Hip Hop: Music & History - Final Exam

Discuss several TV shows that began in the early 90's that helped to establish Hip Hop as a mainstream genre.

"Hip Hop goes mainstream." 1. Arsenio Hall Show 1989-94. Targeted: urban, black, and young. Featured hip hop artist with performances and interviews. Was canceled for a white TV show that failed. 2. In Living Color 1990-94. Diversity of U.S. Gave a black perspective, and controversial. Performances from artists. 3. Fresh Prince of Bel Air 1990-96. Based off of the music manager Barry Medina. Over time the show became successful.

Discuss Public Enemy and their impact on the development of Hip Hop, being able to mention a couple of members of the group and the role they played.

"Music with a message." Helped develop Hip Hop with meaning. Very political and philosophical. Brought political power and social awareness to hip hop. Around in the 80's/ 90's. Chuck D. (Carlton Ridenhour) - "one of the greatest rappers of all time" brought culture of black and Malcom X to Hip Hop, the art of the MC. Flavor Flav (William Drayton) -brought humor and energy to the songs. Terminator X (Norman Lee Rogers) and Professor Griff (Richard Griffin). Fear of a Black Planet - most political, reached top 10. "Bring the Noise."- Anthrax: The collaboration between the two bands bridged the gap between heavy metal and hip-hop, and brought hip-hop to a much wider audience.

Discuss how Aftermath Entrainment came to dominate Hip Hop sales in the new Millennium.

Aftermath was not too successful at first, Dr. Dre could not find an artist that he was happy with. After signing Eminem, Aftermath was on the map and it became the major label for 2000's DECADE. Signed 50 cent (Curtis Jackson), who was a major artist of the 2000's, and The Game. His album (2001) sold 8 million copies. All of Eminem's albums were commercially successful. One of them was top 3 BEST selling album in Hip hop - selling 35 million copies. Aftermath Entertainment was dominating other labels and was extremely successful.

Discuss how the fall of Gangsta rap opened space for female artists in the 90's, being able to specifically discuss Lauryn Hill, Missy Elliot, Foxy Brown and Eve.

At first women were looked at and treated as objects but after the fall of Gangsta rap and the decline in hip hop sales, they returned after new styles and artist, and it was more diverse. Lauren Hill: Her fame was short lived because she wanted her privacy. Was from New Jersey & was a singer who participated in theater. Was first apart of a group called The Fugees. Their album The Score in 1996 was their second and final album together. Hit No. 1 within a year & went 6X platinum. Included traditional singing with rap. FIRST TO DEBUT NO 1 Her first solo album was The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill in 1998. Was very important to hip hop because it combined Caribbean, singing, rap, and gospel. Debut at #1 and went 8X platinum. One of the best selling albums in hip hop. It offered black women perspective & was known for fusing muisc genres. Missy Elliot: Was from Virginia. Did not fit in the box of sexuality. Known figure in music before her own album. Supa Dupa Fly 1997 & Da Real World 1999 - both were produced by Timbaland and commercially successful. Was also 5/5 from critiques. Began to do international music (All N my Grill ft. MC Solar (French)) Foxy Brown: Known for her sex appeal. Inga Marchand, was from Brooklyn. Signed to Def Jam records. Ill Na Na 1996 & Chyna doll 1999 debuted No. 1 (2nd time for a women). Her fame was short lived. Eve: Eve-Jeffers Cooper, from Philadelphia. Was in EGDP/ Dope Girl Posse. Was first signed to Aftermath entertainment with Dr. Dre, but then she was released without an album. Then signed to Ruff Ryders. Was the third women to debut at No. 1. Her album Let There Be Eve... Ruff Ryders 1st Lady 1999 & Scorpion 2001.

Discuss the aesthetics and philosophy behind the Native Tongues collective and the associated groups/artists.

