History of Rock and Roll

Blowin in the Wind

- 1962, 2 years before Vietnam - applicable song Young, Stevie Wonder

The Temptations

- Smokey replaced and new writers wrote more politically fueled songs - move from romance - 1st person accounts of the struggles of the black urban experience - "cloud 9": documents AA experience - Motown strayed away from political fueled songs - in 1960s music was becoming politics - psyhadellic sounds - Barry Gordy wanted to keep up with sounds - allowed for this type of music

Sam Cook (1960s)

- band and family attempted to check in to a motel - called ahead to insure to get a room - no vacancy - caused a scene - went to another hotel, was arrested for disturbing the peace - high segregation - especially in the South - fame counted for nothing

Ras Music

- fed back into pop. music - resulted in an upbeat tempo of ska which is called Rocksteady

Ray Charles

- immensely talented musician, composition, arrangement and performance - synthesize styles to make own unique sound - best talent was a vocalist

Otis Redding

- like Sam, father was a minister

1960s performance

- model sound and performers were accepted by both races - charismatic and sophisticated live performers - on and off stage - everything was choreographed - keep up with rock and roll at the time - music that was going to be danceable, non threatening

"I Shot the Sherriff"

- police harassment - has to kill a cop in self defence - outlaw hero story - he uses Jamaican dialogue and accent

Booker T. Washington

first black person to be invited to the white house - accomadationist black reformer - advocated blacks should accept segregation, we cant undue it etc. blacks should emphasize self help and improvement

Explosion of Hip Hop in 98'

• MTV hip hop show • Billboard : Rap hits • The Source emerged - first magazine devoted to hip hop music and fashion ◦ Sold more than Rolling Stones • Grammy's: Rap Category

CBGBs (Country, Bluegrass and Blues)

◦ The centre where punk was born • A venue in NY • Centre of underground music scene ▪ Very small

The Marvelettes

"Please Mr. Postman" - successful at making hit songs - quality control, tested the final product 65% of his songs reached top 100's - people came to record with him

1964: a Change is Going to Come

- #12 Rolling Stones Greatest Songs of all Time - written in 1st person = draws on hardship - inspired by Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind" - black man in a racial segregated country - not seen as a political artist - virtually impossible to seperate singers w/ daily lives = essence of soul music - not a lot that directly sight civil rights, racism etc. - music itself, singers/experiences/roots/emotion/authenticity became adopted by black community as a rep. of its struggle for black pride - for racial consciousness like an ANTHEM

Bob Dylan

- Beatles (Lennon) wanted to meet him - Dylan taught them how to smoke weed, roll a j - Beatles introduced him to rock - saw him as an artist with integrity - Dylan was willing to take chances - to reinvent himself and the music - he was true to himself

Mowtown Berry Gordy

- Detroit - wanted to create a sound with AA rock roots but cater to a broad audience - avoided a sound that would be segregated by whites = white and black youth - firm hand on production process - avoided sounding like early r&b, nothing Chuck Berry would have produced - maintain a blues and gospel style (slowed it down) - shrewd head for business and music - knack for finding talent, in all aspects of music

Bob Dylan

- Dylan Thomas - poet, took name - Woody Guthrie influence - Pedestrian/rough singing style - his music was successful due to their influence on other musicians (covers)

James Brown

- Georgia - baptist church - father of soul - gospel & secular - acrobatic physicality - great dancer - draw audience in with vocal performance - Brown and his band crashed a Little Richard gig "Say it loud, I'm Black and I'm Proud" - spokesperson for AA - teaching the next generation, to be proud of who they are

Rastafaranism

- Haile Selasse - Crowned king in the inter-war period - Name means 'Power of the Trinity' - aka Holy Trinity - Rastfarians believed that Haile Selasse's becoming a king was prophesied by Marcus Garvey

Mento

- Jamaican music - acoustic instruments (banjo, rumba box, drums) - slave heritage - commentary on normal events in Jamaican life - humour - spiritual, caribbean folk music, and jazz background - sounds a bit like Calypso music - this was bcuz ir was meant to appeal to American audiences, BUT it was distinctly Jamaican - used to be popular with Jamaican youths, but in the 1940's American Swing music became very popular instead - it was played in dance halls - there was some Jamaican swing bands

