The History Book Club discussion

This is the thread dedicated to Hip-Hop music.



Hip hop music is a musical genre that developed as part of hip hop culture, and is defined by four key stylistic elements: rapping, DJing/scratching, sampling (or synthesis), and beatboxing. Hip hop began in the South Bronx of New York City in the 1970s. The term rap is often used synonymously with hip hop, but hip hop denotes the practices of an entire subculture.

Rapping, also referred to as MCing or emceeing, is a vocal style in which the artist speaks lyrically, in rhyme and verse, generally to an instrumental or synthesized beat. Beats, almost always in 4/4 time signature, can be created by sampling and/or sequencing portions of other songs by a producer.

They also incorporate synthesizers, drum machines, and live bands. Rappers may write, memorize, or improvise their lyrics and perform their works a cappella or to a beat.

Source: Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hip_hop_...

One of my favourite performers comes under this banner, his name is Jamie T. As a song writer myself I really enjoy how he puts his lyrics together. A good song tells a story as good as any book in my opinion, all be a short book.

http://www.jamie-t.com/index.php/video/

In the words of Jamie himself, "I ain't no abacus but you can count on me".

Oh by the way were is the METAL thread ;)

by

This book gets good reviews on goodreads.

Thanks Garret...I do not know that much about hip hop...this book looks like a good place to start.

by Jeff Chang

This book also looks like a "goodread" on the history of Hip-Hop/Rap.(sorry for the bad puns it's getting near the end of my third nightshift)

Thanks MIchael. Has anyone read this one?

Anyone interest in learning about Hip Hop/Rap should start out with the following iconic groups, Run Dmc, Public Enemy, De La Soul, Grandmaster Flash, the Beastie Boy's amd one of the Ice's be it Ice Cube or Ice T.

Also an example of a great cross-over asrtist is Guru's Jazzamatazz series.

Here is some of my Favourite Hip-Hop/Rap Favorites:

Run DMC it's Tricky, watchout for a young Penn & Teller http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qU8Zeu...

Public Enemy Fight the Power http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_t13-...

Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy Tv Drug of a nation http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgOWTM... this is Michael Franti of Spearheads first band.

Beastie Boys http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBShN8... a classic film clip, hard to believe these boy went on to be one of the most respected Hip Hop groups of all time.

Finally this is the classic Hip Hop track Grandmaster Flash and the message http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4o8Te...

Adam Yauch of Beastie Boys has passed away. One of my favourite groups.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/beastie-boys...

All encompassing book for the hip-hop fan.

All Music Guide to Hip-Hop: The Definitive Guide to Rap and Hip-Hop

by Vladimir Bogdanov (no photo)

Synopsis:

From the irresistible party jams of old-school rap to the gritty sound of hardcore, hip-hop has electrified the music world and influenced global culture like nothing else. The All Music Guide to Hip-Hop features over 3,100 reviews and ratings, highlighting the essential albums and songs from nearly 1,200 artists, including legends of rap and hip-hop like Grandmaster Flash and 2Pac as well as contemporary hit-makers like Jay-Z and Eminem. This complete, concise and authoritative guide includes: music maps charting the evolution of hip-hop, including its styles and biggest performers * biographies of the most influential hip-hop artists and exciting new performers * reviews and ratings for the best recordings of each performer, plus the essential collections by various artists * and critics' choices for the best place to start exploring each artist.

The Vibe History of Hip Hop

by Alan Light

Synopsis:

Music, fashion, dance, graffiti, movies, videos, and business: it's all in this brilliant tale of a cultural revolution that spans race and gender, language and nationality. The definitive history of an underdocumented music genre, The VIBE History of Hip Hop tells the full story of this grassroots cultural movement, from its origins on the streets of the Bronx to its explosion as an international phenomenon. Illustrated with almost 200 photos, and accompanied by comprehensive discographies, this book is a vivid review of the hip hop world through the eyes and ears of more than 50 of the finest music writers and cultural critics at work today, including Danyel Smith, Greg Tate, Anthony deCurtis, dream hampton, Neil Strauss, and Bönz Malone.

"A history? No. A story, really. A tale from the dark side. In this book, hip hop is all. It's always there. Like hip hop, this book is about the intense kind of aspiration that comes from having little. About holding and rhyming into a microphone. Mixing and scratching. Guns pain blood. Desire desperation truth true love. Art and mystery and metaphor. The singularity of voice. The magnificence of ingenious sampling. The glory of a beat. This book is that story."

