Hip Hop is a genre of music that employs the use of rhythmic beats to be played along with rapping vocals. Hip Hop music can be described as an art form of 4 basic elements – emceeing, deejaying, graffiti and break dancing. As the popularity for the Hip Hop grew over the years the four elements merged seamlessly to form a kind of lifestyle that developed its own cultural flavor. This even included the way people dressed and the general kind of the mindset that one could normally associate with Hip Hop.
The origins of Hip Hop can be traced by to the 1970’s when innovative approaches to music were made in the areas around New York. One of the most easily identifiable attributes of Hip Hop is its influence of a Jamaican style known as Toasting. It can be described as the style of talking or chanting something when beats are being played in the background.
The music grew popular among the youths of Blacks and Latinos in the streets of ghettos in places like New York and Los Angeles. One of the early pioneers of Hip Hop music was Jamaican born American musician and producer Clive Campbell more popularly known as DJ Kool Herc who bought in a lot of new touches to his music. While playing as a DJ he would use repeating vocals or chants along with the instrumentals to create a never before experienced effect at discos and clubs in and around Manhattan. As the years progressed, Hip Hop music got more creative and MC’s also began to characterize their music where rapping would overshadow the rhythmic beats of the track.Genres
Hip hop music has been split into many sub genres and all have developed their own legion of fans. Some of the popular styles include rap rock, gangsta rock, electro-hop, horror core and country hop.
Rivalries
Hip hop and its origins can be attributed to the two main areas of New York and California resulting in rivalries between the East Coast and West Coast.