Marvin Gaye

- Product of Barry Gordy's empire - son of authoritarian preacher - sang in a church - turned to secular du-wop music as a rebellion from physical and emotional abuse from his father - Worked his way up to record for Gordy - Silky smooth sound to raw sound in voice - Sensitive soul, abusive upbringing - riots were the hallmarks of civil rights cracking - troubled him - produced album "whats going on" - documents AA returning Vietnam veteran back to America - Hate and injustice towards AA people - touch on all aspects of AA life - haunted by demons, relationship w/father, legacy of religious upbringing, beliefs w/life, difficulty juggling performing, recording and the expectations - Became addicted to weed, contemplated suicide, he was shot and killed by his father when he tried to break up an altercation between his father and mother

Bay Area San Fran

- Psych. rock encompassing a variety of styles of music - Blues, Latin, Italian, Rock - historically been the outlier of mainstream - west coast chicago - anything goes attitude - 1950s - poets, authors Greenwich village migrated to San Fran - Anti- war was in NY - concert going was a communal experience

Smokey Robinson

- The Miracles - wrote and produced for multiple bands (big range)

Don Drummin and the Ska-talites

- a studio band - had a big influence with Jamaican youth - ex. 'Silver Dollar'

Secular song "I've Got a Woman"

- able to bring secular music to popular music - "genius of soul" - hits in many genres (pop, soul, country)

1976

- asked by the ministry of culture in Jamaica to headline a non-partisan free concert, called Smile Jamaica - saw this as his opportunity to add his voice to the political atmosphere in Jamaica - wanted to suppress simmering tensions of the election - this was an election uear and epople were divided between the Jamaican Labour Party, and Jamaican National Party - very violent - the labour party thought this was an endorsement for the national party - assassins came and shot up his house - no one was shot - he performed at the concert but then moved to London for a few years - self imposed exile - exodus album: - call for change - third world anthem - Babylon used as a code for oppression and enslavement - aka Jamaicans are trying to free themselves from Western colonialism - Yad : refers to God Redemption song - determination, rebellion, and faith - indictment of imperialism - takes on the entire edifice of the empirical project - takes on the legacies of dependency and the inequality thereo

Jimi Hendrix Experience

- back up for a lot, wanted to go out on himself - couldnt break out in the American culture - in England, he formed band - tapped into the thriving scene of London in the swinging 60s - brought the psychadelic sound to the guitar - he sculpted sounds with the guitar - Woodstock performance - the star spangled banner - indictment against USA military - mimics the sound of war in his song

Rocksteady

- be careful because 'Rock steady' is a dance, but 'rocksteady' is the music - derived from the song 'rocksteady' by Alton Ellis - appealed to the social underclass in Jamaican society: Rude Boys - marginalized members of society who resisted the system - consisted of urban rastas, thugs, lower-class youth - often conflicted with Jamaican law - made a romanticized image of the Rude Boys as outlaw heros - this is because of imperialism

Bob Marley

- biggest reggae star to break out of Jamaica - lived in the rural perish of St. Anne - Moved to Kingston in the 1950s - impoverished area where he was exposed to hard life, Rude Boy culture, crime etc. - 'tuff gong' was his nickname cause he stood up for himself - started recording with Kong, but in 1963 formed the wailers with cloxindong (whatever) - Emperor Slgeege visited Jamaica - exposed him to Rast. - started buying into the culture - influenced his music - cracked the American market - his songs are political - some are social commentaries on life in Jamaica, the legacies of colonialism, inequality of the international economy

Soul Music

- black generated - produced by white labels and integrated bands that became a unifying forced for AA community - product of white people was going to create an atmosphere where black pride could grow - born in the South - pioneered in the 50s by Ray Charles and Sam Cook

Baby Boomers

- born after WW2 - didnt know war, depression, affluent than previous - more of them - 1960s came of age - started going to college - most educated generation ever - had money, time and education = dangerous - think, question their parents and value far greater than the previous - not just concerned w/conformity of Cold War - they openly questioned it - revolted against business, government, military - no accountability - "The New Left" - impersonal nature of the education they were receiving - Universities as large faceless institutions - students as #'s, stifling creativity - mold to fit into their "box" - student activists - rejected class based - not criticizing socialism or communism - more broad - loneliness and alienation in society, social cultural criticism - powerlessness they felt at the hand of bureaucracy - participatory democracy - more autonomy over their lives - bring an end to racism, materialism - appeal of Dylan's music - reflected their views and ability to mold this generation - folk rock begins to spin off in new direction in mid 60s

