By Fenton Wright, Web Services Coordinator
As we end Black History Month, our final gift to you is to go over the cultural foundations of Hip-Hop. We hope to be able to help you understand what the “Culture” is, and how Hip-Hop transitioned from the underground to the mainstream.
Preface
One thing that you are sure to have heard in Hip-Hop discourse more frequently over the last couple of years is the idea of the “Culture.” On his 2024 song, “Euphoria,” Kendrick Lamar bluntly says to Drake, “It’s not just me, I’m what the Culture feelin’.” “What is the Culture?” you might ask. Well, don’t worry I’ll attempt to fill you in on that now.
Before I get too deep into it, I have to give you a disclaimer. I am not all-knowing when it comes to Hip-Hop, nor do I have the space to mention every single stream of influence or artist that makes up Hip-Hop. But, I will try my best to help you walk away with a decent understanding of where Hip-Hop has been and where it seemingly is headed
Now that I cleared that up, let’s get into the foundation of the “Culture,” and what it means as it refers to Hip-Hop.
The “Culture”
A version of Hip-Hop culture has, for the better part of a decade, been put largely on display by artists such as Drake and others who got rid of the more radical elements of Hip-Hop. They stripped it down to a more digestible, party kind of sound. What this “modern” version of Hip-Hop lost was its initial appeal in the first place.
At its core, Hip-Hop was used as a way for rappers to bring attention to the problems in their communities. It originated out of the inner-city deejaying scene in New York in the 70s. In an effort to repurpose old funk and soul records, DJs would mix them together, creating a beat that would get the younger crowds dancing. This eventually grew into a competition to see who was the better “mix master.” It goes back even further than that, predating the African slave trade, and originating in traditions of song in African tribes.
African Roots
The tradition of bragging or boasting in African cultures heavily influenced the beginnings of Hip-Hop. Have you ever wondered why every song seems to be talking about money, cars, houses, etc.? It’s because proving that you were bigger and better than your opponent or peers has long existed in urban culture. Hip-Hop, in its traditional origins, has always been competitive.
To circle back to New York, these DJ battles and parties were community gatherings, where people were encouraged to talk to each other, dance, and just enjoy something away from their daily lives, a “get down” if you will. Along with DJs, MCs began taking microphones at gatherings and rapping over the beats and keeping crowds energized. This quickly spread to other cities, and in short, the Hip-Hop scene was born. It is more than just the music. In total, Hip-Hop is the clothing, the dances, and something that brings communities together. These are the pillars of the Culture.
The 70s: Resistance
Now, back to the music. As Hip-Hop continued its growth within these communities, factors outside of Hip-Hop changed the course of its growth.
As an increasing number of Black people moved into cities, an increasing number of White people moved out to the suburbs (White Flight). This created a wealth disparity between the two, where the suburbs would now get the funding that the cities used to have. These suburbs also had political power, because cities would include them on their governing bodies.
As the living conditions of the city dwindled, Hip-Hop became more about speaking out against the unfair treatment that Black and Brown communities were experiencing. The Culture took on a new form. This, combined with the Black Power movement, gave Hip-Hop its more radical edge.
The music also began to take off, with DJs like Grandmaster Flash inventing new ways to play sets and The Furious Five becoming even more influential.
Gatekeepers also became a common sight in Hip-Hop circles. These would be DJs on the radio who had massive amounts of say over who got played on-air. The rapping part of Hip-Hop was essentially a private club that only a few people had access to.
Towards the end of the decade, rap finally entered the mainstream. A song that you might have heard before, “Rapper’s Delight” by the Sugarhill Gang, was released in 1979, and is widely considered the first mainstream rap song. “Rapper’s Delight” charted as a top-40 hit.
The 80s: The Art Form Takes Shape
The 80s, for Hip-Hop, might be its most influential decade. Rap now being in the mainstream meant that rappers became larger-than-life figures like rock stars. LL Cool J, Run-DMC, Public Enemy, Rakim, and more would shape what rap was to be.
