A Short History of Hip-Hop

(Source)

When discussing the history of hip-hop, you can tell it had a start in jazz, gospel, rock and roll, and disco (among others); but the very beginnings of hip-hop culminated in New York. DJ's started it all. Guys like DJ Kool Herc (the father of hip-hop) would set-up their "rig" at a local basketball court or park and play music. Naturally, the culmination that gathered soon turned into a block party.

As the DJ would spin and (later) scratch, there would be break boys (b-boys) and b-girls dancing. In order to get on the mic and MCEE, praising the DJ was all but a requirement. In a historical sense, DJing, break dance, and graffitti are just as much a part for (traditional) hip-hop as MCEEing. Graffiti artists were often MCEEs, DJs, and b-boys themselves. At the best parties you might have a writer tagging a wall while the DJ scraches, the Emcee revs up the crowd, and the b-boys are battling each other on the dance floor. Talk about entertainment!

(Source)

In such a spontaneous setting it was important for the MCEE to improvise and entertain. This is why most would agree you're not an MCEE unless you can freestyle. And, due to the historic roots of hip-hop; it can be argued that crowd control is also an important factor of being a good MCEE.

(Source)

After 1985 hip-hop and rap had a split. Graffiti art and breaking was no longer the vital means of expressing culture. Rap became the leader and it was because corporate America found out they could make (a lot of) money exploiting artists (as explained in Hip-Hop Record Labels & Big Business). As you can read in Hip-Hop vs. Rap, hip-hop is truly a cultural voice for the people; however, when rap takes over the airwaves, no real hip-hop gets played, and people don't understand the difference; the end result is that (corporate sponsored) rap makes the whole genre sound pejorative.

Thanks for reading! Please comment, tweet, and give a Facebook like!

You can find Lyceum Recordz on Facebook, YouTube, and SoundCloud.

Visit my other blogs: EDULUTION, Lyceum Recordz and The Psychosocial Philosopher