Jimmy Cliff

- born in rural Jamaican town of St. James - came to Kingston in 1962 to work with record companies "Wonderful World, Beautiful People" - offering commentary on the world as Jimmy Cliff sees it - on the surface, things look great, but just under the surface there is danger as seen by people's inability to get along

Berry Gordy vs. Phil Specter

- both control freaks - Phil - tight grip of quality and control of products, producing small # of records, but best award winning music - diff.: specter records - gordy producing the act to go along with records - reflects the guiding philosophy where gordy grew up, way he was interacting with race in USA, family was an influence by Booker T. Washington

Bob Dylan 1965

- brought drums into his music - Subterranean Homesick Blues - inspire the social movement the Weather Men - Stream of consciousness - Blend the hard rock sound to social commentary - Youth consumption -"Like a Rolling Stone" - ambivalent attitude towards privilege - blunt realism - master of metaphor and imagery

Sex Pistols

- burned out after 2 years but in those 2 years fundamentally changed the music industry

performance style San Fran Bay Area

- centre of the counterculture - bands at the time - inspired by Dylan and political awareness - bands were rejecting the mainstream pop music at the time - commercialization of the music - began to explore spiritualism - George Harrison - began meditating

LSD/Shrooms/weed

- changed their reality - made them more creative - psychadelic rock - effects of the drugs

Reggae

- comes from the term "raggay" which is Jamaican slang for raggedy (aka everyday stuff) - music - slower tempo than rocksteady - huge afro-jamaican musical influence - overtly political musical form - issues like racism, poverty, social injustice, etc.

Maroon Settlements in the interior of Jamaica

- communities of escaped slaves/their decedents - Burru a style of African drumming, which was mixed with Rastifarian chants and songs - created a heavier and slower sound

"The Harder They Come"

- cult classic - thinly veiled bio pick of Ivaho Martin - he was a ghetto hero to the Jamaican underclass - poor and raised in the country-side, but had no move to Kingston - wants to make it as a reggae singer, but he earns only 20$, which is not enough to make a living - he has to look to crime (dealing drugs) to be able to make a living - it puts him in a situation which he cannot escape - police dont like him, gangs dont like him - but the audience is rooting for him - did very well in Jamaica and the North American market - especially on college campuses - the rebellious nature of the movie was probably what made it so appealing - appealing anti-hero - soundtrack introduced American market to reggae - first reggae star to break out of Jamaica

1960s Ska

- derived from R&B music - American swing and jump band music too - Rhythm section which consists of a piano, bass, rhythm guitar, and drums, and a horn section which had brass instruments and saxophones - vocals ranged from blues to crooning

1960's record shortage

- entrepreneurs set up their own recording studios in Kingston - entrepreneurs set up their own recording studios in Kingston - Cloxsone Dodd and Leslie Kong - important in the promotion of reggae

Beatles - St. Pepp Lonely Hearts

- experience the counter culture in their rooms - not in Cali - homage to previous generations - concept album - of a concert put together for you the listener - Lucy in the sky with diamonds - little help from my friends - a day in the life - brings them back to reality

Imperialism

- exploits the people of a state by pitting them against each other - it fuels class divisions and creates a ruling elite who collaborate with the imperial authorities - the mother country has exclusive rights to the raw materials of these states, make them into finished goods, then has exclusive rights over them so they sell them back to the colonial countries - creates a system of dependency - therefore by the time they gain their independence their economies are not very strong and they need air from the Western world - are dependent on aid still and do not have a lot of freedom to run their countries the way they want to - Jamaica had very few jobs, very high poverty - therefore the police pitted against everybody else - get a sense of why the rude boys are seen as romantic outlaws - because they are the same as everyone else - very political music - by the late 1960s the socio-political commentary of rocksteady, rude boy attitudes, and the culture of rastifarianism combine to create reggae

Sam Cook

- extraordinary voice, and vocal control - began with gospel group - Dale Cook - to record secular music - his confidence in his voice, self deprecating but still in control, not as much vulnerability

1970s history

- failed vietnam - americans seen as enemies - tricky dicky - abusing all that presidential power - not more trust between the people and the governement economy: - stagnant inflation - economy is not growing, but prices went up - unemployment etc.

