Hip Hop Reseacrh

1. HISTORYOFHIP-HOP Hip-Hop is a cultural movement that was started in
the late 1960s which sparked in the South Bronx of
New York City. Hip-Hop can be split into four
different manifestations; rap music, “Djing”, break
dancing and graffiti art. These are sub genres of
Hip-Hop that make up this massive culture. Of
course Hip-Hop is most recognised for its
notorious rap and its affiliation with gang rap and
gang violence, however it was quoted that, “Our
music is our interpretation of our reality.” The
artists that produced these songs and raps often
talked about their hard upbringings and living in
tough neighbourhoods and going anything to
survive and ‘hustle’. The origin of Hip-Hop culture
stems back from block parties from the Ghetto
Brothers, they used to plug in their amps and
instruments into speakers and used their music to
break down the racial barriers. DJ Kool Herc mixed
samples of existing records with his own shouts to
the crowd he performed to. Kool Herc is credited
as the ‘father’ of Hip-Hop.

2. CODES&CONVENTIONS The genre Hip-Hop has been heavily dominated by
young African American males as stereotypically
they are the ones who have a hard upbringing and
are related to gang violence and gang rap. One of
the most iconic parts of Hip Hop are the way the
artists dress up, before fashion began to influence
Hip Hop artists, they used to wear baggy clothing
such as tracksuits and snapbacks. The snapback or
fitted cap has become a code for Hip Hop as it is a
common accessory for Hip Hop artists.
Furthermore you will often find the artists wearing
expensive and flashy jewellery in excess quantity
and this is to show off their ‘Power’ and money
that they have – and so we associate having big
chains with a lot of money. Rappers will also
reference their home town and where they have
grown up from and use it as a part of their
influence when it comes to writing lyrics. This is to
show that they are proud of where they come
from and they continue to represent where they
are from.

3. ICONOGRAPHY The most iconic thing about a Hip-Hop artist is
potentially the image they sell. Its not enough to
just have good lyrics or raps, you need to be able
to dress well and set trends. Kanye West for
example has started to create his own brand to sell
his own image and he is seen as one of the leading
forces of street wear apparel. He has major
influence over trends and this is because of the
image he sells. Also you will see a lot of product
placement in music videos, this will either because
the artist is being endorsed by the brand or they
just want to flaunt their high branded merchandise
in your face. There is also heavy usage of money in
videos, whether its throwing it around in the
videos or simply holding thousands of pounds in
their hands. Everything about Hip-Hop is to
‘hustle’ and get money, and this is one of the most
iconic things about Hip-Hop.

4. LEADINGARTISTSDrake is a Canadian rapper, singer, songwriter and actor. He signed to
Young Money Entertainment in June 2009 where he would began to
change the face of Hip-Hop. He has won several awards for best Hip-
Hop artist as well as best singles and music videos and has heavily
influenced the style of Hip-Hop tuning into the more emotional side
of song writing, he has become the most heavily known Hip-Hop
rapper and has blown up extremely over the past few years.
J Cole is a German-born American artist and has inspired many
through his music and often talks about his upbringing and how he
had to grow up in a rough neighbourhood. J Cole was awarded a
platinum album for Forest Hills Drive with no features, as well as
sold out tickets to every single one of his performances. J Cole has
won awards for best Hip-Hop performance as well as best Impact
Track, he has become one of the faces of Hip-Hop. It is debated that
he is one of the best Hip-Hop rappers since the 80s.
Kendrick Lamar is from Compton in California a town that is
notoriously known for its gang violence between ‘Blood’s’ and ‘Crips’.
Kendrick Lamar once said he had a dream that Tupac told him to
continue his music and keep Hip-Hop alive. He signed to Top Dawg
Entertainment and has been one of the most inspirational Hip-Hop
rappers in the 21st century. He raps about the truth and his tough
growing up and continues o majorly influence the culture oh Hip-Hop
with his lyrics.

5. RECORDLABELS Def Jam Recordings is an American record label
founded in 1983 by Rick Rubin and Russell
Simmons and focuses on Hip-Hop and urban rap
and includes current artists such as; Kanye West,
Frank Ocean, Jhene Aiko and many more.
OVO Sound is the record label is a Canadian record
label founded by Drake and is based in Toronto,
Canada. It consists of artists such as
PartyNextDoor, Majid Jordan, ILoveMakonnen and
Roy Woods.
Roc-A-Fella Records is a record label founded by
Jay Z, Dame and Biggs and is a subsidary of
Universal Music Group and is distributed by Def
Jam Records. They began their own record label
because they kept being turned down by major
recording companies and decided that enough was
enough and made Roc-A-Fella.

6. ISSUES/REPRESENTATION One of the most controversial topics of Hip-Hop
and rap is that people believe it is very violent
music and endorses gang violence and hatred
against Police as well as the community. People
believe that Hip-Hop is one of the reasons as to
why teenagers have become so violent because
they are heavily influenced by the music the listen
to. Also there are issues that Hip-Hop is one of the
reasons as to why there has been rebellions and
riots against the Police in rough towns such as
Compton because the music has told them to
rebel. Women are portrayed as hyper sexualised
objects such as Nicki Minaj who is very provocative
in what she does. She has become the face of
female rap and Hip-Hop and can say very
inappropriate things. Women are portrayed as
objects in Hip-Hop and are objectified and so
therefore this also heavily influences its audiences
because they will begin to treat women how Hip-
Hop has treated them. Leading to misogynistic
opinions and actions.