Rap music

Rap musicHow Rap music has been a part of our society and the impact it has had.

By Lori BarnabyMusic 1234 Final Project

Abel11-24-13

The assignment was to show how a under –represented, Disenfranchised and disempowered group or person in the musical society changed there music genera and the impact on society it has had.I have picked Rap music and am going to show how their music and social problems made rap what it is today.

Definitions

• Under- represented: to provide with insufficient and inadequate representation.

• Disenfranchised: to deprive (someone) of a right or privilege

• Disempowered: to make (a person or group) less powerful or confident

The birth place of Rap music

• The birth place of rap was started in New York city. If to be more specific it was in the Bronx at an apartment.• The story is that it was at a back to

school party for his sister that DJ Kool Herc tried something new on the turntables. He extended an instrumental beat (Breaking and scratching) to let people dance longer (break dancing) and began MC’ing (rapping) during the extended breakdancing.

The begging of rap

• This is the building were rap was started. It is an apartment building in Bronx New York.

The roots of rap music

• The definition of “rap” is the reciting of rhymes to the best music.• Rap is a form of expression that finds its roots deep in the African

culture and their oral traditions.• In history there has been a history of oral tradition. We learned about

the call and response in the slavery music and when dancing to celebrate.• The relation between the African oral traditions is what provides rap

music with much of its current social significance.• The roots of rap have also lead to a long time connection between

oral historians, lyrical fetishism and political advocacy.

The heart of oral traditions

• The name Nommo means the first humans being, the creation of the supreme deity.• Amma who's creativity is in the spoken generation property of the

word• These two things together are believed to have given power to

rappers and rap music within many African –American communities.• This ties the traditions of old African music to todays rap music and

how it keeps the traditions alive.

From playground to recording studio

• Throughout history there has always been some kind of verbal jousting involving rhymes in the African American community.• There has been Signifying, testifying, shinnin of the titanic, the

dozens, school yard rhymes ,prision’jail house’ rhymes and double Dutch jump rope.• These are just some of the names that rap has manifested from the

play ground into the music scene.• The dozens and school yard rhymes were the first to be used in rap

music.• At this point it was called “emceeing” , not rap.

Express yourself

• Rap was a hit with the youth of new York, it gave them the freedom to express themselves.• It was also an art form accessible to anyone and didn’t need a lot of

money or expensive resources to rhyme.• Rapping was skill that could be practiced and worked on at anytime.• It also lead to more freedoms from youth in different areas.• There are four different areas of Hip Hop music, graffiti art, break

dancing, dj( cutting and scratching) and emceeing(rapping).

Expression• The four different areas lead to the

lifestyle with its own language, style of dress, music and mind set that is always growing and changing.• Breakdancing is done to rap music as

another form of freedom of expression for youth.• The break dancers would have matches to

see which group was the best, theses groups were usually gang members of the inner city's.

Trying to be Heard

• Rap music is a direct result of a younger generation trying to be heard by an older generation on there needs and values of their youth.• Rap started as a form of self expression for the urban youth in the

city's.• The major change of rap music was when there was a major format

change to black radio stations in the 70s.• The radio station was major factor in the black community. There lives

revolved around the station and so did the youth of that time.• It helped keep the communities informed of important events the

papers and television didn’t.

The first rap artist

• The first rap artist to be singed to a record deal was Kurtis Blow. He was singed by Russell Simmons and his management company.• The band called the funky four +

one was the first rap group that had a female artist as an MCs , her name was Sha Rock.

Sugar Hill Gang

• In 1979 the Sugar Hills Gang releases “Rappers Delight”• The song goes on to become

Hip –hops first hit and it mainstreams America to rap music.• http://www.youtube.com/watch

?v=tAnojTvyc0g

The growth of rap music

• Blondie releases a single called “Rapture” which features Fab 5 Freddy and Grandmaster Flash, this furthers rap into the main stream of music more.• In 1980 Treacherous Three

releases “the new rap language “ it has a new style of rap called “Speed Rapping”

Mainstream

• The rap music continues to grow over the next couple of years and in 1983 a group named “Run DMC released there first single called “Sucker MCs/ its like that”• With there hard and aggressive

rhymes , it is the begging and the end of “old school” hip –hop artist.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpyZP4huGbo

The new blood of producing• There came a new wave of producers in the rap game . • In 1984 Russell Simmons meets a young college kid named

Rick Rubin and together they start “Def. Jam Records”. It is run out of There dorm room at NYU.• Def. Jam releases there first single called “Its yours”, by T

La Rock and Jazzy Jay.• In 1985 a young artist under the Def. Jam label releases an

album called “Radio” , by LL Cool J. this is the first album to be released by an upcoming artist from the label.• Def. Jam finances and releases it own rap movie called “

Krush Groove” it becomes a hit. It as music from Run DMC, Kurtis Blow, the Fat Boys and newly-signed Beastie Boys.

