Progressive hip-hop, gangsta rap Flashcards
What was Public Enemy known for?
They were a hip hop group in New York who fused the style of Run D.M.C but with more radical lyrics about black empowerment. They were at the center of the hip hop moral manic along with NWA. Most importantly, they pioneered the use of sampling.
Name 4 purposes for sampling.
- Creating a musical lineage of African American music
- Capturing the distinct sounds of past eras
- Aiming to sound “Black” in music
- Legitimizing hip hop via other genres’ prestige, such as jazz, funk, and soul
What is a sample collage aesthetic?
A collection of short samples arranged to create a collage in sound.
What was the most important legal case involving sampling?
Grand Upright v. Warner
Describe what happened in the Grand Upright v. Warner case and the impact it had on the hip hop landscape.
Hip-hop artist Biz Markie was sued for sampling the sentimental pop song “Alone Again (Naturally)” by Gilbert O’Sullivan. Warner was forced to remove Biz Markie’s album from the market until the offending track was removed from the album. This decision was significant and altered the landscape of hip hop. There was a significant decrease in the number of samples per song, and producers became less ambitious in their sampling.
Describe how the rise of Gangsta Rap in the early 1990s occurred.
After NWA broke up in 1989, its members went on to pursue solo careers. Among them was Dr. Dre, which formed Death Row/Interscope and developed a distinct style of production. The label cultivated younger rapper, including Snoop Dogg.
How was Dr. Dre’s sound different from NWA?
It was smoother, funkier, had high-pitched, whiny synthesizers, and sung choruses. It also had less sampling.
Name the 5 major musical qualities of gangsta rap?
- Comparatively fewer samples
- Use of real instruments
- Sung choruses
- Lyrics content change, now about chilling, driving fancy cars, weed, women, wealth, gangster rhetoric centered on sex and violence, but with often humorous language;
- Gentler rapping, more relaxed feel
Describe the West Coast vs East Coast feud.
In the mid-1990s, tensions began to build between West Coast rappers, centered on Death Row Records, and East Coast rappers, many of whom recorded for Bad Boy Records. The rivalry manifested in diss tracks by rappers and public
comments in the media, but was also the reflect of larger conflicts between different neighborhoods, between gangs of different ethnicities and between larger criminal gangs.
Who were the two major figures involved in the East Coast vs West Coast feud? State which side they were each on.
Tupac, West Coast, and Notorious BIG, East Coast.
Compare and contrast the flow styles of 2pac and Biggie.
2Pac: more energetic, emotionally charged
Biggie: more laid-back approach
Both sounded effortless in delivery.
Describe the characteristics of new school flow.
Very complex with lots of internal rhymes, and the feeling that there are more words than there are space for
What is another word for new school flow?
Effusive flow
What was the impact of the deaths of 2Pac and Biggie Smalls?
It hastened the demise of gangsta rap. hip hop shifted away from its focus on gang life and became increasingly about material gain and partying. There was also a regain of interest of progressive hip hop, which focused on social issues, and the desire for sampling and experimentation. This allowed for women to take on a larger role in hip hop.
Who were the two major female rappers discussed?
Queen Latifah and Lauryn Hill