Jefferson Airplane

- first band to emerge in San Fran - Evolved from Dylan covers, blues - produced louder, harder sound, instrumental improv, creative visionary lyrics - "somebody to love" - "White rabbit" - same album (surrealistic pillow) - drug references

Desmond Dekker - "Israelites"

- first reggae song to emerge from Jamaica and gain wide, international, recognition - combines Rastifarianism with the socio-political concerns of the rude boys - discusses the trials ad tribulations of an individual on the fringe of society, trying to make ends meet when the system us against him - likening his suffering to that of the Israelites

The Supremes

- girls from the projects - didnt think white America would respond - developing talent was very important - turn them into "princesses" - model act - model of the Motown recording process - Diana Ross - lead - very talented, song writing team

Malcom McLaren

- had once managed the New York Dolls - returned to the UK and wanted to establish a band that would horrify the British middle class - youths - a lot of working class youths did not have work and blamed the state for their predicament - encouraged 3 former skin-heads to create a band - brought in John Liden too (aka Johnny Rotten) - formed the Sex Pistols

Marcus Garvey

- heavily influenced by Booker T. Washington - wanted national, self-determination for blacks - aka they should have their own homeland - back in Africa Movement

T Booker and the Mgs

- house bands - Stax - Paradox: epitome of the soul soumd, interracial - Owners of Stax (white brother and sister) - essence of Black pride and empowerment came from white controlled company - muscle sholes - Otis became Stax's records, success "I've been loving you too long" - died in a plane crash 22/23

Sunset Strip Riots, 1966

- imposing a 10 oclock curfew - noise and youth hanging outside the nightclubs - Buffalo Springfield

Southern states new means to exclude AA from society (1960s)

- legal and extra legal measures to keep them out of the body politic - share cropping, tenant farming (economic) - political measures - take the vote away, literacy tests (but a lot of white people couldnt read) - poll tax to vote (figured blacks werent able to vote - also a lot of poor whites) - grandfather clauses - all black grandfathers were slaves, thus they couldnt vote - legal segregation - Jim Crow Laws (1869 SC) - lynching - murder if anyone fails to keep them out

The Counterculture

- mainstream American values - challenged the assumptions of the establishment - lifestyle choice, protesting the norms of the time - "Hippies" free code of conduct - rather than normal ways of living - commual living - mind altering drugs - higher state of consciousness - sexual revolution - new individualism - women were trying to assert more autonomy over their bodies - Rebellion - wear, behave etc.

Lou Reed

- middle class upbringing but suffered with overbearing parents and struggled with his sexuality - the fans were simply consumers - kinda made rock less authentic because it was just business - but there were still some innovations - bands such as Pink Floyd who were trying to make rock art - some rock purists thought this was pretensions - aka it was all moving away from recklessness, excitment, and the hard-rcoking sound that had made rock so great - this is what the bands above were trying to do in the 70s - went back to the cycnism and anti-commercialism of the original rock - there was no utopia so people began rebelling against it again

Mood

- mistrust in authority - reflected in punk's attitude - rejection of middle-class American values - this happens with every generation - what doesnt happen with every generation was that the middle-class ideal that people were supposed to aspire to was pretty much dead - no jobs, no money, no trust, etc.

Sam Cook

- more political in his lifestyle than in music - took great pains to try to be in full control of music production process - admired and befriended Malcolm X - Mohammad Ali

The harder they come

- movie starring Jimmy Cliff - social commentary on life in Jamaica - underdog story of a man growing up from poverty and hardship who tries to make it as a reggae singer - but in order to succeed he must turnto a life of crime - the system is against him storyline - soundtrack put Jimmy Cliff and Reggae music on the world stage

Racism

- northern racisms was structural vs. institutional, implicit etc. (latent) - racism was as cultural and ideological as it is social, political, and economic - societal structures re-enforced latent racism - whites were more affluent, opportunity, hire white, fire black - defacto segregation patterns in housing, neighbourhoods - low income developments - law enforcement was white, impossible for blacks to escape - emerged music of mowtown and soul

after civil war segregation

- people wanted to move on, 10/15 years of reconstruction of the south (reform) - northern military presence in the south - removed presence (felt it was a burden)

Lady Soul - Aretha Franklin

- performed secular in 60s, wasnt discovered till late - Atlantic Records, independent owned by white guys, a lot of r&b success - wasnt a breakthrough - she arrived - the way she could deliver the song - Aretha would elevate the song to a lyric significance beyond the lyrics - giving them an importance regarding civil rights, gender equality - new meaning by who she was and how she performed them - RESPECT - Otis Redding - she put the woman's voice into story and dramatically changes who is in control of the relationship, female empowerment