The new wave of rap music

• Until 1985 rap music was a African American music. It changed when Def. Jam signed the Beastie Boys a white rap group.• They released there first album

in 1986 called “Licensed to ill”• It becomes the best –selling rap

album of the decade. • It was my first introduction to

rap music.• http://www.youtube.com/watch

?v=svTuSRiFPoc

Rap in the 1990s

• In the 1990s rap music grew and new labels emerged on the scene.

• There were new artist like M.C. Hammer, Queen Latifa, Ice Cube and Dr. Dre, Snoop Doggy Dog and Jay-Z and Lauren Hill, just to name a few who had impacts on rap music wither good or bad.

• The album by Lauren Hill was a mixture between rap, reggae, gospel , soul and folk.

• The album became the most acclaimed album of the year and thrust hill into international stardom.

Rap music in the 2000

• The feud that was going on between the west coast rappers and the east coast rappers came to an end with the shooting deaths of 2Pac and Biggie Smalls. The loss of theses two legendary rappers caused the rap community to stop fighting with each other and to come together.

• There were also new artist that came onto the rap scene like Eminem one of the most famous known rappers , but being white had to prove himself to the rap world.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uh9LGytJOHk

Rap and political freedom

• Modern day rappers do what the slaves of old used to do when they would sing about things they were not supposed to and didn’t want the slave owner to find out.• They rap in metaphors, this is a form of lyrical skills they had to use in

order to not get killed by the slave owner.• Rap has formed a resistance to the subjugation of working –class

African Americans in urban areas.• Rap has a powerful potential to address social ,economic, and political

issues and to act as a voice for its audience.

Society and rap music

• Rap music compared to the other kinds of music seems excessively violent.• This is because there culture has been seeped in a fight against political,

social and economic oppression.• The theatrics behind some rap music and videos are for the producers , but

for many artist rapping about guns and gang life is a reflection of everyday life in racially and economically stratified inner city ghettos and housing projects.• The violence in rap is in no way going to harm America youth, but rather an

outcry of an already existing problem that has been shaped by experiencing deep economic inequalities divided largely along racial lines.

Fighting the powers that be

• In the years to come groups freedom to express there feelings came under attack from the government.• In 1988 NWA released an album called “Fuck the Police” and came

under attack from the FBI. The FBI Issue a warning to the group and this starts a long standing feud between the power that bee and gangster rap• In 1989 Public enemy releases there third album called “Fear of a black

planet”.• It was a controversial due to its ant-Semitic remarks made by a group

member named Professor Griff ,I an interview .He was released from the group after the interview .

Censorship

• When it came to rap music the politicians and groups searching for an easy solution to Americas struggle with it youth and the violence they have incurred.• They blamed rap music for desensitizing the youth to the effects of

guns, drugs, and gangs and inciting violent incidents.• Groups have attempted to set up musical rating systems, parental

advisory warnings and outright censorship of some music.• The first artist to be censored in the USA was 2live crew. There music

was pulled off the shelves and they were not allowed to preform there music in concerts in the US.

Violence in rap music

• Violence in rap music and in other forms of self –expression is from feeling hopelessness and discontent in Americas working class it is more so a case in the minority working class communities.• By blaming rap as the main issues for violence ,it make politicians have

an attempt of easing there consciousness of there constituents a and the history of oppression that has given birth to the hip hop culture and rap.• In order to really change violence in today society , you need to change

it everywhere, movies, television and music. You must also need to address this issues of poverty and prejudice in Americas city's.

Conclusion

• The rap world has come a far way from its beginnings in the Bronx.• We have seen it change the way people think and share there personal

freedoms.• It has made a community come together and fell united by a common goal.• It has helped in the growth of the African American community in TV , Films,

Fashion and of course the music world.• The community of rap music can be a confusing one , if you do not

understand the roots of where it came from and what they had to go through.• The world is a mixing pot of people and are united by so many different

kinds of music, rap is a part of the mixture that holds this world together.

Bibliography

• http://www.stanford.edu/class/e297c/poverty_prejudice/mediarace/socialsignificance.htm• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAnojTvyc0g• http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/investigation/birthplace-o

f-hip-hop/• http://www.daveyd.com/raphist9.html• http://www.digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/best_rap-timeline1.html• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpyZP4huGbo• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svTuSRiFPoc• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uh9LGytJOHk