At the beginning of the decade, rap was fun and energetic. That is not to say that by the end of the 80s, rap wasn’t, but it changed profusely. It still had a lot of soul and funk feel to it at the beginning. For instance, artists like LL Cool J weren’t making gangster rap songs. Because rap was in the mainstream, artists felt like they had to make pop-adjacent songs. That is why you have songs like “Rock the Bells” by LL Cool J, “Walk This Way” and ‘It’s Tricky” by Run-DMC, and many more.
The God MC
What changed the game for rap was Eric B. and Rakim. Rakim specifically changed how people began to structure songs. His songs essentially began what we know today as conscious rap. Also, instead of the soul, funk, and pop-infused beats that other MCs were using, Rakim’s songs featured soft, melodic jazz beats, which deemphasized the beat and highlighted what he was saying more. There is a reason that he is called the “God MC,” or rap is referred to as “Before Rakim” and “After Rakim.”
Instead of rhyming words at the end of a verse, like a traditional poem, Rakim mixed in internal rhymes, creating a smooth flow throughout his songs. Most MCs at the time were shouting over beats, creating a party feel in every song, but Rakim’s laid-back style allowed him to rhyme in the verses and create multi-syllabic rhyme schemes.
His debut album with Eric B. in 1987, Paid In Full, laid the foundation for what the rest of the 80s would be for Hip-Hop and what the 90s would turn into. Other artists began attempting to do what Rakim was doing, but most of the older crowd couldn’t.
His impact on the Culture was such that up-and-coming artists began to view rap as even more of an art form. Artists wanted to perfect their craftsmanship and prove that they were the best. Hip-Hop is competitive.
A.R. (After Rakim)
After Paid In Full, as I said, rap took on an even more artistic form. It also began to prioritize stories from the streets. This gave rise to gangster rap. More specifically, the West Coast and its hub Los Angeles began producing groups such as N.W.A. with N.W.A. and the Posse in 1987 as well as the well-known Straight Outta Compton in 1988.
Rap took a turn. The Culture took a turn. No one wanted to hear just dancing songs anymore. Now artists were expected to be the voice for the voiceless again. Just like in the 70s in its origins, rap, in some ways, was supposed to become radical again.
Hip-Hop Coming Into Its Own
For now, we’re gonna have to leave you in the middle of the 90s, with Hip-Hop beginning to fully top the charts. But let’s look back at what the Culture has been up to this point.
Hip-Hop started as a means to gather, party, and resist in the 70s, and as a means to draw attention to injustices taking place in the inner city. Worse schools, roads, and recreational facilities were all things caused by White Flight to the suburbs and things that rappers took aim at. Rap was a way to reflect on how bad they were living.
Then, in the 80s, you get rap as one big party. LL Cool J, Run-DMC, MC Hammer, and more made Hip-Hop more pop-adjacent. Rakim, the “God MC,” then took rap to a whole new level with his jazzy beats and smooth lyricism, which directly forced other rappers to focus on the actual content of their songs. Rappers again began to turn the mic to their communities and voice what the streets had to say. Hip-Hop remained competitive.
Intro to the 90s
On the horizon are artists like 2Pac, Notorious B.I.G., Snoop Dogg, and more, who would take rap and make it the dominant musical art form. Soon, Black artists will begin to make their own labels like Bad Boy Records in New York and Death Row Records in Los Angeles. The competition between the two sides would produce classics, but the consequences of that rivalry would scar Hip-Hop forever. New hubs of Hip-Hop would sprout across the South, bringing them into the party as well. Hip-Hop was growing, and so was access to it.
Straight From the Underground: 90-2000
With the 90s, Hip-Hop would take on its most commercial phase to this point. Gatekeepers would not only take on the form of DJs on the radio, but also as executives in the boardroom. You had labels like Most Def, Death Row, and Bad Boy, that were dictating who could access the upper echelons of Hip-Hop.
