Lupe Fiasco - Kick Push

Question 1

When was “Kick Push” released? On what album?

Answer 1

Lupe Fiasco’s Food & Liquor
April 18, 2006

Question 2

In which record label was “Kick Push” recorded?

Answer 2

Atlantic Records

Question 3

What is the instrumentation of “Kick Push”?

Answer 3

Orchestral strings
Brass section
Electric bass
Synthesisers
Drum kit
Turntable/sample pad
Electric guitars

Question 4

What is the genre of “Kick Push”?

Answer 4

Hip-hop/rap

Question 5

What is the lyrical content of “Kick Push”?

Answer 5

Following a skateboarder through the stages of his life (childhood, dating, marriage)

Question 6

Where and when did rap originate?

Answer 6

From the hip-hop culture in the Bronx, in the 1970’s, where their was a high concentration of poverty, addiction and crime.

Question 7

What is “new school hip-hop”? When did it appear?

Answer 7

Hip-hop emphasising drum machine beats, minimalism, radio-friendly length, socio-political commentary.

Mid-1980’s

Question 8

When was the “golden era” of rap?

Answer 8

Late 1980’s

Question 9

Who were major hip-hop artists from the “golden age” of hip-hop?

Answer 9

Tupac Shakur
Snoop Dogg
Public Enemy

Question 10

What are some other artists of alternative hip-hop?

Answer 10

Kanye West
Drake
Cardi B

Question 11

What are some musical characteristics of 70’s & 80’s hip-hop?

Answer 11

Unpitched vocal line (spoken, not sung)
Usually in 4/4
Emphasis on rhythm
Lyrics relating to African-American street culture
Not traditionally structured
Use of samples from pre-existing songs
Moderate tempo

Question 12

What can hip-hop be viewed as?

Answer 12

A direct response to socio-economic issues.
Artists from marginalised groups turned their discontent from the injustices they faced to productive protest.

Question 13

How does hip-hop promote social awareness?

Answer 13

Gives a method for oppressed groups to have their message heard by a larger audience

Question 14

What is the origin of rap vocals?

Answer 14

Rapping originated from the conversation from hip-hop MC’s during breaks between songs. Content was influenced by the Jamaican tradition of toasting, and the African-American game “the dozens”, where two participants trade putdowns in a verbal competition.

Question 15

What advances in music technology occurred in 1990?

Answer 15

3rd generation of Macintosh musicware
- MIDI sequences with 512 channels
- use of patch libraries and sample editors
- notation became compatible with standard MIDI file format

Question 16

What advances in music technology occurred in 1991

Answer 16

First “affordable” digital multitrack recorder (ADAT) unveiled by Alesis

Question 17

What advances in music technology occurred in 1992?

Answer 17

Mark of the Unicorn released Digital Performer
Steinberg released Cubase

Question 18

What advances in music technology occurred in 1996?

Answer 18

Record labels began to add multimedia files to new releases

Question 19

What advances in music technology occurred in 1998?

Answer 19

The first MP3 player was released.
By the mid 2000’s, this overtook CD players in popularity.

Question 20

What happened when rap became more mainstream & commercially successful?

Answer 20

Newly developed music technology such as samples and synthesised soundtracks became more readily available and less expensive.

Question 21

What was an issue that arose from the development of sampling?

Answer 21

Legal issues, concerning the use of copyrighted material

Question 22

What was the first rap song to appeal to a more mainstream audience?

Answer 22

“Rapper’s Delight” (1979) by the Sugarhill Gang