HIS

TORY

OF

HIP

-H

OP

Hip-Hop is a cultural movement that was started in the late 1960s which sparked in the South Bronx of

New York City. Hip-Hop can be split into four different manifestations; rap music, “Djing”, break

dancing and graffiti art. These are sub genres of Hip-Hop that make up this massive culture. Of

course Hip-Hop is most recognised for its notorious rap and its affiliation with gang rap and gang violence, however it was quoted that, “Our

music is our interpretation of our reality.” The artists that produced these songs and raps often talked about their hard upbringings and living in

tough neighbourhoods and going anything to survive and ‘hustle’. The origin of Hip-Hop culture

stems back from block parties from the Ghetto Brothers, they used to plug in their amps and

instruments into speakers and used their music to break down the racial barriers. DJ Kool Herc mixed samples of existing records with his own shouts to the crowd he performed to. Kool Herc is credited

as the ‘father’ of Hip-Hop.

COD

ES &

CO

NVE

NTI

ON

SThe genre Hip-Hop has been heavily dominated by

young African American males as stereotypically they are the ones who have a hard upbringing and are related to gang violence and gang rap. One of the most iconic parts of Hip Hop are the way the

artists dress up, before fashion began to influence Hip Hop artists, they used to wear baggy clothing such as tracksuits and snapbacks. The snapback or fitted cap has become a code for Hip Hop as it is a

common accessory for Hip Hop artists. Furthermore you will often find the artists wearing expensive and flashy jewellery in excess quantity and this is to show off their ‘Power’ and money that they have – and so we associate having big

chains with a lot of money. Rappers will also reference their home town and where they have

grown up from and use it as a part of their influence when it comes to writing lyrics. This is to

show that they are proud of where they come from and they continue to represent where they

are from.

ICO

NO

GRA

PHY The most iconic thing about a Hip-Hop artist is

potentially the image they sell. Its not enough to just have good lyrics or raps, you need to be able

to dress well and set trends. Kanye West for example has started to create his own brand to sell his own image and he is seen as one of the leading

forces of street wear apparel. He has major influence over trends and this is because of the image he sells. Also you will see a lot of product

placement in music videos, this will either because the artist is being endorsed by the brand or they

just want to flaunt their high branded merchandise in your face. There is also heavy usage of money in

videos, whether its throwing it around in the videos or simply holding thousands of pounds in

their hands. Everything about Hip-Hop is to ‘hustle’ and get money, and this is one of the most

iconic things about Hip-Hop.

LEAD

ING

ART

ISTS

Drake is a Canadian rapper, singer, songwriter and actor. He signed to Young Money Entertainment in June 2009 where he would began to change the face of Hip-Hop. He has won several awards for best Hip-Hop artist as well as best singles and music videos and has heavily influenced the style of Hip-Hop tuning into the more emotional side of song writing, he has become the most heavily known Hip-Hop rapper and has blown up extremely over the past few years.

J Cole is a German-born American artist and has inspired many through his music and often talks about his upbringing and how he had to grow up in a rough neighbourhood. J Cole was awarded a platinum album for Forest Hills Drive with no features, as well as sold out tickets to every single one of his performances. J Cole has won awards for best Hip-Hop performance as well as best Impact Track, he has become one of the faces of Hip-Hop. It is debated that he is one of the best Hip-Hop rappers since the 80s.

Kendrick Lamar is from Compton in California a town that is notoriously known for its gang violence between ‘Blood’s’ and ‘Crips’. Kendrick Lamar once said he had a dream that Tupac told him to continue his music and keep Hip-Hop alive. He signed to Top Dawg Entertainment and has been one of the most inspirational Hip-Hop rappers in the 21st century. He raps about the truth and his tough growing up and continues o majorly influence the culture oh Hip-Hop with his lyrics.

RECO

RD L

ABEL

S Def Jam Recordings is an American record label founded in 1983 by Rick Rubin and Russell

Simmons and focuses on Hip-Hop and urban rap and includes current artists such as; Kanye West,

Frank Ocean, Jhene Aiko and many more.

OVO Sound is the record label is a Canadian record label founded by Drake and is based in Toronto,

Canada. It consists of artists such as PartyNextDoor, Majid Jordan, ILoveMakonnen and

Roy Woods.

Roc-A-Fella Records is a record label founded by Jay Z, Dame and Biggs and is a subsidary of

Universal Music Group and is distributed by Def Jam Records. They began their own record label because they kept being turned down by major

recording companies and decided that enough was enough and made Roc-A-Fella.

ISSU

ES/

REPR

ESEN

TATI

ON

One of the most controversial topics of Hip-Hop and rap is that people believe it is very violent music and endorses gang violence and hatred

against Police as well as the community. People believe that Hip-Hop is one of the reasons as to why teenagers have become so violent because

they are heavily influenced by the music the listen to. Also there are issues that Hip-Hop is one of the reasons as to why there has been rebellions and riots against the Police in rough towns such as Compton because the music has told them to

rebel. Women are portrayed as hyper sexualised objects such as Nicki Minaj who is very provocative

in what she does. She has become the face of female rap and Hip-Hop and can say very

inappropriate things. Women are portrayed as objects in Hip-Hop and are objectified and so

therefore this also heavily influences its audiences because they will begin to treat women how Hip-

Hop has treated them. Leading to misogynistic opinions and actions.