Garage Bands

- played mostly for themselves - they loved the music - self-taught and simplistic - but very cycnical messages in punk music - very dark: deal with things like drugs, death etc. - but some of them enjoyed some commercial success ex. the Standells - dirty water, loved the music - usually gritty sound

Woodrow WIlson

- promoted national self-determination - aka people should determine under what government they want to live - if they want to leave, they should be able to - resonated very strongly in the colonial world - a lot of empires enlisted colonial troops to fight in the first world war - message that colonial citizens were barbarians and Westerners were civilized - but what people experienced on the battle field really called Western civility into question and therefore called their power into question

Roots 1970s

- punk was originally started in the 1970s in the US - by middle class white youths who were trying to rebel - the difference was that the socio-political culture in the US was different - emerged against a backdrop of cynicism, disillusionment, and economic stagnation

1964: civil rights act

- racial discrimination in institutions, schools, hospitals, employment in restaurants, theatres

1960s

- rock n roll was "dead" still Black presence - dance music, chubby chekker, folk revival - music again filtered through experience - belonged to them (AA) 1. mowtown music 2. soul music - both emerged from music that made the blues, r&b - reflect different aspects of AA experience - position on mainstream American society

The Velvet Underground

- rough edged dark, loud, chaotic, anti-commercial music - lyrics dealt with things like drug addiction, violence, sexual deviancy, social alienation

Sex 1975

- sex is a fetish shop - rubber and leather clothing - owned by Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood

Janis Joplin

- short and exceptional career - free spirit of the time - possibility, product of the counterculture - broader conservatism of American values - lived her life large and fast, alcohol and heroin - unlady like - thought to be insecure but pushed it away and came out in some of her performances

1950's r&b came into Jamaican music culture

- some of it came over airwaves - some Jamaicans had to leave Jamaica to find work and brought new music back with them

Rastifarians

- started to interpret the Bible in passages dealing with slavery, freedom, and consequences for their repressors - Babylon - a new type of imperial order - Nationalism of the WWI Era - a lot of colonial powers were weaker

Rastifarian Culture

- used weed - had distinct hairstyles and clothes - ex. dreds - it was like a religious movement and spread rapidly - they chanted down Babylon - resistance to the imperial order parallels between rock n roll as resistance

New Port Folk Festival

- working man image (shirt, jeans, sunglasses) - Maggie's farm, Phantom Engineer, Like a Rolling Stone - allegedly booed off stage bc of the electric guitar - consequences for rock music - allowed it to grow up

1990s - Hip Hop went two ways

1. Old School East Coast a. Where hip hop began = south Bronx b. Gritty, social commentary on harsh realties of chronic poverty of African Americans 2. New School West Coast ◦ Evolving into an orgy of violence ◦ Celebrated gangster lifestyle of street gangs, confined in south central LA ◦ 2Pac in a feud with CEO of Death Row Records over Biggie

The Temptations

1960's motown gave them their success - legendary live performances, dancers and high energy - Smokey Robinson was their mentor - innocent music, safe - making them appealing to a wide audience

Roots

History - reggae comes from a whole bunch of different types of music - blues, jazz, folk, carribean etc.

Origins

What were punks ◦ Wore ripped jeans and other ripped clothing, mismatched clothes, shaved or spiked heads, body piercings • All designed to reject commercialism ◦ Extremely provocative songs • Lyrics designed to offend the listener ◦ Appeal of punk was that it was more authentic • Movement away from concept albums and rock stars • Reconnection with fans ▪ No more stadiums, now small venues ◦ Was essentially a stripped-down and non-musical version of rock • Aka not typical music

Later 1965

major american cities would see race riots - mood of disempowerment, disillusion - reflected in soul music and motwon - where they start to converge

1965

process of regristration for votes, taken into federal control - so everyone could - did not address social, cultural and economic inequalities were more prevalent in the North - were not addressed - legality could mitigate, but couldn't the structural racism - legacy of Jim Crow - kept many AA in economically inferior position - still limited - couldnt afford housing, education, get good jobs - civil rights legislation did not alter the fundamental aspect of the struggle for racial equality that was in people minds - how they viewed the world - still excluded - hypocrisy in NA, liberal white guilt

Rap

tells a story, self expression more so than graffiti and break ◦ Response to the oppression, racism felt by blacks in USA ◦ System of communication among black communities across USA whom all felt the same hardships (common) ◦ Insight into values, perceptions, conditions of black people - window into world ◦ Black America's CNN - what's going on? Listen to music. • Original artists were DJS (dances, block parties, clubs) ◦ Cool Herk, Grand Master Flash, African Bambaataaa ◦ Use personal style to make names for themselves in communities ◦ Play funk, soul on turn tables and isolate percussive breaks of the song