East Coast at the Beginning of the Decade
In my opinion, the person who carries the flame from the 80s into the 90s and beyond the most is Nas. Nas was a direct result of the influence that Rakim had on rap. His debut album with Columbia Records, Illmatic, in 1994, completely changed rap once again. People went from trying to match the lyrical complexity of Rakim to doing the same with Nas.
Nas embodied the consciousness of the East Coast in his songs. He would rap about what he experienced daily growing up in New York.
West Coast at the Beginning of the Decade
On the other hand, the West Coast sound was less laid back and more in your face. Ice Cube, N.W.A., Snoop Dogg, and more would take gangster rap to a more mainstream level. Their music, while still being about the daily struggle of growing up in impoverished neighborhoods, was much louder than East Coast productions. Instead of floating above tracks, songs became just as much about the beat as they did the lyrics.
What would come out of this juxtaposition of musical styles no one could predict. What seemed at first to be healthy competition between the two coasts would wind up being deadly.
East Vs. West
In the mid 90s, once Bad Boy Records was fully settled in the industry, and to counter them, Death Row Records, the two sides began taking shots at one another. Mostly this was done through the owners, Suge Knight and P Diddy. The artists on the labels, at the beginning of the beef, had no initial problems with each other. The two faces of each label, 2Pac and The Notorious B.I.G., held a deep respect for one another.
What changed this relationship? What made them hate each other so intensely? Well, when 2Pac was in New York, he got shot outside of the studio that Big was recording at, on his way to meet him. After getting out of the hospital and out of jail 8 months later, Pac fully aligned himself with the West.
Makavelli
The two would take jabs at each other over the course of the next year or so, and the tension between East and West would culminate at a Mike Tyson fight in Vegas. After the fight, while driving to the club, Pac and Suge Knight would be shot at from a car that was next to them at the time. Pac would die from this incident, but Suge would survive.
The legacy of 2Pac can’t be understated. He took the Culture more mainstream. Not only was he a prolific rapper, but he was also an actor and someone who deeply cared about his community. The Culture at this point was about giving back and being able to prop up those neighborhoods you came from. Pac embodied all of that and more.
Big Poppa
Unfortunately, for Big, the story would end the same as Pac’s. While promoting his music in LA, the rapper would be shot in his car and also pass away.
Similar to 2Pac, Biggie’s life was an embodiment of the Culture of Hip-Hop on the East Coast. His music had a more laid-back, cool style to it, and he was known for giving back to the community whenever he could. When Hip-Hop lost both of them, the nature of beefs took a more subdued approach out of fear of something like this happening again.
Something to Say
Leaving the West Coast, East Coast rivalry behind us, the rest of the 90s saw massive strides taken forward in Hip-Hop by the South and Women. This is where you would see the rise of Missy Elliott, Lil’ Kim, Queen Latifah, and, of course, Ms. Lauryn Hill. Hip-Hop, up until this point, had been male-dominated and somewhat misogynistic. The women brought different perspectives to the front that challenged the norms of the Culture,
Also, in what was one of the shocks of the decade, a group from Atlanta named Outkast won Best New Rap Group at the 1995 Source Awards, opening the eyes of the rest of the country to the music that had been being produced in the South since the very beginning. Overall, the 90s saw Hip-Hop continue to expand, and its competitive nature reach its peak.
What About Now?
How does this all tie into where Hip-Hop is now? How does the foundation of Hip-Hop, being competitive and originating as a tool to help improve living conditions, lead to what it has become? Well, Hip-Hop has become less competitive. Instead of wanting to prove that you are the best rapper, in the 2010s, it was common to prove that you were friends with everyone in the industry. There is no problem with the Culture morphing to include everyone and being willing to spotlight everyone, but the problem lies with how those people disregard the foundations of the genre.
However, in recent years, there has been a small revival of the traditions of Hip-Hop. The underground scene has never been more alive, with artists like McKinley Dixon, By Storm, Injury Reserve, and others emerging as innovative artists in the American scene. Also, the UK rap scene has exploded, starting its own Culture outside of the United States. So, while Hip-Hop might be dipping on the charts, I’d argue that it’s getting back to its roots. It’s becoming for the Culture once again.
