Hip-hop is a popular music genre and cultural movement originating from the ethnic minority communities of the 70s in New York City. Hip-hop is made up of a wide range of characteristics developed over the decades since its inception, but its four main pillars include DJ-ing, MC-ing (rapping), breakdancing and graffiti.
Since songs in the genre are commonly characterised by a catchy rhythmic beat and a rapping vocal track, ‘hip-hop’ has become synonymous with ‘rap’ in modern discourse. But in fact, rap is a vocal technique which was just one of the many by-products of the hip-hop cultural movement. That movement has been globally influential in shaping countless music styles, fashion, entertainment, politics, and more as well as inspiring some of the greatest artists of the past few decades.
Though Hip-hop is often mostly attributed to the Black American community, and though they predominantly represent the culture, it is a bit more intersectional than just that. The origins of the cultural movement were developed from the collaboration of urban minorities of the Bronx borough of New York including the Black, Latino and Caribbean communities.
Jamaican born Clive Campbell calling himself DJ Kool Herc, was credited as the father of hip-hop, founding the basis for what would become a massive musical movement of old school hip-hop. At a 1973 dance party that he was DJing, Kool Herc developed a turntable technique to extend the instrumental ‘break’ of popular music at parties, allowing for the audience to enjoy dancing to an extended continuous rhythm.
Breakdancing
Kool Herc would call these dancers ‘break boys and break girls’, or ‘b-boys and b-girls’. ‘B-boying’ would form the basis for what would become breakdancing, wherein dancers would show off their elaborate moves and improvisational skills on the dancefloor. He would also introduce ‘rapping’ to hip-hop during these ‘breaks’ as well, starting a practice that he would later delegate to Coke La Rock when he took his performances on the move.
Coke La Rock is considered to be the first true hip-hop MC and rapper. DJ Kool Herc’s innovative DJ techniques inspired many others to imitate and innovate on what he introduced, further developing DJing, rapping and breakdancing. But the genre would not be referred to as hip-hop until much later, and it was originally called that in a derogatory way, though it eventually stuck.
While old school hip-hop was incredibly popular in the 70s and 80s, what elevated the genre into a real cultural movement rife with social commentary and urban expression was the golden age of hip-hop that began right after in the late 80s to early 90s. Prolific acts like Run-DMC, Beastie Boys, Public Enemy and many others brought the genre into the mainstream, with every new artist producing hit after hit, reinventing the genre every time they did.
Golden era
This was the era that codified hip-hop’s focus on black nationalism and afrocentrism, providing a much needed mainstream voice that was aggressive and unapologetic but still popular and lucrative. The sex and violence that were heavy themes of the genre got strong push back from many groups, though the controversies only made the culture more appealing.
This golden era ended around the late 90s with the deaths of two of the community’s most respected voices, Tupac Shakur, and Notorious B.I.G, as well as the rise of the highly commercialised silver age of hip-hop.
Dubbed the Shiny Suit era or the Jiggy Era, the new faces of hip-hop were far less controversial and more consumable by a larger audience.
Many of the top artists of this time, such as Puff Daddy, Lil’ Wayne, Jay-Z and Nelly became household names and remained popular to this day. But the more commercialised and unoriginal hip-hop scene saw to a quick decline in interest that failed to capture new audiences until the age of streaming revitalised the genre with new unique talents like Lil Nas X, Juice Wrld, Chief Keef as well as mainstream female artists like Cardi B and Doja Cat entering what was originally a largely male space.