Run D.M.C

• 2 MCS and DJ Jam Master J • Most influential group of all • All 3 were college educated, middle class Queens (same as Ramones) • Hard rock influenced rap - very influential • Beats were powerful, stark, digitized hard rock drumming and heavy metal guitar (appealing to white audience) • Raps were literate, and rhythmic - finishing each others sentences • First crossover acts, black and white audiences and popularized if among young white people • Fashion, and spectacle were very rebellious • First rap group headline national tour - first to appeal on MTV • Signed deal w/Adidas to promote clothing • Biggest hit: remix of Aerosmith "walk this way" matching their intensity ◦ Steven Tyler performed the chorus ◦ The video was most influential ◦ Symbolizes crossover element of Run D.M.C (watched video) ◦ Legitimizes rap by the biggest rock bands to give them the "ok" ◦ Received a lot of air time - first to get it

2Pac vs Biggie

• Both had criminal records, drugs, weapons, gangs etc • Both from NY • Drew on pasts in gangs in their work, and recorded songs that glorified the excesses of gangster lifestyle • Narrator spoke to audience beyond the grave (both produced songs) • 2Pac shot in Vegas, 6 months later biggie shot in LA ◦ Deaths were result of the east coast vs west coast feud

Mid 1990s Confusion got too real

• Bragging their violent backgrounds etc reality vs capitalizing • 2Pac was w/Death Row, Dr. Dre and Snoop left to spare their lives (art imitating life) • Gangster Rap is a product of alienation - survivalist outlook on life, bleak hopeless life ◦ Self indulgent, celebrating excesses of consumer capitalism that contributes to gangster lifestyle ◦ Exploitation of women as sex objects - degrading and misogynistic ◦ Deeper, chronical of dilemmas they faced in daily lives ◦ First person, aura of authenticity, shock value = creative potential ◦ Positive qualities of American Culture • Form of self expression • And darker side not everyone wanted to recognize ◦ Preoccupation with earth and status = pursuit of black culture

Backlash

• Congressional hearings, threats to arrest performers, threatening them • Outrage was racially and class motivated • In resistance, a lot of people where missing the point about what this music was actually about • Violence can be read as how judicial system are perpetuating the systemic racism ◦ Music is a reaction to it from people who were excluded (Class, race, age, sexual orientation, education) ◦ Their stories are not being told in the main stream ◦ The shock value is trying to make a point - the only way people will hear, stand up and take notice ◦ Striking back at white privilege on their own terms ◦ Hip hop emerges out of black experience - using it to make their point

NWA

• Didn't last long, Ice Cube left due to royalties • Easy E sold a lot of albums on records = died of AIDS • Dr. Dre found Death Row Records - cultivated Snoop Dogg (who I am, What's My Name) ◦ Song is done in prison toast ◦ Celebrating own revato as a bad man - someone not to mess with ◦ Establishing local identity etc. Potential for violence - Mr 187 - California code for homicide ◦ Criminal record, character he creates is a characateur • Persona that's not really him, capitalizing on gangster lifestyle because this type of music is selling

The Beginning • Hip hop: urban inner city phenomenon

• Emerged removed from white society, block ghetto parties 1970s • South Bronx was the most impoverished area of NY due to federal budget cuts ◦ Removed low income housing (cuts), social services - devastating to area that was dependent on these services ◦ Economic policies during Vietnam War • Hip Hop was a social status, identity, to replace what came from government funding • Pioneers: informal groups (pose) that were associated with neighbourhoods, blocks (localized) • 3 forms of Hip Hop ◦ Graffiti ◦ Breakdancing ◦ Rap • All developed in relation to one another and to their society around them, reflects the society from where it came from

Beastie Boys

• First commercial successful white hip hop act • Signed to Death Jam, benefited tremendously by Columbia deal • A lot of criticism for ripping off black style ◦ Yet, they are fusing different musical styles ◦ Punk group that was influenced by hip hop sound • Started out as hard core punk band in 1981 • Fuse rebelliousness of punk with musical sensibilities of hip hop music • Opening act for Run DMC and Madonna • Popular and spoke to white audience • Left Deaf Jam Records in 98', continued to combine rap with heavy metal etc

