Hip-Hop research

Hip-Hop began  in the late 1960s in the south Bronx in Brooklyn New York(east coast) it was seen as rebel music as it contained profanity and rappers rapping aggressively. Hip-Hop that was so new and raw to people spread from the east-coast to the west. Different parts of America adapted and even created new Hip-Hop styles such as gangsta’ rap and hardcore rap. Traditionally Hip-Hop was about catchy choruses and a funky verse which is demonstrated by Kurtis Blow The Breaks,which is about the numerous crisis people go through everyday in the ghetto. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZDUEilS5M4
 

Gangsta rap was about representing the place that you're from and representing your gang/clique. Which was expressed through wearing certain colours that represented  your area, there were several conflicts that initiated. For example the conflict between 2pac(west coast) and The notorious B.I.G(east coast) which really put Hip-Hop on the map raising extreme awareness of the music genre. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41qC3w3UUkU

Hit em up by 2pac was about dissing biggie smalls(THE NOTORIOUS B.I.G) from the east coast as 2pac was shot and was convinced that biggie organised the assassination as biggie made a track after the shooting called ‘who shot ya’. 2pac in this song sends direct explicit threats, of killing biggie and disrespecting him by calling him ugly and stating that he had sexual intercourse with biggie’s wife. These situations were common in the west coast vs east coast era in gangsta rap.

Nas later in 1994 released and album called Illmatic which was considered the ‘bible of hip-hop’ as it is referred to the foundations of hip-hop. Nas raised the bar and changed the style of hip-hop by introducing something completely new that exhibited his intellectual skills. Nas exposed his flow containing complicated rhyme schemes which the people never thought was possible. He also improved the delivery, word-play and the art of story telling hence it is the perfect album, and one of the greatest.

Contemporary Hip-Hop has changed a lot from people talking about their struggle representing their area and ‘keeping it real’(not forgetting your roots) to rappers bragging about how much money they make , fornication and relationship problems. There has also been an increase in the amount of female Hip-Hop artists such as Nicki Minaj and Iggy Azalea. The image of the Hip-Hop changed from dangerous and wearing baggy clothes to wearing flashy jewelry. From music videos of rappers in rough locations to showing of luxury items such as cars and boats in a majestic location.