24 June 2006. Web. 13 Feb. 2013.
"Kid Abstrakt - Let My Tape Rock." YouTube. YouTube, 12 June 2012. Web. 20 Feb. 2013.
Beatboxing is a fascinating part of hip-hop; it is a person replicating the sounds of a beatbox using only their mouths. I find beatboxing very intriguing, and have always wished that I was skilled with being able to beatbox really well. It may seem easy but once you actually attempt it you just end up with spit flying everywhere and no actual beatbox sounds coming out. It requires a lot of skill and practice, which many of the pros have mastered and made use of in their careers. The art of beatboxing has left a huge impression on hip-hop culture, it creates and unrefined raw sound that can't be reproduced in today's music using computer software produced beats.
Since actual beat machines were expensive and MC's couldn't afford them they improvised, thus beatboxing came into being. Some of my favorite beatboxers are Rahzel, Biz Markie, and Doug E Fresh; I believe they cultivated the foundation of a whole new era of hip-hop, back when beatboxing was still in its prime. According to Mary Elizabeth: “beatboxing is the art of producing drum beats, rhythm, and musical sounds using one's mouth, lips, tongue, voice, nasal passage and throat"(Elizabeth). Watching pro beatboxers is so interesting because it actually does sound like they're using some type of beat machine but all of the sound is produced vocally.
Not many people know where and when beatboxing began specifically, like many other aspects of hip-hop. However, most would say beatboxing originated from 'The Fat Boys', a group made up of: Mark "Prince Markie Dee" Morales, Darren "The Human Beat Box" Robinson, and Damon "Kool Rock-ski" Wimbley. Since Robinson couldn't afford a drum set he would replicate the sounds that would normally emit from a drum set (The Fat Boys). It's astounding how The Fat Boys utilized not having something and creating a completely new hip-hop subculture. Beatboxing is a class of its own, just as other subdivisions of hip-hop it plays and important role. It gives people room to create raw music, without anything except them mouths. Beatboxing just proves how creative people can be; when they don't have the resources necessary to make music they create it themselves. These days, however, beatboxing isn’t very popular anymore. Human beatboxers have been replaced with free computer programs that anyone can use. Although there is probably still an entire community of people who revolve their lives around beatboxing who probably still appreciate the art. I hope one day beatboxing will make a comeback, maybe in some post-apocalyptic era where all people have is their mouths to create beautiful music.
Elizabeth, Mary, and Bronwyn Harris. WiseGeek. Conjecture, n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2013. "Slick Rick & Doug E. Fresh - La Di Da Di (Full Version)." YouTube. YouTube, 04 May 2009. Web. 13 Feb. 2013. "The Fat Boys." The Fat Boys. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2013.
