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Thursday, December 3, 2009

Origin of hip hop music

The roots of hip hop are found in African American music. The griots of West Africa are a group of traveling singers and poets who are part of an oral tradition dating back hundreds of years. Their vocal style is similar to that of rappers. The African-American traditions of signifyin', the dozens, and jazz poetry are all descended from the griots. In addition, musical 'comedy' acts such as Rudy Ray Moore and Blowfly, are considered by some to be the forefathers of rap.
Within New York City, griot-like performances of poetry and music by artists such as The Last Poets, Gil Scott Heron and Jalal Mansur Nuriddin had a significant impact on the post-civil rights era culture of the 1960s and 1970s.
Hip hop arose during the 1970s when block parties became increasingly popular in New York City, especially in the Bronx. Block parties incorporated DJs who played popular genres of music, especially funk and soul music. DJs, realizing its positive reception, began isolating the percussion breaks of popular songs. This technique was then common in Jamaican dub music and had spread to New York City via the substantial Jamaican immigrant community. A major proponent of the technique was the "godfather" of hip hop, the Jamaican-born DJ Kool Herc. (in above picture)
Dub music had become popular in Jamaica due to the influence of American sailors and Rhythm & Blues. Large sound systems were set up to accommodate poor Jamaicans who couldn't afford to buy records and dub developed at the sound systems. DJ Kool Herc was one of the most popular DJs in the early 70’s. Due to the fact that the New York audience did not particularly like dub or reggae, Herc quickly switched to using funk, soul and disco records. Because the percussive breaks were generally short, Herc and other DJs began extending them using an audio mixer and two records.
Turntables techniques, such as beat mixing/matching, scratching (seemingly invented by Grand Wizard Theodore) and beat juggling eventually developed along with the breaks, creating a base that could be rapped over. This same techniques contributed to the popularization of remixes. Such looping, sampling and remixing of another's music, sometimes without the original artist's knowledge or consent, can be seen as an evolution of Jamaican dub music, and would become a hallmark of the hip hop style.
Jamaican immigrants also provided an influence on the vocal style of rapping by delivering simple raps at their parties, inspired by the Jamaican tradition of toasting. DJs and MCs would often add call and response chants, often comprising of a basic chorus, to allow the performer to gather his thoughts (e.g. "one, two, three, y'all, to the beat, y'all").
Later, the MCs grew more varied in their vocal and rhythmic approach, incorporating brief rhymes, often with a sexual or scatological theme, in an effort at differentiating themselves and entertaining the audience. Hip hop music was an outlet and a "voice" for disenfranchised youth as the culture reflected the social, economic and political realities of their lives. These early raps incorporated the dozens, a product of African American culture. Kool Herc & the Herculoids were the first hip hoppers to gain major fame in New York, however the number of MC teams increased over time. Frequently, these were collaborations between former gangs, such as Afrikaa Bambaataa's Universal Zulu Nation - now a large, international organization. Melle Mel, a rapper/lyricist with The Furious Five is often credited with being the first rap lyricist to call himself an "MC." During the early 1970s, breakdancing arose during block parties, as b-boys and b-girls got in front of the audience to dance in a distinctive and frenetic style. The style was documented for release to a world wide audience for the first time in documentaries and movies such as Style Wars, Wild Style, and Beat Street.
Although there were many early MCs that recorded solo projects of note, such as DJ Hollywood, Kurtis Blow and Spoonie Gee, the frequency of solo artists didn't increase until later with the rise of soloists with really big stage presence and drama, such as LL Cool J. Most early hip hop was dominated by groups where collaboration between the members was integral to the show

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Music in life enhancement

Whether you admit it or not, music imbeds our daily life, weaving its beauty and emotion through our thoughts, activities and memories. So if you're interested in music theory, music appreciation, Beethoven, Mozart, or other composers, artists and performers, we hope you'll spend some time with here and learn from these music articles of note for all ages and tastes.
When I first started studying the history of music, I did not realize what I was getting into. I had thought that music history was somewhat of a trivial pursuit. In fact, I only took my history of classical music class because I needed the credits. I did not realize how completely fascinating music history is. You see, in our culture many of us do not really learn to understand music. For much of the world, music is a language, but for us it is something that we consumed passively. When I began to learn about the history of Western music, however, it changed all that for me. I have had some experience playing musical instruments, but I have never mastered one enough to really understand what music is all about. This class showed me.When most of us think about the history of music, we think of the history of rock music. We assume that the history is simple because the music is simple. In fact, neither is the case. The history of music, whether you're talking about classical music, rock music, jazz music, or any other kind, is always complicated. New chord structures are introduced bringing with them new ways of understanding the world. New rhythmic patterns are introduced, bringing with them new ways of understanding time. And music reflects all of it.Even when the class was over, I could not stop learning about the history of music. It had whetted my appetite, and I wanted more. I got all the music history books that I could find. I even began to research forms of music that had not interested me before in the hopes of enhancing my musical knowledge further. Although I was in school studying toward something very different – a degree in engineering – I had thought about giving it up and going back to get a degree in musicology. That is how much I am fascinated by the subject.If you have never taken a course in the history of music, you don't know what you are missing out on. The radio will never sound the same to you again. Everything will seem much more rich, much more luminous, and much more important. A new song can reflect a new way of being, and a new way of imagining life in the world. This is what learning about the history of music means to many of us.

