HHH (Hip Hop History)

AJ Vogt
Jan 19, 2016
2 min read

Hip Hop may not be as old as some other genres of music, nonetheless it has a rich history. The emergence of Hip Hop came about in the 1970s. There was the emergence of scratching, rapping and DJing. Rapping, also known as emceeing, is a vocal style where an artist usually rhymes along with a beat. Hip Hop music predates the introduction to rapping into hip hop culture. Originally, rapping came from African American jazz poetry and the call and response of African American religious ceremonies. The 1907s hip hop culture also experienced the influence of disco music and eventually the first hip hop sound recordings occurred in 1979.

The 1980s proved to further the Hip Hop genre of music. The diversification of hip hop as a genre helped develop more complex music styles. The beats and lyrical aspects of hip hop were evolving. Also in the 1980s, there is a spread of hip hop throughout the world.

The 1980s paved way to three waves of Hip Hop. The first wave was known as "New School Hip Hop." This included records from artists we know today such as LL Cool J and RUN DMC. This wave emerged in New York City and these artists created records that were shorter and could gain more radio play to compete with other genres. The second wave was known as the "Golden Age of Hip Hop" which was a period of mainstream hip hop and included diversity, quality innovation and influence. The last wave is known as "Gansta Rap" or "West Coast Hip Hop." This wave reflects the violent lifestyles of inner city american black youths. The most prominent album of this era was N.W.A's Straight Outta Compton, which shockingly sparked major controversy.

The 1990s proved to be a huge breakthrough for Hip Hop. MC Hammer hit multiplatinum with "U Can't Touch This." Vanilla Ice released "Ice Ice Baby" which reached number one in the United States as well as the UK and Australia. The 1990s was also known for the East versus West coast rivalry. The East Coast hip hop included the Wu-Tang Clan, Notorious B.I.G. and Jay-Z. The West Coast boasted artists such as Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre and Tupac Shakur.

Now in the 2000s, Hip Hop music is a multi billion dollar genre of music. Prominent artists that emerged in the early 2000s were Nelly, Lil Jon, The Ying Yang Twins. Jay-Z himself represented a cultural triumph of hip hop. He created his own label, clothing line and even owned his own club. Present day, hip hop is a genre that almost all people listen to and has such a rich and deep history that people still seek to understand.