Goodbye forever
consider this my last and final entry in this ridiculous black hole of nonsense called live journal.
if any of you care what i've been doing for the last couple of months here it is:
got arrested for weed,
on probation for 6 months,
went to the ER for my first ever stitches (8),
starting to live the clean life,
only 2 weeks left in SA then back to the town that is HOME.
AND,
for all the ignorant fucks that think they know what hip hop is..
Hip Hop Music and Culture (1974 - 1990)
Hip-hop is not just music; it is a whole cultural experience, a passion created by the oppressed black youth of America. The birth date of hip-hop was in the fall of 1974 on the 12th of November and its origin was the Big Apple itself: New York City. Hip-hop music began as a form of free speech and aesthetic personal expression. According to Ralph G. Giordano of the Community Review Journal, hip-hop culture “reflect[s] the sociological and economical realities of divorce, unemployment, and the apathy and hopelessness of the so-called ‘Generation-X’”.
In 1974, hip-hop music started out merely as poor teens from the slums standing in groups, rapping around their stereos that pounded out instrumental music, typically with heavy bass lines. Taking turns, each tries their best to “flow.” This is when he/she tries to say rhyming words together, like a song, that both follow the rhythm of the music, and typically have a deeper meaning. (However, notice there is an emphasis on the word “say” rather than “sing.”) The word “flowing” is a slang term used when someone is making up a song off of the top of their head as they are saying it; the song is then called a “flow.” This type of “on-the-spot” flowing can also be called “free styling.” When the person can no longer keep going fluently and coherently it is considered “falling off,” and another person quickly steps in to “pick up” and continue rhyming where the other left off. There is also another aspect of the music which is much more competitive. In this aspect, people form “crews” which are groups of rappers, who then go out in search of others to “battle”. A battle consists of two crews, or even just two people, who take turns going back and forth trying to “diss” or mildly insult the other in their lyrics. In this way, the music becomes a form of “representing” where that person is from, and a way of gaining respect for themselves or their crew. Typically, the winner is decided by the amount of cheering from the crowd, which is usually based on the level of cleverness of the insults. In this way they were free to express their angst, anger, fears, love and sometimes just stroke their own egos.
Not until the late 70’s did the public, and other ethnic and social classes, even begin to notice hip-hop music, which until this time had been only in the ghettos of big cities. Public interest in hip-hop grew rapidly and the music moved out of the streets and into the clubs. This was where hip-hop got its makeover from flowing over simple instrumentals to an intricate sampling of various tracks, and it is the introduction of the turntables that made it all possible. Turntables are simply a set of two record players placed side by side, connected with a “mixer” that allows disc jockeys, or DJs, to switch and combine sounds from two records at once. The growing popularity also brought about the coining of the term “MC,” which is the name for the person who is flowing at the moment. MC was originally an acronym for “Master of Ceremonies” because he/she is typically the one in control of pumping up the crowd. It can also be used as a verb in place of the word flowing; however, “MCing” is more appropriately used for when a person is reciting a prewritten song or rap.
The lyrics and the instrumental music of hip-hop are two equal parts that contribute to the final product; however the music is the more intricate half. “Sampling” is the art of taking pieces of other tracks and mixing them into another instrumental beat using the turntables and mixer or a prerecorded “DAT,” (digital audio tape). Ian Maxwell of the Australian Journal of Anthropology describes the component layers of the DAT: “The basic backing track usually consists of a synthesized drum beat, or a looped drum sample, overlaid with sampled horn riffs, guitar figures, vocal grabs, sound effects dialogue from rented videos: literally anything that can be sampled.” When a DAT is used, it leaves the DJ free to create yet another layer of sound to add to the music by “scratching” or “dropping” other beats and samples. Scratching, also called “cutting,” is a technique of creating a scratching sound, using the turntables, by repeatedly moving the record clock and counter clockwise a small distance very quickly with the hands. Doing this in combination with quick rhythmic back and forth movement of the cross-fader creates yet another layer of rhythm on top of the music. “Dropping” a beat simply means the DJ starts a second record with another sample at precisely the right time and place in the song. Sound samples like dogs barking, cars honking, and various “street sounds” allow the artist to create a feeling, mood, or even an environment that the listener can experience along with the music.
