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Hip-Hop, often referred to as Rap music, is a cultural movement and art form that originated in the early 1970s among inner-city African Americans and Latino Americans in the Bronx borough of New York City. Its development arose from the social and economic challenges of the time, including post-industrial decline, urban decay, and the resulting poverty and social unrest. These conditions created a need for new forms of expression and community gathering.
Hip-hop culture is characterized by four foundational elements: DJing/turntablism, which involves the manipulation of records and turntables to create new musical passages, including techniques like "breakbeats" (isolating and repeating percussive sections); MCing/rapping, the rhythmic and lyrical delivery of speech, often over a beat, evolving from earlier forms of toasting and rhythmic chanting; B-boying/breaking, an energetic and acrobatic dance style performed to the "breaks" in music, involving moves like toprock, downrock, power moves, and freezes; and visual/graffiti art, the creation of visual art in public spaces, often using stylized lettering and imagery, as a form of expression and communication. Block parties in the Bronx served as early venues for these forms of expression.
Pioneers such as DJ Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa, and Grandmaster Flash played important roles in shaping early hip-hop. DJ Kool Herc introduced the "breakbeat" technique, extending instrumental sections of records for dancers, and is credited with organizing some of the earliest hip-hop parties. Afrika Bambaataa organized the Universal Zulu Nation, promoting peace and unity through hip-hop culture, and coined the term "four elements," also experimenting with electronic sounds that influenced hip-hop's sonic development. Grandmaster Flash developed innovative DJing techniques like the backspin, cutting, and scratching, pushing the boundaries of what could be done with turntables.
As hip-hop evolved, it incorporated new technologies and musical approaches. The use of sampling and drum machines, such as the Roland TR-808, expanded the sonic palette of hip-hop, allowing for the creation of original beats and the manipulation of existing music. The mid-1980s to early 1990s, often called the "golden age," saw a surge in diversity, artistic innovation, and mainstream success, with new subgenres and styles emerging, and lyrical content becoming more complex and varied. However, copyright laws in the 1990s altered sampling practices, leading to new production styles and a shift in its sound.
Its influence has extended far beyond music, impacting fashion, dance, language, and popular culture globally. While it continues to evolve and incorporate new styles, its roots in the Bronx and its spirit of innovation, self-expression, and resilience remain central to its identity.
History[]
Under Construction
Fashion[]
Hip-hop fashion has changed over the years, with the style now being more of a high-end streetwear look. Due to the 90's Revival, 80's, 90's and early 2000's hip-hop looks have been coming back into style (this does not mean that modern hip-hop fashion is out of style, it is just more common). 70's, 80's, 90's and early 2000's hip-hop fashion usually consisted of affordable, oversized clothes (for both men and women) because 1) they were always moving and needed to be comfortable all the time and 2) youth in the Bronx didn't have much control over where they lived, so fashion gave them lots of freedom; as we moved into the 2000s women began wearing more dresses and heels. Sneakers were common, but skate shoes and high top Doc Martens have been seen as well.
Successful rappers put lots of emphasis on jewelry and displayed their riches through "iced out' rings, chains, and even on their teeth (grills). In the late 90s and early 2000s hip-hop fashion became popular and recognized by high-end brands, it wasn't uncommon to see rappers wearing a brand name article of clothing and a plain pair of pants, or a fashionable pair of sneakers and a run-of-the-mill tracksuit. hip-hop fashion today tends to gravitate towards higher-end brands (e.g Nike) and sportswear-type outfits commonly found on the streetwear scene. A majority of the fashion stays baggy, breathable and fashionable.
Slang Words/Phrases[]
- Homie/Home Boy/Homegirl: A close friend. Can also be spelled "homey".
- Dawg: Close friend and/or homie
- Whip: Any expensive automobile.
- Glock: Slang generic terms about guns: n. any handgun (usu. that looks 'gangsta'); v. to shoot someone (often with particular implications).
- Packin Heat: To have a gun on you at any given time.
- Rack(s): A rack is (1) thousand cash could be within a rubber band. RACK & STACK are commonly confused in urban slang, but they are the same thing.
- Book(s): 100 racks equals one (1) book.
- Bible(s):1,000 racks equals one(1) bible.
- Turnted up: Doing everything in their power to achieve the greatest amount of pleasure possible for themselves, showing zero restraint or shame.
- Vibin(g): The general state of enjoying or feeling good about a situation, person, place, or thing. The euphoric buzz you have at that time about something.
- Whoadie/Woadie: Close friend, usually from the same building complex/neighborhood
- Snake(s): Someone who lies often/associates with someone only for self-benefit
- Wig-Split: To shoot someone in the head, or bash someone's head in. Usually used in rap as a threat.
