I'm always intrigued with the origins and contributions of our early HH artists. And, we have discussed and viewed quite a bit. While we may have been familiar with a few of these folks or concepts, some undoubtedly was lost. Nonetheless, we have quite a bit of richness. We can enjoy these contributions through various ways: listening, partying, and perhaps even being inspired to create our own "new" sounds. So, I'd like to ask you to identify which origin fact, contribution or innovation resonated with you the most from this unit, and why?
Due: Wed., 5/31/17 by the beginning of class.
One thing is a hard choice because so many great things contributed to Hip Hop. However, one thing that really resonated with me the most is the Turntables and learning about the break. I think that resonated with me the most because even though now we do not use turn tables, we always have a break in music where the beat is everything. It gets everyone's attention and makes the music more "Hype" or "Lit". I personally love to listen to music and listen to it build and then that break comes in gets me excited and sometimes makes me wanna rap (I can not rap!). I feel with that then you wouldn't have anything. Also, with the beat we now use that break for all types of dances. Back then the break dancers were only dancing to the break part, but now this generations dances to the break in all kinds of ways which is exciting and fun to watch and to do.
ReplyDelete- Neikya Slade
when I think of Hip Hop I think of beat boxing and battling. Beat boxing being the sound of the drum but has became much more complex. Beat boxers started being able to sing at the same time. Battling being very important contribute to Hip Hop due to it was a way for the artist to express themselves lyrically. Battling is a way of bringing people together and motivate the artist at the same time due to when battling the artist feeds off the crowd. Example being T-Rex and Charlie Clips battling and I found it interesting how they fed off the crowd hyping them up in the background also to see if one of them were going to not being able to compose themselves off what the other one may have said .
ReplyDeleteThe thing that resonates in me the most is the notion of story telling. I have noticed that most people who listen to hip-hop always question whether or not the genre is negative and worth listening to, because of the artist as well as what the artist is saying. Although I love hip hop, I myself have been a critique of the genre many times relating it to violence and a plethora of negative things such as drugs, ses, misogyny etc. It was not until I read Geneva Smitherman's 'The Chain Remain the Same' that I for once am able to fully say I have a deeper understanding as to why the lyrics to most hip hop songs are inclusive of violence, sex, drugs etc. Smitherman told of how hip hop was primarily used as an outlet for pain and it shined light of the chaos in every day African-American life. This new found knowledge has allowed me to be more open to hip-hop and not as judgmental towards something I love so much.
ReplyDeletehttps://blackboard.ncat.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-2785480-dt-content-rid-12617124_2/courses/ENGL316030.201730/The%20Chain%20Remain%20the%20Same.GSmitherman.pdf
I believe so much I have learned throughout this unit. I would have to say battles and the remix of disco beats resonated with me the most because these both did something tremendous in different ways.
ReplyDeleteBattle rap changed the game because it gave people the opportunity to express themselves in an aggressive and using word play to make the audience think during the battle. The strategic way the battlers use their words to make fun of their opponent or to just speak truth to what is going on in the word at the time and tying it back to the battle is so incredible to me. Watching some of the "OG's" like Loaded Lux and some of the new battlers like DNA, Charlie Clips, and seeing the different way the approach each battle is so great because it give them creative space to write how they want and make a great delivery during the performance/battle.
The remixing of Disco music making it more of a hip hop sound to me was one of the biggest contributions to hip hop. I would consider this sampling of the music. In current hip hop sampling is so popular now it seems that every artists does this. For me, knowing a song an artist is sampling makes it more exciting to listen to to see if the artist is going to do the song justice.
There are many pioneers that have paved the way for rappers today but as far as the state of the culture now, the disco remxing/sampling made a huge impact in hip hop.
Kena Nolan: I'm inspired most by listening in calm and relaxing settings. When I think of how hip-hop inspires me I'm reminded of nights spent either at home or with friends playing a new album for the first time. I love hearing new music for the first time and letting it play all the way through. I'm more intrigued by the lesson about DJing because I'm impressed by flow and syntax. I like music that doesn't have to be loud or clique to hold my attention. I'm even more inspired by those who paved the way for hip-hop because they didn't have rappers around for inspiration or anyone waiting to tell them what is or isn't hip-hop like we do today. For example, I'll listen to older rap with my mother and recognize lyrics that I thought were clever when recited by Drake or some other artist. Honestly, hip-hop excites me because of the raw potential for creativity.
