Grammy's - Rap

In 1988, the National Association of Recording Arts and Sciences announced a new Grammy category, Rap. The president of NARAS used this statement to explain the addition: "Rap last year was an urban black music form, and over the last year it has evolved into something more than that. It has matured into several kinds of music, with several kinds of artists doing it. We felt there was enough product coming out to justify a rap category."

This statement begs the question oh who is hip hop actually for, and does it matter who listens?

Initally, Hip Hop was music "by the people, for the people," meaning the artists were creating music for the same culture they grew up in. As Hip Hop started to become more popular, different types of people started lsitening and new artists emerged.

In the beginning, most Hip Hop artists that were rappers were black. There were early white groups, but they had a major problem. They were singing about issues that were not relatable to them. Although these white rap groups became more pallatable to the American pubic, they were missing a huge part of the lifestyle that they were singing about.

The reason that the President of NARAS comment might be controversial is because it could potentially remove the value of the rap music. Rap music was known for addressing social issues, and even lead social movements, especially for the African American population at the time. Groups like Public Enemy were an avenue of support for movements like the Black Panther movement.

Present day, we have seen the evolution of rappers and rap groups. Artists like Macklemore have released records that question his place in the hip hop world and as a rapper. All in all I think anyone can listen to any type of music, depending on ones interest, but there will always be a deeper connection to rap music for someone who grew up in the culture that is referenced so often in the lyrics.

#HipHopCulture #HipHopHistory #rap #grammys