In the mid to late eighties, hip-hop finally came to its glory days. The newfound interest and technological advancement began to commercialize the music, and artists tried to gain fame and recognition in their area. Doing so could also bring recognition from producers, who were just discovering the potential monetary opportunities of having a brand new genre of marketable music. The producers then began offering artists the opportunity to sign record deals with a label and record their music for the public: a dream come true for all artists in search of wide-spread recognition or fame. This soon became the goal for many young rappers, and the thought of getting “signed” was a new driving force behind the music, making it difficult for lyrical content to stay true and keep its meaning. At this time, hip-hop music became not only an enjoyed cultural pastime, but also a possible career and means of income.
One problem the hip-hop community faced in the late eighties to early nineties was its wrongful association with the overly commercialized, bland, and vulgar rap genre. Although rap is often perceived as a sub-genre of hip-hop, or even the other way around, there are distinct differences that put the two in separate categories altogether. Hip-hop is a soulful, cultural, and ethnic music that blends artistic musical talent with cunning lyrics to produce an aesthetic and intellectually stimulating artistic form of music. On the other hand, rap is a more harsh interpretation that typically consists of overused instrumental beats and pompous, self-promoting, sex-oriented lyrics that are combined to produce a pop-like “mainstream” music genre that appeals more to the white middle-class.
As hip-hop popularity continued to grow, it also encountered several problems on a new level, particularly regarding profane lyrical content. Because it is such an ethnic cultural music and its influences are so gritty and real, many artists used profanity in their lyrics to convey their emotion. In 1990, the 2 Live Crew in Florida was tried in court for criminal obscenity charges on the basis of the obscene content in the lyrics of their album As Nasty As They Wanna Be. However, in the end, all charges were dismissed partially based on the Constitutional Amendment right to freedom of speech. Overcoming the obstacles created by those opposed to the profanity in hip-hop music is a feat that presents itself throughout the course of hip-hop’s existence.
Despite this and other negative publicity, hip-hop artists still remained true to their positive efforts to address racism, education, sexism, drug use, and spiritual uplift through poetic lyrics and soulful music. A representation of the multifaceted aspirations of a minority, hip-hop began as a dream to unite the black community and ended up uniting several different communities with one common goal of enlightenment and raising social awareness. Hip-hop music is a cultural experience, and those who truly understand and appreciate its history will continue the aesthetic tradition started by the suppressed souls in the slums of New York over 30 years ago.
if any of you care what i've been doing for the last couple of months here it is:
got arrested for weed,
on probation for 6 months,
went to the ER for my first ever stitches (8),
starting to live the clean life,
only 2 weeks left in SA then back to the town that is HOME.
AND,
for all the ignorant fucks that think they know what hip hop is..
Hip Hop Music and Culture (1974 - 1990)
Hip-hop is not just music; it is a whole cultural experience, a passion created by the oppressed black youth of America. The birth date of hip-hop was in the fall of 1974 on the 12th of November and its origin was the Big Apple itself: New York City. Hip-hop music began as a form of free speech and aesthetic personal expression. According to Ralph G. Giordano of the Community Review Journal, hip-hop culture “reflect[s] the sociological and economical realities of divorce, unemployment, and the apathy and hopelessness of the so-called ‘Generation-X’”.
In 1974, hip-hop music started out merely as poor teens from the slums standing in groups, rapping around their stereos that pounded out instrumental music, typically with heavy bass lines. Taking turns, each tries their best to “flow.” This is when he/she tries to say rhyming words together, like a song, that both follow the rhythm of the music, and typically have a deeper meaning. (However, notice there is an emphasis on the word “say” rather than “sing.”) The word “flowing” is a slang term used when someone is making up a song off of the top of their head as they are saying it; the song is then called a “flow.” This type of “on-the-spot” flowing can also be called “free styling.” When the person can no longer keep going fluently and coherently it is considered “falling off,” and another person quickly steps in to “pick up” and continue rhyming where the other left off. There is also another aspect of the music which is much more competitive. In this aspect, people form “crews” which are groups of rappers, who then go out in search of others to “battle”. A battle consists of two crews, or even just two people, who take turns going back and forth trying to “diss” or mildly insult the other in their lyrics. In this way, the music becomes a form of “representing” where that person is from, and a way of gaining respect for themselves or their crew. Typically, the winner is decided by the amount of cheering from the crowd, which is usually based on the level of cleverness of the insults. In this way they were free to express their angst, anger, fears, love and sometimes just stroke their own egos.
