The Golden Age of Hip Hop Flashcards
Recap the origins of hip hop.
They emerged in South Bronx in the 1970s and started out very live-focused but evolved into its own musical style. It used a combination of DJs and MCs.
Name the 3 main pioneers of early DJ techniques.
Kool Herc, Grandmaster flash, and Grand wizzard theodore
What is turntablism?
It is the collection of technical innovations crucial to rap.
Give 4 examples of turntablism techniques and explain them.
Back Spinning: rewind to a desired point;
Merry-Go-Round: switching from break to break;
Punch Phrasing: isolating segments (especially horn hits and vocal exclamations) and punching them over sustained rhythm;
Scratching: manipulating records.
What are the 4 major characteristics of old school flow?
- Square, four-bar phrasing
- Rhymed coupling in predictable locations
- End rhymes
- Melodic delivery
What is sampling?
It is the practice of extracting a segment from a previous recording, musically altering it through cutting, looping, or tempo changes, and using it in a newly recorded song.
How did the transition from old school to golden age hip hop occur? Who was involved?
It occurred with mid-1980s groups such as Run D.M.C, Beastie Boys, and LL Cool J. This led to increasing mainstream success, with major labels starting to take interest
What were the main similarities and differences between old school and new school rap?
Similarities: still following political impetus
Differences: shift towards harder, more street-oriented sounds and aesthetic, more complex rhythms, new sampling techniques
Who was the first hip hop artist to cross over into the mainstream?
Run D.M.C.
What release by Run D.M.C brought them major commercial success? Why?
“Walk This Way” with Aerosmith. The collaboration between two very different artists and genres with different audiences allowed the song to have broad appeal.
Describe the context surrounding Beastie Boys’ music.
They were the first white rap group that started off as a hardcore punk band. They were signed to Def Jam, which played a big role in expanding and diversifying the national audience for hip hop.
Describe the main arguments for or against rap being appropriation.
- Rap not strictly a Black genre, with important contributions from Latinx people in its early days (especially Puerto Ricans in the Bronx);
- A model of hip-hop authenticity that excludes all non-Black performers would border on essentialism;
- Yet, we should keep issues of power in mind when it comes to race and genre
Who was the first female hip hop group to enjoy mainstream success?
Salt-N-Pepa
Describe the discourse surrounding Salt-N-Pepa’s songwriting credits at the the beginning of their career.
Their early songs were credited to the producer, which gave the impression that they weren’t in full control of their career. They did actually write some of the rhymes, but it wasn’t important to them to have the credit. In response, they hinted that male rappers who didn’t write their words either weren’t subjected to the same scrutiny that female artists were.
What are the Roxanne Wars?
It was a hip hop rivalry in the mid-1980s that was prompted by the release of the diss track Roxanne, Roxanne” by UTFO about a woman who refused their advances. A number of female MCs then released responses as Roxanne