Basically the complete opposite of Gangsta rap. "Anti-Gangsta rap" Hip Hop collective of the late 80's early 90's. Consisted of: Jungle Brothers, De La Soul, A Tribe called Quest, Monie Love, and Queen Latifah. Themes: alternative for gangsta rap, how issues were presented, political/social commentary, positivity calls for change, less misogyny, and pan africanism. Heavy sampling; diverse. crossing over in genres (fuse genres). fusing hip hop with jazz.

Discuss the impact on the development of Hip Hop made by Big Daddy Kane.

Big Daddy Kane was known as a pioneer of fast rapping. Creating his own rhyme schemes that differed from the current time. One of the "greatest" and most influential MC's of all time. Had his own distinct sound coupled with complex lyrical rhyme schemes, had never been heard before. Revolutionized the way Hip Hop shows were performed - incorporate live dance choreography, theatrics and tailored made costumes.

Give a chronology of the career of the Christopher Wallace, discussing his albums, mentioning a few songs associated with them and the label/producer he was most associated with.

Christopher Wallace 72-97. Went by Biggie, Biggie Smalls, and mostly Notorious B.I.G. He had good writing skills and was dealing drugs at age 12. Dropped out of school at 17. 1991 had his demo tape, Biggie Smalls. Started signed with Up-Town Records with Sean Combs. - Mostly associated with Comb's Bad Boy Records. 1994 debut album - Ready to Die; commercially successful (gangsta rap on the East Coast). Often referred to as "Hardcore Rap" - Juicy - Big Poppa Died on March 9th 1997 - In LA doing the video of Hypnotize. 1997 Life After Death: double LP - went diamond. known as the "last album of Gangsta rap era" - Mo Money Mo Problems. - Hypnotized had extensive law suits due to extensive sampling and unauthorized samples.

Discuss crunk, its musical features, geographic origins and several associated groups.

Crunk is a subgenre of hip hop music that emerged in the early 1990s and gained mainstream success during the mid 2000s. Crunk is often up-tempo and one of Southern hip hop's more dance and club oriented subgenres. Became popular in ATL - Atlanta. Combines hip Hop and Electric dance music. Dance clubs and rowdy parties. Lil Jon, Ying Yang Twins and Three 6 Mafia. 2003, Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz finally put crunk on the national map with the smash single "Get Low. -crunk blends elements of hip-hop and dance. It's club-oriented music. Crunk songs are usually high-pitched and drum-heavy. A typically crunk song employs repetitive, catchy refrains that make it fun and easy for fans to chant along.

Discuss the origins of Christian Hip Hop, the artist associated with its founding and a couple artists associated with the sub genre in the late 80/90's.

Sub genre of Hip Hop. Themes were not the same: Christian songs included bible scriptures and stories of the Bible. They did still rap. Stephen Wiley in 1985 Bible Break- learned the Bible and put it into words. Holy Hip Hop. -Josef Sorett -The Disciples of Christ -T Bone

Discuss Death Row Records, its founders, artists associated with the label, its role in Hip Hop in the 90s and its ultimate demise.

Death Row Records: 1991-2009. West Coast/ Gangsta Rap. Founders: Suge Knight & Dr. Dre. Suge Knight was a well known street figure who was feared, violet, and incorporated street culture in corporations. Dr. Dre was the former NWA crew member. This label had 3 main artists associated with it. Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Tupac Shakur who all released platinum albums. This label played a big roll in West Coast Hip Hop music and Gangsta Rap. It eventually disbanded in 2009 when Suge Knight was sent to prison and it was no longer financially supported.

Discuss Mobb Music, when/where it originated, what distinguishes it from other sub genres and a couple of artists associated with it.

Developed in San Fransisco & Oakland. Came about in the late 80's/early 90's (More specifically 1989). Distinguished mostly from a heavy baseline (main melody is from the baseline). Funk samples, slowed down, live recreations - slowed down. Female vocals (anonymous) not featured artists. Closely related to gangsta rap - sub genre. Two main artists associated with it are E-40, Too $hort, The Click.

Discuss the impact on the development of Hip Hop made by DJ Jazzy Jedd and the Fresh Prince.