Not until the late 70’s did the public, and other ethnic and social classes, even begin to notice hip-hop music, which until this time had been only in the ghettos of big cities. Public interest in hip-hop grew rapidly and the music moved out of the streets and into the clubs. This was where hip-hop got its makeover from flowing over simple instrumentals to an intricate sampling of various tracks, and it is the introduction of the turntables that made it all possible. Turntables are simply a set of two record players placed side by side, connected with a “mixer” that allows disc jockeys, or DJs, to switch and combine sounds from two records at once. The growing popularity also brought about the coining of the term “MC,” which is the name for the person who is flowing at the moment. MC was originally an acronym for “Master of Ceremonies” because he/she is typically the one in control of pumping up the crowd. It can also be used as a verb in place of the word flowing; however, “MCing” is more appropriately used for when a person is reciting a prewritten song or rap.
The lyrics and the instrumental music of hip-hop are two equal parts that contribute to the final product; however the music is the more intricate half. “Sampling” is the art of taking pieces of other tracks and mixing them into another instrumental beat using the turntables and mixer or a prerecorded “DAT,” (digital audio tape). Ian Maxwell of the Australian Journal of Anthropology describes the component layers of the DAT: “The basic backing track usually consists of a synthesized drum beat, or a looped drum sample, overlaid with sampled horn riffs, guitar figures, vocal grabs, sound effects dialogue from rented videos: literally anything that can be sampled.” When a DAT is used, it leaves the DJ free to create yet another layer of sound to add to the music by “scratching” or “dropping” other beats and samples. Scratching, also called “cutting,” is a technique of creating a scratching sound, using the turntables, by repeatedly moving the record clock and counter clockwise a small distance very quickly with the hands. Doing this in combination with quick rhythmic back and forth movement of the cross-fader creates yet another layer of rhythm on top of the music. “Dropping” a beat simply means the DJ starts a second record with another sample at precisely the right time and place in the song. Sound samples like dogs barking, cars honking, and various “street sounds” allow the artist to create a feeling, mood, or even an environment that the listener can experience along with the music.
In the mid to late eighties, hip-hop finally came to its glory days. The newfound interest and technological advancement began to commercialize the music, and artists tried to gain fame and recognition in their area. Doing so could also bring recognition from producers, who were just discovering the potential monetary opportunities of having a brand new genre of marketable music. The producers then began offering artists the opportunity to sign record deals with a label and record their music for the public: a dream come true for all artists in search of wide-spread recognition or fame. This soon became the goal for many young rappers, and the thought of getting “signed” was a new driving force behind the music, making it difficult for lyrical content to stay true and keep its meaning. At this time, hip-hop music became not only an enjoyed cultural pastime, but also a possible career and means of income.
One problem the hip-hop community faced in the late eighties to early nineties was its wrongful association with the overly commercialized, bland, and vulgar rap genre. Although rap is often perceived as a sub-genre of hip-hop, or even the other way around, there are distinct differences that put the two in separate categories altogether. Hip-hop is a soulful, cultural, and ethnic music that blends artistic musical talent with cunning lyrics to produce an aesthetic and intellectually stimulating artistic form of music. On the other hand, rap is a more harsh interpretation that typically consists of overused instrumental beats and pompous, self-promoting, sex-oriented lyrics that are combined to produce a pop-like “mainstream” music genre that appeals more to the white middle-class.
As hip-hop popularity continued to grow, it also encountered several problems on a new level, particularly regarding profane lyrical content. Because it is such an ethnic cultural music and its influences are so gritty and real, many artists used profanity in their lyrics to convey their emotion. In 1990, the 2 Live Crew in Florida was tried in court for criminal obscenity charges on the basis of the obscene content in the lyrics of their album As Nasty As They Wanna Be. However, in the end, all charges were dismissed partially based on the Constitutional Amendment right to freedom of speech. Overcoming the obstacles created by those opposed to the profanity in hip-hop music is a feat that presents itself throughout the course of hip-hop’s existence.
Despite this and other negative publicity, hip-hop artists still remained true to their positive efforts to address racism, education, sexism, drug use, and spiritual uplift through poetic lyrics and soulful music. A representation of the multifaceted aspirations of a minority, hip-hop began as a dream to unite the black community and ended up uniting several different communities with one common goal of enlightenment and raising social awareness. Hip-hop music is a cultural experience, and those who truly understand and appreciate its history will continue the aesthetic tradition started by the suppressed souls in the slums of New York over 30 years ago.