In the late 1970’s, an alternative form of music was arising. The beat of the music was simple, but the lyrics held a new style. Unlike anything before, these lyrics were much more up tempo. The number of words in a song were almost doubled through 16 bars. More important than the style of this music was the content. In the lower ends of the New York ghettos the rituals took place for the first tim

e. You would find crowds of people loitering on the street corner with an aggressive murmur coming from within. If you studied etiology, this is where you would find the origin of Hip Hop. At the focus of this circle is the only form of background music, the beat boxer. This person used only their mouth to supply the beat, a framework that would evolve to be the foundation of the Hip Hop infrastructure. There has been appreciation throughout rap music to prove the continuity of this building block. Fast forward to 2001, and you still have rappers giving praise to the beat. An underground rap group from Los Angeles named Dilated Peoples wrote, “never forget that the real backbone of Hip Hop, is disc jocks.”

Aside from the fact that he is white, Marshall Mathers (Eminem) has surpassed the previous downfall of names like Vanilla Ice, by using his sharp and sarcastic abilities to become one of the highest grossing rap artists of all time. This brings us back to the issue of where is Hip Hop today.

The major separation in Hip Hop culture is that of mainstream and underground. Mainstream Hip Hop is the music you hear on MTV, and networks alike. It is promoted through commercials and even movies. This is the corporate side. You have artists who grew up in the slums of urban life transformed to super stardom where they are able to obtain anything they wish. This prosperity is enticing, but when this step is taken, many artists lose their street credibility. You may have seen the “iced-up” (diamond studded) rappers with designer clothes drinking a fine bottle of champagne. To some, this is not real Hip Hop. The underground seen is where you find the people rapping for fun. “Its where the challenge is” exclaims Bravo who frequents the conventions in Los Angeles for freestyle rapping. He maintains that “down here you won’t find any diamonds. It’s just normal working dudes that thrive off of the energy of each other. Every day is different” (Bravo 3/03). It’s not that these underground rappers don’t appreciate the skills of say Jay-Z, it is simply that they have different ways of being heard. “Mainstream artists have many producers offering a number of beats to rhyme to, out here, all we got is a beat boxer and each other” (Bravo 3/03).

Chuck D. is labeled as a radical in this society. This is a fitting title due to the fact that Hip Hop at one time was considered to be radical. In today’s society, Hip Hop is everywhere. It influences other types of music just as much as it influences other art forms. It has bridged gaps between races that were in opposition, and creates a knowledge of the other sides of the stories. Through the use of language and fashion, Hip Hop has found their boundary maintenance mechanism. This is how they maintain their individual identity by separating themselves from the dominant society (Gelles 2/18). Through expression, members establish their own social roles, and create their own institutions. Conformity is not an option. There is only one way for change in this Republican Democracy

Some topics in this essay:
Hip Hop, Los Angeles, Jarred Mayes, hip hop, Caucasian American, , Especially York, African Americans, According Chuck, Public Enemy, Vanilla Ice, hip hop culture, hop culture, los angeles, beat boxer, music beat boxer, nation hip, bravo 3/03, record companies, race ethnicity, corporate america, nation hip hop, music beat,