Duo. They were entertainers. Had a pop cross over. "He's the DJ, Im the Rapper." First double album in Hip Hop (huge success). 89 got the first grammy for Rap. "Parents just don't understand." - family friendly / pop cross over. Corny/friendly. Very popular but other artist did not think it was very good.

Give a general time frame for the so called 'Golden Age,' and discuss how East Coast and West Coast styles differed during this age.

East-Golden-Gangsta-West was around from about 1986-96/97. - Return of sampling; more samples, richer & thicker, texture; variety (other styles) - Instrumental recreation (common on west coast) - Continued use of synthesizers, beat box fades in popularity. East Coast: Increased sampling with jazz, rapping as poetry (complicated rap schemes), themes; more variety, anti gangsta rap themes. New sounds in production and lyricism. Mainstream Hip Hop. Characterized by its diversity, quality, innovation and influence. Experimental and the eclectic sampling. West coast: Mostly Gangsta rap.

Give a chronology of the career of Eminem, discussing his most famous albums, mentioning songs associated with them and the role he played in Hip Hop circa the turn of the Millennium.

Eminem - Marshall Mathers; 1972; Detroit. Alter Ego - Slim Shady. Began as a battle rapper. Had rough life// family, wife, kids, as a kid & school. 1st album - Infinite (sold almost nothing) not successful. Slim Shady EP; rap olympics -- made it to Dr. Dre. - The Slim Shady LP 1999; critically claimed, misogynistic, homophobic, depicted sexual relationships. Debuted at No. 2 & hit platinum in 3 months, went 5x platinum. "My Name is" - The Marshall Mathers LP 2000; outsells his previous album. Top 3 best selling in all of Hip Hop, 35 million copies sold. He was the single top selling artist in 2000 in ALL genres. Was asked to perform at 2001 Grammy. ("Stan" - about an overly obsessed fan) - The Eminem Show 2002; best rap album at grammy. "White America" (addresses being white in a dominated black genre. White suburb kids related to him because they look like him. He was controversial because he was white in a predominately black genre and still was very successful & more successful than other artists. Put aftermath on the map. Very successful and got more successful over time.

Discuss G-Funk, its origins, musical characteristics, artists associated with it and the specific album which firmly placed G-Funk at the forefront of the Hip Hop scene.

G-Funk was a sub genre of Gangsta rap - heavily influence by Mobb Music & Parliament Funkadelic. Originated on the West Coast. Specific album that made G-Funk popular - Dr. Dre's The Chronic 1992. Doggystyle 1993 - Snoop Doggy Dogg. Musical characteristics: heavy bass line, synthesizers, funk samples (live recreations), released enunciation, themes (gangsta rap/sexual content). Sawtooth wave - cutting/biting. typically high pitched.

Give a chronology of the career of Andre Young, or Dr. Dre, from his career with the World Class Wrecking Cru through the dominance of Aftermath Entertainment in the 2000s.

He began performing in night clubs with the World Class Wrecking Cru and became Dr. Dre the master of mixology. After leaving that group, became apart of NWA, where he was a producer. They were known for their gangsta rap. After leaving NWA, he joined up with Suge Knight to create Death Row Records and released his own album The Chronic in 1992. He helped introduce G-Funk to the scene. He then left Death Row Records and created Aftermath Entertainment, which was supposed to be a boutique label that had a small roster of artist that he would directly work with. He released his 2001 album in 1999 (G-Funk expansion style). Over his entire career only had 3 solo albums. He is known as one of the wealthiest people in this field. Aftermath became successful.

Discuss the music and career of Sean Combs, including why his music has sometimes proven controversial.

He was a rapper & producer. In 1993 left Uptown label and then created his own (Bad Boy Entertainment). His first album came out after Notorious BIG was killed. No Way Out - Puff Daddy Included Grammy winning single "Ill be missing you." Best rap album and best rap performance. His music was controversial because of his overuse of samples. He was sued multiple times for unauthorized samples and extensive law suits for extensive use of sampling. Had other counts of criminal record. P. Diddy released second album - The Saga Continues (2001). 2005 and released his third album - Press Play // Diddy. As time went on not as commercially successful.

