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MUSI 2007 W12

MUSI 2007 W12. Early Hip Hop. The format for this lecture (slide-wise) is especially loose, so if you missed the lecture it’s especially important that you get class notes from someone.

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MUSI 2007 W12

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  1. MUSI 2007 W12 Early Hip Hop

  2. The format for this lecture (slide-wise) is especially loose, so if you missed the lecture it’s especially important that you get class notes from someone. • These slides are just going to be designed to guide discussion. For each major area/phase of hip hop I want to explore, there is just a track name, and a list of questions to discuss as a group.

  3. Preliminary question: what about singing preachers, as we discussed during the soul lecture? • What were toasts (not Jamaican toasts, which is coming, but US toasts)? What about the dozens?

  4. U-Roy: “Version Galore” (1970) • Where is this from? • What kind of musical scene/practice did this music go along with? • What parts of the US became influenced by this in the 1970s, and how?

  5. So now we have two important roots of early hip hop culture as it started to develop in the Bronx. • Important point: many hip hop people stress that the culture is not just about music or rapping. And also, many feel that it is wrong to refer to the music as hip hop (from this perspective, the music is called rap and the culture is hip hop). • How many pillars is hip hop usually said to have? • What are they? • Besides black Americans, what other groups were essential to this early cultural mix? And why are they not as prominent or recognized in hip hop today? • DVD: Grand Master Flash and break dancers from Wild Style (1983) • DVD: Loop of subway burners, probably circa 1983.

  6. Sugarhill Gang “Rapper’s Delight” (1979). • This is generally regarded as the record which began to build a wider audience for rap (although it wasn’t the first rap record, and some earlier ones had also been fairly successful). • Is there anything unusual about the way this backing track was made, compared to later rap records? • What older song was the basis for this beat? • Why was this record controversial in the hip hop world? • The subject matter and mood of this record were very typical of early rap records – how does it contrast with what rap would later become?

  7. Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five featuring Melle Mel: “The Message” (1982). • Musically, what makes this record stand out in terms of future directions for hip hop and rap? • How about lyrically?

  8. Public Enemy: “Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos” (1988). • PE was one of the first hip hop groups to widely cross over to a rock audience. What elements might explain that (including who was involved with their label, DefJam). • Overheads: PE logo, and PE circa 1988 • Lyrically this has a lot in common with “The Message,” but also goes beyond it in important ways. How so, and how does that link to PE’s overall image at the time (including their stage show, nicknames, and graphic design style)? • Chuck D was an important figure in changing the typical flow of rap from an old-school approach to something different. What do we mean by “flow,” and what are the differences between an old-school flow and what Chuck D is doing? • Public Enemy were also influential in terms of their production methods and style. What crucial piece of technology is being used here that we haven’t heard in earlier examples?

  9. Public Enemy with Anthrax: “Bring The Noise” (1991). • At first, the rock world largely ignored hip hop, or was hostile to it. Why might that be? • But then crossovers started to happen, and among the very earliest were rap/metal crossovers in the early 1990s. Why would metal be the first rock subgenre to widely intermix with hip hop?

  10. N.W.A.: “Gangsta Gangsta” (1988). • What was going on around this time in terms of the geographical identity of hip hop? • How does gangsta rap resemble earlier social-commentary rap, and how does it differ? What about production style? • This is one genre that raises interesting questions about the responsibility of artists. When people suggest that this music is somehow irresponsible, what do they mean? On the other hand, when people say that this music is more responsible than most others, why would they say that?

  11. Audio: Massive Attack “Safe From Harm” (1991). • Where is this from? • Is it hip-hop? To the extent that it is, how does it reflect widespread changes that were taking place in hip-hop by the early 1990s? To the extent that it isn’t, what does that say about the broader influence and fate of the genre?

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