Blog The 1980's

Hip Hop

Throughout the 1970's Disco music dominated America. Artists such as the Bee Gees were at the top of the charts. Due to the popularity of the genre there were also many nightclubs and 'discotheques' across the States. The majority of the people who went to these clubs and listened to the music were predominantly white. This was one of the main causes that sparked a reaction from primarily black musicians and led to the creation of Hip Hop.

In the late 1970's, a new direction in music was taking place in the New York area mainly in Harlem and The Bronx. At the start of the movement a DJ in a public area would play music for anyone who wanted to attend. These became known as block parties. One such DJ was Kool Herc Campell who was credited for originating hip-hop.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hip_hop

During the block parties, DJ's began interacting with the crowd before and after the tracks were played. For example introducing the song, and introducing another DJ onto the stage after the track had finished. This started to catch on in many areas of New York and with the introduction breaks (break beats) from other songs played on loop, DJ's had more freedom to interact with the crowd during the tracks. The breaks were generally used from funk and soul songs. These two genres were played a huge role within the development of hip-hop and had a huge influence on many hip hop artists.

Whilst the break beats were on loop, the DJ began to put lyrics together. This became widely known as 'MCing' and 'rapping. As a result of this, DJ'S started to create groups consisting of a DJ and one or more MC's. The hip-hop group Run DMC were a prime example of this. http://ginavivinetto.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/rundmc.jpg

By the early 1980's, block parties in the New York area were extremely popular with a black audience. However the music still hadn't made a huge impact on the rest of the country and still wasn't regarded as mainstream. In 1982 hip hop artist 'Grandmaster Flash' released the single 'The Message'. This was probably the most significant early hip hop record due to fact that it portrayed the reality of life for young black Americans at the time and gained instant recognition from the rest of America. Released two years earlier, the record 'The Breaks' by Kurtis Blow was also hugely significant as musically it incorporated popular techniques in the genre like scratching and mixing using 'turntables'.
http://rap.about.com/

In 1981 the television channel MTV was launched. The channel played a huge role in getting black musicians videos out to the nation especially hip-hop artists. This was also an opportunity for the solo artists and groups to illustrate the style and fashion surrounding the music. This often consented of baggy clothing, tracksuits, sneakers, jewellery, medallions and hats or baseball caps.
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By the mid to late 80's many hip-hop artists had broken through and had established themselves within the music industry. Artists such as Run DMC, Public Enemy, and many more were enjoying the success and publicity.

After the 1980's hip-hop has continued to grow in popularity not just in America but across the world. Throughout the years since early hip-hop, 1980's hip-hop has influenced many artists of today such as LL Cool J, Jay Z, Kanye West and Rhianna who have all gained worldwide recognition and have sold millions of records.