Discuss horror core, the city this sub genre is most associated with as well as an associated artist.

Horrorocre was very popular in Detroit and Eminem was associated with it. It came about in the early 80's but became better known in the lat 90's and early 2000's. Horror- meant to be scary and violent. rap narratives into more frightening dimensions. G.E.T.O boys. Unsettling imagery as metaphors for real life horrors Horrorcore is a subgenre of hip hop music based on horror-themed and often darkly transgressive lyrical content and imagery. ... The term "horrorcore" was popularized by openly horror-influenced hip hop groups such as Flatlinerz and Gravediggaz.

Discuss the impact on the development of Hip Hop made by both Eric B. and Rakim.

Known as revolutionary. 1986-93; 2016-present. (Eric Barrier) DJ Eric B. Advanced sampling and lyrical techniques. "Eric B is president" represents the beginning of a new era of rhyme style. Rhyming conversationally. (William Griffin) Rakim: known as poetic, laid back delivery, reading lyrics. Became political; addressed gulf war, Iraq war, and PTSD.

Discuss the impact on the development of Hip Hop made by both MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice and why, for different reasons, each figure was controversial within Hip Hop despite achieving tremendous mainstream success.

MC Hammer: Stanley Kirk Borell - from Oakland. He was a dancer, performer, and beat boxing. Known as an entertainer. "Self made," created his own label. Capital Records offered him 2 million advance for a contract, thought he would be very successful. His lyrics mostly focused on himself, being his own hypeman. International star, 21 weeks at No. 1 for any genre. Employed too many people for his performances so went bankrupt. Others artist said he wasn't good (LL Cool J, Tribe) and dissed him. Mid 90's, he fell off and was known mostly for his performances. Vanilla Ice: Robert Van Winkle; from Dallas/Miami. Controversial because he couldn't keep his lies straight and had several different versions of stories. Also was white and had very good success. Critics were harsh toward him. Spent 16 weeks on charts as No. 1. "In Living Color" parody mocking him. Other artist did not think he was good. Declines in popularity in the 90's. Very popular single "Ice Ice Baby," publishing went to Death Row Records.

Discuss the musical and historical significance of OutKast, discussing a few of their albums, how they progressed as artists and what role they played in a post-Golden/Gangsta rap world.

OutKast was from the South. "The South has something to say." Atlanta was the dominate scene on the map. OutKast - Andre Benjamin (Andre 3000) & Andre Patton (Big Boi). They were signed with Babyface records (LaFace). Their single "Players Ball" helped with their debut album. 1. Southernplayalisticadillacmusik 94 - debut album. It was a new innovative style; included soul, funk and was melodic. Won the source awards in 95 for best new rap act. 2. ATLiens 1996. Peaked at no. 2 & went double platinum. Included so many different genres: soul, gospel, psychedelic rock, funk. Space inspired, also used synthesizers. 3. Aquemini 1998. Double platinum. 4. Stankonia 2000. Mainstream and commercialism. Included hooks. Quadruple platinum. Won best album at Grammy. 5. Speakerboxx/ The Love Below 2003. Was a double album. Top grossing US album of all time in hip hop. Album of the year/ best rap performance. Their music was innovative and brought attention to the South. Went solo and they were commercially successful. Were the first big group to become so successful after golden/gangsta.

Discuss how the Golden/Gangsta Rap era came to end, and how Hip Hop stylistically changed in the late 90's/early 2000's.

The Golden/Gangsta rap Era ended after Tupac and Biggie were killed. Late 1990's - 2000's: immediate aftermath was the decline in Hip Hop sales, but sales return in 2000's after new styles and artists come about. Diversification: musically & where artists come from. More women artists (prominently and commercially).

Discuss the impact on the development of Hip Hop made by each of the following groups: The Jungle Brothers, De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest.

