MUSIC 17, APR 8 (week two) Logistics check in
Revisit course resources. Syllabus, course page (assignments posted, detailed schedule), TritonEd (assignments turned in, redundant assignment postings, some readings posted) Reminder: policy on listening IDs. Highlighted songs on course page are the listening ID materials. Everyone got the quiz done? Don't worry if you missed it...there are many more, today for example. Paper #1, due Apr 15. Guidelines Remember to bring your laptop to section -- there will be writing assignments in section, announced in section only. Week 2 (Apr 8) -- Beginnings of Hip Hop
1. Review/complete last week's materials 2. NYC in the 1970s 3. Hip Hop DJ practice: Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash 4. Rap and the recording industry: Hip Hop as a practice vs. Hip Hop as a recorded music Kool Moe Dee vs. Lovebug Starski, NYE 1981 Grandmaster Flash and the Furious 5, "Superrapin" 1979 5. Listening: Funky 4 + 1, Spoonie Gee and the Treacherous 3, The Sequence, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious 5, Afrika Bambaataa New York in 1970s
Words to know: "Stagflation," "Neoliberalism," "austerity," "NYC fiscal crisis" Tax base expands to the suburbs. Leaves mostly the elderly, ethnic minorities, and immigrants in the city centers. 1970s global recession, energy and oil crisis (precipitated by the Iranian Revolution and the Yom Kippur War) New York's "style" of municipal governance. Large welfare system, municipal hospitals, free university system! (until fairly recently: 1976...) Tax base can no longer sustain these expenses. Looks to other sources of revenue: Federal Government, and, crucially, the Banking sector (private, capitalist). Banks buy up lots of municipal bonds. In other words, the city, a public entity, owes LOTS of money to private banks. The Famous Headline from Oct 30, 1975 What does it mean?
No federal bail out for NYC Ford and cabinet convinced that the city had brought its problems on itself (through social programs, profligate spending). "Bankruptcy was thus a just punishment for its sins, a necessary lesson in how the city should change to move forward." (Philips-Fein, p. 2) The imposition of "austerity." This means that social services (fire, schools, police, demolishing burned out buildings, etc) are cut so that the city can service its debt, much of which is held by financial capital (wall street). Some Results for life in NYC
"Urban Blight" "White Flight" to the suburbs mass relocations within the city due to slum clearing, highway construction. Robert Moses. Influx of heroin during the Vietnam War, see McCoy, The Politics of Heroin in Southeast Asia: CIA Complicity in the Global Drug Trade, Lawrence Hill Books, 1972 "Ghetto" takes on its ominous connotation (originally a word for the Jewish section of Venice). "urban" and "inner city" come to mean "black" and "poor." Films depicting urban decay in NYC
Taxi Driver, 1976
The Panic in Needle Park, 1971
The Taking of Pelham 123, 1974
Remake, ugh, of a John Wayne film from 1948 about fending off hordes of native americans
Documentary about NYC in 1977 West Side Highway Collapse, 1973 Robert Moses, master builder, wielder of the "meat ax"
Public official in charge of major construction and urban development projects in NYC until the 1980s Cross Bronx Expressway, Lincoln Center, Co-Op City, etc "When you operate in an overbuilt metropolis, you have to cut your way through with a meat ax." Who gets chopped up by that ax? "eminent domain abuse," "slum clearing" Lincoln Center Contemporary defaults
San Bernardino, 2012 Detroit, 2013 Stockton, 2012 Greece - famous Austerity measures Puerto Rico - Atlantic Monthly, Austerity in Puerto Rico Article Close reading, William J. Sales, "New York City: Prototype of the Urban Crisis," The Black Scholar, Vol. 7, No. 3, THE CRISIS OF THE CITIES (November 1975) Gangs in the South Bronx
South Bronx was hit worst. "The Bronx is Burning" -- epidemic of arson (insurance fraud) in uninhabited buildings Gangs are both forms of self-support and sometimes just criminal organizations thriving in a lawless environment. By 1973, estimated 315 groups and 20,000 members Distinctive fashion, style, culture Savage Nomads Young Lords Graffiti
Greek graphein "to write" --> italian graffito, "little etchings" --> plural graffiti
PHASE 2, Taki 183, MODE 2, many others