- Based: To be truthful and be yourself, keep a positive mindset in life. Originated from Lil B "The Based God"
- Foreign: Foreign car.. usually BMW, Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Ferrari, Range-Rover, Mercedes-Benz, etc.
- For The Low: Someone who sells products (guns, drugs, etc) for a lower price then otherwise listed by other sellers.
- Trappin(g) on: Used to describe what an artist is doing/their methods of making money. Ex: "Trappin(g) on my iPhone" "Trappin(g) on Twitter"
- Trill: Genuine and authentic. Trill in-itself is a combination of "true" and "real".
- Wack: An action/thing that someone does not like. Ex: "Man that new album was wack"
- Steez/Steezin(g): Style with eaze. Essentially, effortless fashion.
- Chiefin(g): Smoking heavily on weed. Ex: "Chiefin on weed"
- Mary-Jane: Slang for marijuana.
Media[]
Movie[]
- Body Rock (1984)
- Breakin' (1984)
- Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo (1984)
- Rappin' (1985)
- 8 Mile (2002)
- Notorious (2009)
- Straight Outta Compton (2015)
Music[]
By all means, if you can think of an artist to include on here, feel free to include their name on this list.
- DJ Kool Herc
- Eric B. & Rakim
- Boogie Down Productions
- KRS-One
- MC Shan
- Ice-T
- Big Daddy Kane
- Beastie Boys
- Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
- EPMD
- LL Cool J
- Run–D.M.C.
- MC Lyte
- 2Pac
- The Outlawz
- N.W.A.
- Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
- Gang Starr
- The Pharcyde
- Outkast
- Goodie Mob
- The Notorious B.I.G.
- TLC
- Public Enemy
- A Tribe Called Quest
- P.M. Dawn
- Eminem
- Queen Latifah
- Playboi Carti
- Da Brat
- Foxy Brown
- C+C Music Factory
- Dr. Dre
- DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince
- Naughty By Nature
- The Sugarhill Gang
- Run The Jewels
- Drake
- Lil Nas X
- Cardi B
- Nicki Minaj
- Lil' Kim
- Snoop Dogg
- Eazy-E
- Megan Thee Stallion
- Yeat
- 21 Savage
- Kendrick Lamar
- J. Cole
- Travis Scott
- Geto Boys
- De La Soul
- Wu-Tang Clan
- Mobb Deep
- Souls of Mischief
- Nas
- AZ
- The Fugees
- Compton's Most Wanted
- Above the Law
- DJ Quik
- Twista
- Salt-N-Pepa
- Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth
- Three 6 Mafia
- Warren G
- Bahamadia
- Master-P
- Tru
- Mia-X
- UGK
- 8Ball & MJG
- Nujabes
- J Dilla
- Bad Boy Records
- Def Jam Records
- Ruthless Records
- Tommy Boy Records
- No-Limit Records
- Rap-A-Lot Records
- Suave House Records
Playlists[]
Subgenres[]
Worldwide[]
Hip-hop comes in a variety of forms and from many nations worldwide. However, as we are unable to cover them all, please feel free to suggest a subgenre and mention the name of the artist behind it.
China[]
Chinese hip-hop is a subgenre of Hip-Hop music that is in Chinese and blends in various Chinese street culture elements. Some popular Chinese hip-hop artists include:
- VAVA
- HENRY
- TY
- Jam Hsiao
- Gai
- Vinida
- Lexie Lui
- Will Pan
- Higher Brothers
Gangsta Rap[]
Gangsta Rap is an subgenre of Hip-Hop that is characterized by the violent lifestyle of youth from underprivileged areas of the principal coasts of U.S.A like Long Island or Compton. It was prevalent during mid 80's to late 90's. Gangsta is from the word gangster. For more information, please read our Gangsta Rap page.
Japan[]
Like Chinese hip-hop, Japanese hip-hop is a subgenre of hip-hop that's in Japanese. Some Japanese hip-hop artists include:
- Diggy Mo'
- SOUL'D OUT
- Nujabes
- Uyama Hiroto
Vietnam[]
Vietnamese hip-hop is a hip-hop subgenre from Vietnam. Some Vietnamese hip-hop artists include:
- Suboi
- LK/Lil Knight
- Karik
- Wowy
- Kimmese
- De Choat/DC (not the comics company)
- Andree Right Hand
- ICD (rapper)
- Godthic
- Táo
- DatManiac
- GDucky
- Viet Dragon
- Sol7
- MCK
- tlinh
- Lona
- Jack (Vietnamese rapper)
- Jombie
- Binz
- JustaTee
- Rhymastic
- Torai9
- BigDaddy
- Pháo (rapper)
- HIEUTHUHAI
- Rica
- Right (Vietnamese rapper)
- RichChoi
Gallery[]
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