Evolution Of Rap Music

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Evolution Of Rap Music

THE EVOLUTION OF RAP MUSIC
Rap is a form of urban music, which emerged from the ‘hip-hop’ movement of the South Bronx, New York, in the early 1970’s. The hip-hop culture was comprised of the popular street activities of African-American youth during the 1970’s such as: styles of language, “street-slang” colloquialisms, graffiti, break dancing, music and their colourful attitude and fashion. Rap music is therefor a subculture to the hip-hop movement, or what many describe as “the soundtrack to accompany the other facets of the hip-hop culture” . This means that any changes that take place within the hip-hop culture itself will be reflected in the subculture of rap music. Since the 1970’s styles of dancing, talking and graffiting have changed, not to mention the dramatically noticeable change in urban fashion. So subsequent to all aspects of the hip-hop culture having changed since its advent in the 1970’s, it seems only logical that rap music to change also, and evolve alongside the hip-hop culture. In fact, almost every aspect of popular rap music has undergone a huge transformation. From the style of music and the intent of the lyrics, to the culture, gender and race associated with rap artists and their listeners, rap has evolved quite dramatically.
The origins of rap music may be traced as far back as some African tribes, in which members used a style of “trading tall tales, handing out verbal abuse in rhymes, providing [their] own rhythmical, chest-whacking, thigh slapping accompaniment. ” This was known as “toasting” and “signifying”. Where tribe members would display their power and dominance. More immediately however, modern rap was a bi-product of the another activity; “disk jockeying”. In the early 1970’s disc jockey’s or DJ’s were a common appearance at backyard parties and social events. They played music on two vinyl record players, mixing songs together and combining old songs into new, danceable collages. Using different techniques such as quickly changing play speeds and equaliser settings, scratching records back and forth, and mixing in different types of music, made the art of disk jockeying extremely popular. So popular in fact that by the late 1970’s artful mixing had become such a spectacle that crowds would cease dancing in order to watch DJ’s perform. To keep people moving a DJ would recruite either one or a few people to act as a “master of ceremonies” or MC. An MC would speak into a microphone, over the musi...

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