The Clash

• Individually personally reckless • Group = more artistically thoughtful • Politically insightfully and musically created • Emerged out of British pop rock scene (garage band in 60/70s) bar bands ◦ Back to where rock began in the 60's - pubs ◦ Concerts lost touch of meaning of the music, thought it was a spectacle ◦ Back to the roots - bars • Joe Strummer, stepped over the line from a pub act to punk act (Ramones and Sex Pistols) ◦ Formed a band, ◦ Theories of subversion, fashion (anti-fashion) art school experience influenced them heavily ◦ Social commentary in their work, political terms - "White Riot" • Written in response to a riot at Notting Hill in London (1976 summer) • Densely popular w/Jamaican immigrants • Held a carnival to celebrate heritage • Black community in London, suffered police harassment • Things got out of hand, when the cops tried to shake ppl down ◦ Reggae came to Britain in immigrant offspring • The clash thought they could relate to them, a lot was admirable (the Jamaican community in UK) ▪ Appreciated reggae, and how reggae artists were able to channel their political and emotional rage into music - model for rebellion ▪ Forced to live in untenable conditions, police harassment - they were proud (wore camo, had dreadlocks) ▪ Ivan reference

Sex Pistols

• Most outrageous band • Telling the guy they were the opening act • Johny Rotten would scream at audience, comanded them to applaud him, poured beer if they didn't • Anti crist, anarchist - use anarchy to get what you want • John Beverly - Sid Vicious replaced • USA took notice of them A&M signed the pistols ◦ They signed them for a week, then dropeed ◦ Virgin picked them up ◦ Pistols wrote a tribute to the Queen, "God Save the Queen" • #2 on charts, banned from radio • Made it to 1978, broke up on their USA tour • The high point of breakup when Sid Vicious was arrested with murder of gf ▪ Died of heroin overdose of 21 • Alter ego of Sex Pistols = the Clash

Public Enemy

• NY based group - guys that met at college interest in hip hop culture and political activism • Chuck D and Flava Flave, Terminator X(DJ) • Professor Griff and S1W (Security of the First World) ◦ Militant struggle for equality ◦ Gave music credibility ◦ Professor: intellectual base to the band - spokesperson • Marital Arts dance moves, wore military uniforms • Using music to comment on social and political issues surrounding black issues • Ideas behind the message and pushed to the next level • Album was inspired Marvin Gaye's "What's going on" - hip hop equivalent • Political analysis with Flava street interjections - authenticity ◦ White supremacy, privilege, crack epidemic • Used world play to draw contrast (dope (cool or drug) , lay down the base(music or crack) - in song "Night of Living Baseheads"

Reggae vs Rap

• Political roots are similar to rap • Product of an underclass of a society • People with no way out • Critique of white privileged, structures created by this privilege

Late 1980's

• Some rap went towards safe mainstream music, Fresh Price MC Hammer etc • Others, developed alternative styles reflecting attitudes, experiences of segments of society (localized again re invent) ◦ Neighbourhoods that reflect social reality • New School emerged ◦ Smoother, laid back style of southern SOCAL (snoop dogg etc) delivery not subject matter ◦ From Louisiana - moved west ◦ Content of music was angry, darker than social commentary of bands like public enemy • Reflected outlawed swagger of outlawed LA upbringing (product of environment)

Toasting

• Storytelling roots in west Africa • Trickster tail - to defy authority or upset norms (rock music's first rebel) • Prior to Civil War - trickster common feature in black slave storytelling • He survived on his wit - resonate in the slaves because they could not rebel ▪ If they could outwit their master, they'd appreciate it • He took on as a symbol of cultural survival and resistance • Following Civil War, after Slavery ▪ Replaced by "bad man" rather than outwit, these men were merciless toughs, and confront and overcome adversaries head on (stand up) without remorse ▪ Ie. "John Henry" - variation on bad man idea (song about steel driver) ▪ Rather than celebrate trickster - the exploits of bad man (immoral, question of survival based on power)

NWA

• Swag of Ice Tea and took it up a couple notches • Unapologetically celebrating gangster lifestyle with music (sex and violent) • Straight from prison tradition • Dr. Dre & Ice Cube - nucleus teamed w/Eazy E (used drug money to fund record label)

Patti Smith

• Working class girl from New Jersey • Moved to NY to pursue a career in art ▪ Literally a starving artist • Tried to remain true to her passion in music • Fused spoken-word-poetry with rock music accompaniment