Chalfant and Prigoff, Spraycan Art, and Subway Art
Graffiti in fine art world
Important to note that, before Hip Hop music had any real visibility, some graffiti artists had already crossed over to the fine art world. E.g. Lee Quiñones, Rammellzee and Futura. Also a younger generation of gallery artists, influenced by graffiti style: Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring and Kenny Scharf Basquiat, "speaks for itself", 1982 Haring, Untitled, 1981 (marker on refrigerator door) Parties
The origins of hip hop are generally located in the street and club parties in Brooklyn, Queens and then Bronx in the 1970s Most influential DJs: DJ Hollywood, Grandmaster Flowers, DJ Kool Herc, Grandwizard Theodore, Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaataa. Influence of the Jamaican Soundsystem. Kool Herc, for example, was Jamaican, played lots of Reggae records. Parties
Documentary on early DJs DJs organized the parties, but came with crews of dancers and MCs. Entourage. Musical focus on the "break" (possible origin of "break dancing") DJs -- Herc and Flash
Like Disco DJs, hip hop DJs focused on extending records to accomodate longer dance times. Especially the rhythmic breakdowns, which they played most. DJ Kool Herc went between two records as a way of extending the break. Video of Kool Herc DJs -- Herc and Flash
Grandmaster flash adds headphones, which makes it easier to make cuts cleaner, keep tempo consistent. Scratching, supposedly initiated by Grandwizard Theodore. Also, use the crossfader in creative ways. Grandmaster Flash for MTV Grandmaster Flash in Wild Style Differences between DJs in the South Bronx vs. Other DJs
1. Emphasize just the "breaks," just the "good parts" of a track 2. Break dancing vs. partnered dancing 3. Smaller, less lucrative venues for SB DJs 4. Outdoor parties, all ages vs. 21-and-up clubs of Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens 5. Informal attire vs. formal
All these differences are decisive for the formation of a distinct Hip Hop culture.
(Ewoodzie, Joseph C. "South Bronx DJs vs. Other DJs." In Break Beats in the Bronx: Rediscovering Hip-Hop's Early Years, 51-78. CHAPEL HILL: University of North Carolina Press, 2017.) Early rap and the recording industry
As we have seen, rap is a practice evolved from a variety of other cultural streams. It was not made for records, which accommodate 22 minutes per side! Early rappers didn't have any sense that they'd sell their music on vinyl, or anything else. Nevertheless, some entrepreneurs spotted something potential lucrative: Sylvia Robinson of Sugarhill Records Bobby Robinson of Enjoy! Records Paul Winley of Winley Records These are all African American veteran labels Early rap records are sometimes real rappers from the emerging scene, but sometimes "novelty" cash-ins. Sugar Hill Who??
Grandmaster Flash: Sugar Hill Gang, Rapper's Delight, 1979
Original Full Version Rap Genius, with commentary verified by Jeff Chang himself! Sort of "fake," in that it's just a bunch of friends of the Sugar Hill record label who were not really involved in the scene. Official Video What's that sample??? "not a test?" 12 minutes plus...is that long or short? The Sample is, of course, Chic's "Good Times" ...but actually, it's not a sample. It's studio musicians playing the music of Chic. Humans imitating turntables! What is hip hop?
One answer is embedded in this title: Steven Hager, Hip Hop: The Illustrated History of Break Dancing, Rap Music, and Graffiti, 1984 That is, it was a confluence of things. It happened at parties, in real life, with face-to-face interactions. It wasn't a recording, and it wasn't necessarily poetry either. What is going on in the transition from broadly conceived, aesthetically integrated practice to 33mm single? (a lot) Kool Moe Dee vs. Busy Bee, 1981
full recording This is Busy Bee looking back on this classic recording of himself. Busy Bee:
1. Clap your hands. Shout outs to places (manhattan in the house) 2. Clap you hands. Who’s been to restaurants? (“Burger King? White Castle?” “Blimpies?” What is it???, people answer, "nathans?" "burger king?") 3. Drugs (“cocaine crew in the house? "Blow? Blow?") 4. Clap your hands! Zodiac sign (“what zodiac sign is gettin’ the most cash money?” “is it Cancer? What about Pisces? Aquarius?”) 5. Little Nooney??? 6. Who’s getting money? Lyrics. End participation.
Then, more call-response.
