The world of Hip Hop is a subculture that revolves around its music. Hip hop music, also known as rap music, is a musical genre that consists of stylized rythmic beats, commonly accompanied by rapping. Rapping, also referred to as MCing or emceeing, is a vocal style in which the artist speaks lyrically, in rhyme and verse, generally to an instrumental or synthesized beat.
Origin of Hip-hop Music
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It is said that the origin of the musical breakthrough came from the Bronx of New York. DJ Kool Herc(left) is believed to be the father of Hip Hop with his innovative musical talent of isolating the percussion breaks in the songs by using two turntables. He was also one of the first to deliver poetry verses over funk music breaks, or what is also known as rapping.
As the Hip Hop movement grew, so did its influences. Disco had a great impact on the progression of Hip Hop music throughout the 70's and 80's. By 1979, disco instrumental tracks had become the basis for much of the emerging Hip Hop songs. This new and exciting genre of music eventually led to the decline of disco. DJ Pete Jones, Eddie Cheeba, DJ Hollywood, and Love Bug Starski were some of the more popular disco-influenced artists of the time.
The period of time between the mid 80's and early 90's is known as the Golden Age of Hip Hop. It seemed as though every new song that came out changed the game and rose the bar. It was somewhat of a transition period between the Old School and New School of Hip Hop. Artists such as A Tribe Called Quest, Big Daddy Kane, and Public Enemy all contributed to this era of music in progressing it further to what it is today.
In 1990 MC Hammer scored a multi-platinum album called Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em. The record reached #1 and the first single, "U Can't Touch This", charted on the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100. It was the first Hip Hop album to be certified diamond by the RIAA for sales over ten million. It was a groundbreaking album for the entire Hip Hop culture.
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Throughout the coming years, Hip Hop would become the main source of music for teenagers and would be popular with those of other generations as well. Artists such as Dr. Dre, Tupac Shakur, Snoop Dogg, and many others would change the face of Hip Hop by integrating new styles and sounds and taking the music to a whole to level.
Dr. Dre remained an important figure in Hip Hop through the 2000's. He produced Eminem's The Marshall Mathers LP which would become the fastest selling album of all time. He also produced 50 Cent's Get Rich, Or Die Trying which would find itself at the top of the U.S. Billboard 200 list. Other variations of Hip Hop were emerging such as Crunk and Snap music which were more centered around the beats and rhythms rather than the lyrics.
Album Sales Drop
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As technology progressed through the years, the number of album sales dropped tremendously. More and more people were downloading their music digitally, and after certain websites and programs emerged, people didn't have to pay for music at all. In addition to this, many Hip Hop and Rap artists put their mix-tapes on websites such as datpiff.com for free because they want to get their name out there. Artists such as Wiz Khalifa, Big Sean, Lil Wayne, and many others have done this successfully and have benefited from their music by landing deals with record companies. But, there is still the factor of all the file-sharing sites and programs that make it difficult to gain capitol from record sales. Because of all this, record companies do not prosper like they used to.