Soulja Boy’s Influence In Hip-Hop Is Unmatched



Seeing the profit in social media, the rapper was one of the first to parlay online views into a sustainable career.
By Julia Craven and Taryn Finley

Twelve years ago, equipped with nothing more than a YouTube account and a computer program colloquially called Fruity Loops, Soulja Boy, then 17 years old, released a song-and-dance combination that would spark the beginning of a new era in hip-hop.

“Crank That (Soulja Boy)” is not a particularly intricate song or dance. And it’s not supposed to be. The song’s beauty ― and influence ― lie in how simple yet infectious it is. The track begins with a loud “Yuuuuuuuu,” the beat drops and Soulja Boy tells you how to perform one of the most recognizable dance sequences ever conceived.

Recent media hits — most notably the rapper’s Jan. 16 appearance on “The Breakfast Club” — have ignited a debate around the extent of Soulja Boy’s influence. Some scoff at the idea that the same man who released the absurd “Yahhh Bitch Yahhh” and the ingenious “Gucci Bandana” paved the way for rappers such as Lil B, Chief Keef, Mac Miller, Bobby Shmurda and even our beloved queen Cardi B.

Remainder of article:
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/...

“Crank That (Soulja Boy)”
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UFIY...

Source: Huffington Post

Can’t Stop Won’t Stop

by Jeff Chang

Synopsis:

Can't Stop Won't Stop is a powerful cultural and social history of the end of the American century, and a provocative look into the new world that the hip-hop generation created.

Forged in the fires of the Bronx and Kingston, Jamaica, hip-hop became the Esperanto of youth rebellion and a generation-defining movement. In a post-civil rights era defined by deindustrialization and globalization, hip-hop crystallized a multiracial, polycultural generation's worldview, and transformed American politics and culture. But that epic story has never been told with this kind of breadth, insight, and style.

Based on original interviews with DJs, b-boys, rappers, graffiti writers, activists, and gang members, with unforgettable portraits of many of hip-hop's forebears, founders, and mavericks, including DJ Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa, Chuck D, and Ice Cube, Can't Stop Won't Stop chronicles the events, the ideas, the music, and the art that marked the hip-hop generation's rise from the ashes of the 60's into the new millennium.

Award:

American Book Award (2005)

Burna Boy has been classified as Hip Hop, Nigerian music, African music, Rap, Pan African, etc. We will let you decide. Anybody was on Barack Obama's 2019 summer music play list.

Anybody

Some links:

https://pan-african-music.com/en/burn...

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/mu... (rolling stone)

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/o... (yahoo entertainment)

Sources: Rolling Stone, Yahoo Entertainment, Pan African Music.com

Hip-Hop Revolution: The Culture and Politics of Rap

by Jeffrey O.G. Ogbar (no photo)

Synopsis:

In the world of hip-hop, "keeping it real" has always been a primary goal--and realness takes on special meaning as rappers mold their images for street cred and increasingly measure authenticity by ghetto-centric notions of "Who's badder?"

In this groundbreaking book, Jeffrey O. G. Ogbar celebrates hip-hop and confronts the cult of authenticity that defines its essential character--that dictates how performers walk, talk, and express themselves artistically and also influences the consumer market. Hip-Hop Revolution is a balanced cultural history that looks past negative stereotypes of hip-hop as a monolith of hedonistic, unthinking noise to reveal its evolving positive role within American society.

A writer who's personally encountered many of hip-hop's icons, Ogbar traces hip-hop's rise as a cultural juggernaut, focusing on how it negotiates its own sense of identity. He especially explores the lyrical world of rap as artists struggle to define what realness means in an art where class, race, and gender are central to expressions of authenticity-and how this realness is articulated in a society dominated by gendered and racialized stereotypes.

Ogbar also explores problematic black images, including minstrelsy, hip-hop's social milieu, and the artists' own historical and political awareness. Ranging across the rap spectrum from the conscious hip-hop of Mos Def to the gangsta rap of 50 Cent to the "underground" sounds of Jurassic 5 and the Roots, he tracks the ongoing quest for a unique and credible voice to show how complex, contested, and malleable these codes of authenticity are. Most important, Ogbar persuasively challenges widely held notions that hip-hop is socially dangerous--to black youths in particular--by addressing the ways in which rappers critically view the popularity of crime-focused lyrics, the antisocial messages of their peers, and the volatile politics of the N-word.

Hip-Hop Revolution deftly balances an insider's love of the culture with a scholar's detached critique, exploring popular myths about black educational attainment, civic engagement, crime, and sexuality. By cutting to the bone of a lifestyle that many outsiders find threatening, Ogbar makes hip-hop realer than it's ever been before.

Excellent add Douglass.

Bentley wrote: "Excellent add Douglass. "

Reading it right now for work. I'll post a review when I'm done.

Very interesting - look forward to reading what you think of it.