1. Where’s that place we work it out? 2. Sex (“Say I like it! Say I love it!”) 3. SCREAM! (note the way the beat drops out) 4. If you know how to do the jiggy love, scream, then do it. 5. If you love your mama, say it’s like that. 6. If you’re ready for ‘82 … gettin money in '82 7. Ends with “what’s my name???” (answers "busy bee!")
End particiaption . Bawidabaw...lyrics again.
Then more, "where's that place we work it out?"
Winds down... "Scream!" Signs off. Kool Moe Dee
Note we've already been listening for approx 5 minutes. Kool moe dee annouced by the host.
1. Kool mo Dee, without any beat, speaking, rhyming. DJ is setting up, KMD is filling time, but rhyming while doing it! 2. "DJ lee you think you got it together? (Sunshine answers with scratch noises – cf. The Dozens in Blues)" 3. “hold on busy bee, I don’t mean to be bold, but put that baw- wit-da-baw bullshit on hold” 4. personal disses, busy bee audibly pissed -- “if you was money, man, you’d be counterfeit” 5. Classic lines: "every time I hear it, I throw a fit, party after party, the same old shit. Record after record, rhyme after rhyme, always wanna know your zodiac sign." 6. (inaudible...) "right on the spot! how can I take a title that you ain't got?" 7. Real MC contests vs. "celebrity contests," where it's "all set up before we come in" 8. “too hot to trot” – note the semi-improvised deployment of semi-prepared material. Important analogy to “licks” in jazz music. 9. The verse climaxes – beat drops out, KMD holds tempo effectively. Conspicuous virtuosity. Activity: rap as performance vs. rap in the recording industry
Turn to your neighbor, learn their name, and discuss:
Are these two recordings (bootleg vs. Sugar Hill Gang) the same art form? What are the differences, and what are the similarities? Can this comparison tell us anything about how hip hop functions today? (think of examples) documentary footage about this battle note -- Kool Moe Dee distinguishes himself as having "poetic value" rather than being able to make a party happen the rise of lyrically focused rap, "black CNN" (Chuck D of Public Enemy) Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Superrapin', 1979
Superrappin' Recording This recording is Flash's reluctant acceptance of the recording industry. Crucial to imagine the live performance this would be imitating. Chang does a good job of this, p. 133. Note "beat box going...and....and...and...and..." Chang: "In the original routine, the Furious Five would pause and point to Grandmaster Flash as he banged out frenetic fills on his electronic drum machine. But on the record, Flash is MIA." Like Rapper's Delight, this recording has studio players recreating a record that Flash would have spun live. Whole Darn Family, Seven Minutes of Funk Which is sampled by Jay-Z and and Foxy Brown, Ain' no N**** Funky 4 + 1 “Rappin and Rocking the House”
Rappin and Rockin the House, 1979 Funky Four Plus one Live at the Kitchen First "real" rap record, in that these were real staples of the South Bronx Scene Somewhat closer to the practice of the clubs ... how? Spoonie Gee “Spoonin’ Rap”
Spoonie Gee, Spoonin Rap, 1979, Rap Genius transcription Larger narratives rather than one liners -- much more like contemporary rap. He's rapping on the break of this Patty Duke track Treacherous Three “New Rap Language”
The Treacherous Three were probably the most accomplished early MC crew: Kool Moe Dee, L.A. Sunshine and Spoonie Gee (later Special K). Remember these from Kool Moe Dee vs. Lovebug Starski, discussed earlier. This song was the B-side of “Spoonin’ Rap” and is notable for the dexterity and speed of the rapping: essentially they’re going at twice the speed of anything we’ve heard so far. New Rap Language, 1980 The Sequence, with Spoonie Gee: Monster Jam
Monster Jam, 1980 An early attempt at a crossover hit, pairing Spoonie Gee (from the teacherous three) with the R and B sound of The Sequence, an all-women trio from North Carolina. What's that "sample??" Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, The Message
The Message Socially conscious lyrics! Speaks to living conditions in 1970s NYC Grandmaster Flash is credited, but most of the work is Grandmaster Melle Mel Afrika Bambaataa and Soul Sonic Force, "Planet Rock"
Planet Rock Video Note Zulu Nation -- you've read about this in Chang Draws heavily on the Afro-Futurist sensibility of George Clinton and Sun Ra It's built with the music of German electro group, Kraftwerk: Numbers and Trans Europe Express