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The Art of Origins

P. LaHay 8th December 2018

Abstract

Hip hop is a genre of music that has caught the attention of many, and has become mainstream. Hip hop originated in the 1970’s, and has been growing ever since. The works of DJ Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa, and Grandmaster Flash are some of the key figures involved with the origins of Hip Hop, and how the work that they did helped create the Hip Hop culture.

Contents

Contents i

List of Figures ii

1 Origins of Hip Hop 1

2 A Timeline of Hip Hop 2

References 6

i List of Figures

1 D. J. Kool ...... 1 2 Dr. Dre ...... 4

ii 1 Origins of Hip Hop

The Bronx is considered to be the birthplace of Hip Hop. Cindy Campbell rented out the recreation room in her apartment at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue.Her 16 year-old brother Clive, also known by his ‘DJ Kool Herc’ was the entertainment for the party, and specialized in mixing instrumental songs together. He would phrase lyrics to the crowd to get them to dance, while performing using a turntable.This night was considered the birthplace of Hip-Hop Culture.

Figure 1: D. J. Kool (Väisänen 1999)

- Kevin Donovan, known by his stage name Afrika Bambaataa was also from . He was inspired by the Black liberation movement and DJ Kool

1 2. A Timeline of Hip Hop

Herc, so he would host parties in the Bronx to keep teens safe from gang and street violence. Donovan also created the Universal Zulu Nation, which consisted of other artists, DJ’s and dance groups.

- Joseph Saddler known as Grandmaster Flash, also started performing at parties in the neighbourhoods in the Bronx, and was also inspired by DJ Kool Herc. Grandmaster Flash is most notable for creating new DJ techniques while performing. One of the techniques Flash created was the backspin, involving quickly spinning the record in the opposite direction, in order to produce a fast rewind like sound. Grandmaster Flash also formed a group called the Furious 5 – notably one of the most influential rap groups for hip-hop.

(Jeffries 2014, 706-715)

2 A Timeline of Hip Hop

Here is a brief timeline of Hip Hop, including significant artists

1973 DJ Kool Herc is the Master of Ceremonies at his sister’s party.

1974 Grandmaster Flash and Afrika Bambaataa are influenced by DJ Kool Herc and start performing at parties in the Bronx.

1976 Afrika Bambaataa faces off in a DJ battle at the Bronx River centre, imbedding DJ battling into the Hip Hop culture.

1979 The Sugarhill Gang release the song ”Rappers Delight”, becoming the first rap hit to the charts.

1980 Kurtis Blow becomes the first Hip Hop artist to sign a major record deal and performed on National television on the show Soul Train. His hit record “The Breaks” sells over One million copies, which was significant for hip-hop turning into a business.

1981 Run DMC and The are created. Rapper Kool Moe Dee wins a rap battle against Busy Bee, which has remained to relevant toHip Hop today.

2 1983 Rapper Ice T explores a new style on rap in the West Coast of the , known as Gangsta Rap by creating singles “Killers” and “Body Rock”.

1984 Def Jam Records is created by Russel Simmons and . This is significant because Def Jam Records is considered to be on of themost important record labels ever. Under Def Jam, records were released shortly after by rappers LL Cool J and T La Rock.

1985 Run DMC’s “King of Rock” becomes the first rap video aired on MTV.

1988 Mtv creates a mainstream media Tv show called “Yo! MTV Raps.” The rap group ”NWA” releases the album “Straight Outta Compton”, which was significant to the development of gangsta rap and gave a platform for other artists.

1990 Tupac Shakur joins Digital Underground as a dancer and roadie. NWA’s 2nd album sells just shy of 1 million hard copies in the first week, and reached the top spot on the billboards.

1993 After leaving NWA, Dr Dre joins Death Row Records and releases his debut album The Chronic.

1994 The Notorious B.I.G releases his debut album “Ready to Die” whichis was significant for the revival for the East Coast, because theWest Coast was dominating Hip Hop.

1995 Queen Latifah wins a Grammy for Best Rap Solo performance from her hit song Unity. Tupac signs with Death Row Records.

1996 On September 7th, Tupac is shot and killed in Las Vegas in his car, causing controversy of Hip Hop of whether it promotes violence or if it just a reflection of their realities. Jay Z releases his debut album “Reasonable Doubt.”

1997 The Notorious B.I.G is murdered March 9th, 1997. Missy Elliott releases her first Hip-hop album “Supa Dupa Fly”, which removed barriers inthe industry for other female producers.

1998 Jay Z’s breakthrough came from the release of “Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)”, sampling the chorus from the play “Annie”.

3 2. A Timeline of Hip Hop

Figure 2: Dr. Dre (Commondr3ads 2011)

1999 After signing with Dr Dre’s Aftermath Entertainment, releases his Debut album “The Slim Shady LP which sold 4 million copies. Dr Dre releases the album 2001, including features from , , and .

2000 Eminem releases The Marshall Mathers LP, earning him 2 Grammys.

2003 releases album Get rich or Die Tryin’, which became one of the fastest selling albums in history.

2004 Kanye West releases his first album “The College Dropout” and is voted Album of the Year by Rolling Stone Magazine.

2007 Grand Master Flash becomes the first hip-hop artist inducted into the Hall of Fame.

4 (Batey; 2011)

(Jeffries 2014, 706-715)

(Misachi; 2017)

5 References

References

Commondr3ads. 2011. English: Dr. Dre at the Beats Store Grand Opening November 2011., November 2. Accessed December 6, 2018. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File: Dr._Dre_in_2011.jpg#/media/File:Dr._Dre_in_2011.jpg . Permission to use, modify, or share from Google Advanced Image Search. Jeffries, M. P. 2014. ‘Hip-Hop Urbanism Old and New: Debates and Developments.’ International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 38, no. 2 (March): 706–715. issn: 03091317, accessed December 6, 2018. doi:10.1111/1468-2427.12106 . http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/1468-2427.12106 . Väisänen, M. 1999. English: DJ Kool Herc with James Brown Single, Two Important Men. Accessed December 6, 2018. h t t p s : //commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dj_Kool_Herc-03.jpg . Permission to use, share, and modify according to Google Advanced Image Search.

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