The Jungle Brothers: Trio; Mike Gee, Afrika Baby Bam & DJ Sammy B. Pioneers of the fusion of jazz, hip-hop, and house music. Hip Hip and dance industries. Had album 'Straight Out the Jungle' but wasn't as successful as 'Straight Outta Compton.' "Ill House You," hip house music. 'Done by the Forces of Nature' 89. One of the most important album by Native Tongues. De La Soul 87: Trio; Maseo, Posduos, Trugoy. Known as Hip Hop Hippies. Were known for story telling. (DAISY Age - Da inner sound yall). Positivity, humor, and silliness. "Buddy" feature other native tongue artist, was a sexual song. De La Soul is dead - Became more political discussing sexual abuse. A Tribe Called Quest: Q-Tip, Phife Dawg (died in 2016), Jarobi White, Ali Shaheed Muhammed. They were known as experimental. Known for "Jazz Rap." Political and social conscious - women problems from men, story telling through hip hop.

Discuss the role Hip Hop played in the lead up to and aftermath of the 1992 L.A. Riots, mentioning at least couple significant songs (and the artist(s) associated with them).

The LA Riots happened April 29th - May 2nd. The Riots were destructive and brought about attention to police brutality, tactics of LAPD, and racial profiling. Before the riots: A few songs before the riots were political and touched on these topics. 1. **** Tha Police - NWA 2. Batteram - Toddy Tee (discusses LAPD Tactics) 3. Cop Killer - Ice T (Not hip hop but still political) 4. I got pulled over - Kid Frost (racial profiling) 5. Black Korea (Warns Koreans of consequences of racial profiling). After the riot: Mostly talked about what happened in riots or problems black people still faced. 1. The Day the *****z took over - Dr. Dre 2. We had to tear this Mother****er up - Ice Cube 3. Sound of da police - KRS One 4. I wonder if Heavon got a ghetto - Tupac (Mentions Latasha Harlin) 5. Down for whatever - Ice Cube

Give a chronology of the career of Tupac Shakur, discussing his albums, mentioning a few songs associated with them, and also addressing how this style changed over time.

Tupac Shakur was killed in 1996 in Las Vegas. He was well known for making it acceptable to rap about emotions. Albums before Death Row: 2Pocalypse 1991 - "Brenda's Got a Baby" (Political, women issues) "Violent" (Political, fight back against the system). Strictly For my *****z 1993 - "Keep Ya Head Up" (dedicated to women/Latasha Harlins). Me Against the World 1995 (Double platinum before Death Row) - "Dear Mama" (acceptable to rap about emotions). After Death Row: All Eyez on Me 1996 - double length album. "California Love" (first single out of prison). "2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted" This album was more Death Row setting. Music focused on money, alcohol, and the objectifying of women, was no where near as political as previous albums.

Discuss the challenges faced by female musicians in a male-dominated industry, and discuss the impact on Hip Hop of each of the following: Salt-N-Pepa, MC Lyte and Queen Latifah.

Women were looked at as objects. Women who were mothers need to retire and stay at home, expected to put careers on hold. More costly to maintain a women artist - hair, outfits, make up, increase security. Salt-N-Pepa 85: Cheryl Jones (Salt), Sandra Denton (Pepa), LaToya Hanson - DJ Spinderella. -Hot, Cool and Vicious 86; first album by all female group. Music turned to dance/club music. MC Lyte: Lana Michelle Moorer. First female to release a solo album. Struggles to be taken serious, got a contract through friends. 'Lyte as a Rock' 88 - debut album was the 1st album by a solo female. Her style was story telling/ realism. "Ruffneck" - first women with a #1 single. "Cold Rock a party" - mass market appeal, hook repeated. Queen Latifah: Had a diversity of styles (Jazz / world music/ soul/ R&B). Feminist lyrics. -Black Reign: her most important album, won a grammy. (Jazz heavy influence). Tackled women issues, lack of value on back lives. "Ladies First". - feminist anthem.