Straight Outta Compton

• early hip hop • Nation of millions to hold us back • Added element of violent realism • Highly controversial - expression of outrage at racial politics • Indictment of societal structure, white privileged that maintains their brutal lifestyle • Seize on class element of rap • Bulk of consumers - white youth (Drawn to rebelliousness, anti-authority etc) • White middle class youth interest in "other" forbidden lifestyle, engage in from a safe distance • Subject matter was so controversial created the resistance • Innuendo of rock sex is depicted, rap is explicit

Beach Boys Sound

▪ Lyrically: announcing that the center of rock universe is moving back from Southern California to lower east side of Manhattan ▪ Hit in 1997, made their mark w/this song ▪ Popular with underground music scene in USA ▪ Sensation in UK ▪ Sex Pistols, the Clash - attribute their influence to the Ramones ▪ They caused a British Invasion in reverse • Youth in the UK were more alienated than those who launched the British Invasion

Pre Punk Rocker song

▪ Punk music was more political in UK than USA ▪ Timing is important, what is going on in UK ▪ Summer 1976 - high unemployment, inflation, racial tension (London, Manchester etc) • No meaningful employment (only dead end jobs) • Angry at British est. • Following ww2, British government tried to establish ambitious welfare state in UK • Use state power to eliminate extremes of wealth and poverty • Nationalized basic industries (railway, coal mines, cable & wireless, steal) • = state is responsible for paying for significant portion of British economy (labour etc) • Early 70's economy was slumping • Couldn't keep up with competitors • British imported more than export • World was going through oil shortage = ramped inflation • Economy was not strong enough to maintain thus, they would scale back • Move away from full employment \ • Class based enrollment system, those from lower class were disadvantaged • They have nowhere to go, British state had failed them • Shifting ground of music scene • Sam Philips, Sun, Stacks = Memphis • Chess = Chicago • Atlantic = New York ▪ 1960s, music moved west • Beachboys - San Fran ▪ West • Rock was 'too big for itself'

Mid 80's

◦ 1986 significant Run DMC and Beastie, multi-platinum albums ◦ Neither of them came from the bronx - shows the rapid popularity and audience was expanding ◦ Drawn to rebellious energy ◦ Death Jam Records - independent label for Rap music released both ◦ W/Columbia - deal bc they saw the potential, leave the production and talent finding to Death Jam and Columbia produced ◦ Smaller independent labels began to partner

The Ramones

◦ Arguably the first real punk band • Played high-speed music, were extremely loud and energetic • Very basic music and very quick ▪ Simple and catchy ◦ Middle class kids from Queens ◦ They reinvoked the authenticity of punk music • Consistent with garage rock-roots ▪ All self-taught and not very talented, just enough • Ex. Blitzkrieg Bop ◦ Shena is a punk rocker* - Ramones Song

First Artist: Ice Tea - Colours Theme Song (Bloods vs Cripts etc)

◦ Movie * Theme Song reflect ongoing changes of social urban community • Industrial decline • Unskilled and unemployed workers = desperate situations • Add crack cocaine = escape from harsh reality • Side-effect: competition of gangs for drug business

1970 Sugarhill Records recognized commercial potential

◦ Put together artists and called Sugarhill Gang from Harlem ◦ Rappers Delight - first real commercial hit • Introduced to wider audience and commercial status of rap • Exposure to this type of music

Capitalizing American Culture

◦ Re-inforce old stereotypes about black masculinity ◦ Black America CNN - keep it from becoming cartoon network ◦ Snoop Dogg - cartoon ◦ When it went that far = it leads to the violence and deaths of people

1982 Grandmaster Flash And Furious Five - "The Message"

◦ Social realism to music ◦ Message is grim and realistic portrayal of life in south Bronx ◦ Anger and despair in inner cities, bleak world of poverty, drugs, crime, racism ◦ Toast images of ghetto life - this was their first exposure to this type of life ◦ Harsh reality of schools etc with harsh people ◦ #87 on pop #4 on R&B ◦ Set the tone for the music that followed ◦ Direct, edgy and realistic social commentary

Back to 70s Hip Hop

◦ Toasting had disappeared - only found in prison where it resonated ◦ Celebration of themselves as they were in jail for violent crimes ◦ Hustler's Convention - Jada Uradin** group of ex-cons Lightning' Rod • Toasts they would record were gritty portraits of underworld of the gamblers, pimps and hustlers • Inspired DJS to come up with their own toasts