ReplyDeleteDomanetrio Littlejohn: The one thing that really sticks out to me the most is the use of break beats that came from disco records. Who would have ever thought that Hip Hop would come from disco. It just amazes me how DJs like Herc and Grandmaster Flash was able to take these break beats and add their own style to it to totally change the sound from the disco record. This resonated with me the most because its the birth of Hip Hop. Nothing else wouldn't have been possible if those break beats weren't discovered. From that unique sound that they people in the Bronx related to came the break dancers, graffiti artist and sense of fashion
ReplyDeleteBefore the start of this unit when I thought of hip hop I always thought of commercial artist. Artist that simply made music just for the sake of making music. So when I learned that early musicians used their music to tell stories and to draw attention to what was happening in the community, it really resonated with me. It made me wonder what happened to the art of the whole thing and also what happened to the culture of hip hop. Because in hip hop we have some really feminine hard rappers instead of the ones trying to present the images of an OG.
ReplyDeleteAt the beginning of this semester I was still very unfamiliar with a lot of things we were learning. Honestly before I ever took this class (the first time) I had only been to one live concert and since then ive been to two more. It wasnt until this class that I learned to have more appreciation for GOOD live performances and I could actually listen to music I appreciated for more than just the commercialized sounds that always came on so that was what I "liked" per say. This was what resonated with me most because beforehand, I had never had a "favorite" rapper until I was able to tell when a rapper was just in to for the money and sounds that would sell versus artist who really dig in their soul to create music. I have also been able to pick out my some of my favorite artist today by learning how much todays generation sucks at storytelling, or at least telling a story that actually was relatable. Once I learned artist made music that actually meant something and I could actually relate to it on a person level, the whole game changed for me. Ive learned what kinda of music I wholeheartedly like. I was also amazed to learn about break beats, though I had heard of them before I never paid good attention to the subject to know that it all originated from disco. The only memory I have of ever hearing disco to memory would be from a cartoon movie. Now, I am more interested in hip hop music and I actually enjoy listening to different sounds and having the ability to pick out certain things in a song that ive learning thru this class and I can actually recognize it.
ReplyDeleteAt the beginning of this course I knew a little but not much about hip hop. I knew that hip hop was birthed in New York and that hip hop legends flourished there. I also knew that disco was were hip hop stemmed but what I didn't know was that disco records were put on the back burner where the birth of hip hop was created, at Herc parties. Where he played rhythm and blues a.ka r&b which were played on turn tables and were strategically played at the parties. Herc parties created breaks which is why dance is now intrinsically connected to hip hop forever and contributed to catapulting hip hop. This fact really resonated with me because I have always had a love for dance since I was an adolescent! Dance has always been an positive outlet for me and it's always given me a voice. Which hip hop has done for a lot of our young black youth.
ReplyDeleteWhen I began this course I thought I knew a lot about the Hip-Hop and where it came from. I knew some things and learned a lot more. The one thing that resonates with me the most with this unit is how hip-hop influenced the community and how it was about story-telling. I love the fact that artist were inspired by their communities and how when they did performances everyone was there to show support. Today the only support we are allowed to show an artist is if you buy a ticket to their show or download their music. It is very impersonal. I think over the years hip-hop has lost some of its artistry. Hip-Hop is about using our voices to share what is happening in our communities. We need to get back to that place and save our youth.
ReplyDeleteHip Hop and it's roots have always been something that I am fascinated with. I have a passion for music but more importantly how it all started. Coming into this class I knew a little information about the start of Hip Hop and how it came about. I knew this from watching interviews from some of the greatest pioneers. After reading the articles and watching the films my knowledge of Hip Hop started to grow and after the first class I began to pay attention to the beats and lyrics of songs a little more closely than I had before. What stuck with me the most from the class so far is how each DJ (Herc, Grandmaster Flash,Bam, and Hollywood, etc) brought their own flavor and style to the scene. Each piece that they added to the table set the pathway for today, with DJ Herc finding the break in the songs and playing them over and over again or Grandmaster Flash figuring out a way to get to the exact spot of the song that he needed. Without these ideas and ways we would know nothing about this. Being in this class makes me think about one of my favorite movies Brown Sugar and the underlying question in this movie is "When did you fall in love Hip Hop?" After learning so much just from just the first lesson I have fell in love with it all over again. Hip Hop is everywhere, and plays apart in so many classic movies such as Belly, Paid in Full, Brown Sugar and this list goes on and on.
ReplyDeleteSierra Lucas