Introduction
Rap is a musical genre with an interesting and complex history. Throughout its 60-year history, certain artists have pioneered the genre, while their contemporaries have made important distinctions in their artwork. Rap culture is inexorably linked to black culture, and the history of rap music is, in a sense, the history of black people (Edmunds, 2021).
The History of Rap
In the 1970s, rap history began in New York City when DJs began to isolate and extend the percussion breaks in soul and disco songs through looping. Masters of ceremonies, more popularly known as MCs, introduced disk jockeys or DJs and interacted with the audience in between songs. The DJs were often the first to introduce the audience to the music, and the audience was often the first to hear the music (Edmunds, 2021).
How was early rap different from today’s rap?
Social oppression, racial inequality, and the “humble boast” of material wealth are eternal themes of rap, but its ancestors were fundamentally different from today’s product. Production technology was still in its infancy, and creators were forced to make do with limited equipment. After the Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight” became the first mainstream hit in 1979, drum machines and samplers appeared (Garcia, 2021).
Probably the most notable difference between the hip hop of the 1990s and the hip hop of today is the lyrics. Hip hop in general, in the years before that, was focused on a relatively narrow range of topics. Rather than the success of the artist, the songs were about his or her rise. Yet, even the most economically successful rappers have written about lives of violence, crime, and destitution (McNulty-Finn, 2014).
What hasn’t changed
Obviously, several aspects of the genre have remained the same. Besides a commitment to honest communication, an artist’s “longevity comes from (him or her) having worked really hard.” Most of today’s biggest rappers, including Eminem, Jay-Z, and Lil Wayne, debuted during the rap era of the 1990s, then founded their very own record label and professional production company, and kept on recording and gaining a foothold in the music business (McNulty-Finn, 2014).
References
Edmunds, J. (2021). The Daily Targum. [online] The Daily Targum. Available at: https://dailytargum.com/article/2021/11/how-rap-has-evolved-over-time [Accessed 17 November 2022].
Garcia, J. (2021). How rap has changed throughout the decades • The Louisville Cardinal. [online] The Louisville Cardinal. Available at: https://www.louisvillecardinal.com/2021/02/how-rap-has-changed-throughout-the-decades/ [Accessed 17 November 2022].
McNulty-Finn, C. (2014). The Evolution of Rap. [online] Harvard Political Review. Available at: https://harvardpolitics.com/evolution-rap/ [Accessed 17 November 2022].