Music in present day

There seems to be a gap in the musical industry at this time. It seems that only the most extremes of music have survived this very fickle industry. For example, if you turn the radio on, what you'll hear are extremes and styles of music. On one station you'll hear just talk. On another station you'll hear rapping, with words of violent underscores. On another station you'll hear classical music. On another station you'll hear someone singing about whiskey and forgetting their pain. On yet another station you'll hear what's left of what we used to call, "pop music."
The change in pop music, and what may be lacking, is what I would like to address at this time. It seems there used to be a larger variety of pop music available when listening to pop music stations. However, at this time it has decreased to a narrow amount where one singer sounds like much like the last singer. There is not many songs available to hear of Celine Dion. One's singer that has managed to stay on top consistently is Christina Aguilera.
One could not argue with the fact that twenty years ago popular music was much different than today. And I'm not sure it could be argued that it is getting better all the time. Just about ten years ago Elton John had hit songs from the movie The Lion King, Celine Dion had a hit song from the movie Titanic.
The eighties and nineties had many hit songs from movies, including CaddyShack, Officer and a Gentleman, Dirty Dancing, Good Morning Vietnam, Moonstruck, and La Bamba. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that there are not many hit songs or hit song soundtracks from popular movies these days. Hollywood has attempted to do this but has not reached the peak it once achieved.
Going back farther in time, one could trace pop music back to the roots of rock-and-roll itself. Elvis Presley carved out a whole new trend in music. The Beatles followed with great songs and performances that changed the music world. The Beatles seemed to go through several stages and reflected it in their music.
When the Beatles first came to America, they recorded songs of love with lollipop lyrics. Following this, they let their hair grow out, and recorded music with more convoluted meaning, which seemed to question the rulers and authority of the times. When the Beatles finally broke up, brand-new music trends evolved with the music of Paul McCartney and Wings, and John Lennon's solo work.
Elvis started out as the Hillbilly Cat, recording for Sun Records. His Southern drawl was very prominent and his hair was a dirty blond color. Then he entered into the era where he died his hair black, completed a stint in the Army and had a whole new career in movies. This was the "movie Elvis." Then, Elvis entered into his musical comeback phase. He recorded music and performed live in Las Vegas during this time. The final stage was his jump suit stage, sometimes called the last days of Elvis Presley. This was the time during which, although he still sounded good vocally, he appeared overweight and bloated.
Let's change styles right now in music and turn to Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin were part of the Rat Pack. They performed in Las Vegas, recorded records, and made several movies. Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra certainly reflected unique talent, good voices, and wonderful music that we have to enjoy.
However, who is the next big talent we follow with a fine-tooth comb, from beginning to end? Who is the next Elvis Presley, Beatles, Dean Martin, or Frank Sinatra?
There is certainly a gap in popular music today. Sure, you can find many popular artists with popular songs. However, they all lack that certain uniqueness in caliber of performers of days passed. Maybe it's a lack of charisma. Maybe it's the lack of mystery. I don't know.
However, shows like American Idol are certainly trying to recapture that with what they are doing. American Idol is trying to discover talent that could be turned into another Elvis Presley or someone who will change music and be remembered forever.
Although they have discovered many unique and great talents, if you ask Simon Cowell or Randy Jackson, I believe they would tell you they have not found talent that has achieved what they originally intended.
Yes, they have found great talent. The talent they have discovered certainly lacks nothing on the vocal side of things. However, perhaps it is something in the personality of the performer that's missing that has not launched them to the status of Elvis Presley, John Lennon, Dean Martin, Jim Morrison, or Kurt Cobain.
Perhaps it is something these legendary artists possessed that was mysterious and unknown to us. There is definitely something missing. American Idol, along with many other music labels, are certainly still looking for someone to turn the music industry upside down.
I don't know, perhaps that won't ever happen again.
Perhaps the performers that managed to change music forever, like Elvis, the Beatles, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, are of our history and days past. I hope not.
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