A Cursory Introduction To Beginning Of Rap Music

By Rashad Brown


Rap music is an art form created by American minorities. Most Americans do not consider rap music to be a legitimate art form and they assume it can be merely fashionable for the moment and will experience dwindling reputation. However, this article will prove to you that rap music is more than just a passing trend. It has been a part of American culture for a lot more than two decades.

The roots of rap music, are however, considerably older than 20 years. Actually, its' roots stem from trained West African singers and storytellers named Griots. But, for the purposes of this article we will not discover the relation between rap music and Griots. Here we will address the development of rap music in America.

'Hip Hop' culture was also comprised of graffiti, break dancing, along with the attitude and dress of the individuals who subscribed to the mores and traditions of this subculture. Yet another objective of my unit will be to examine the influence Jamaican music had on American rap music. Lastly, I intend to examine a number of the significant American rap artists and their styles and also the technology which played a key role inside the evolution of rap music inside the United States.

All sources seem to point to the Bronx in New York City as the origin for the 'Hip Hop' culture. The first main component of this subculture I wish to explore is the graffiti aspect. Prior to discussing this aspect students must know what conditions or events existed inside the Bronx which fostered the development of the 'Hip Hop' culture.

Within the late 1950's, a highway was built by way of the middle of the Bronx. Because of the construction of this highway, middle class residents (mostly Jewish, Italian, German and Irish) began to move out of the region. Not merely did the residents leave, but also important corporations. This was the very first major incident that result in the establishment of hip hop.

In the late 1960's, once more the neighborhood government produced a choice that would greatly impact on the Bronx. They built an apartment block complex consisting of thousands of apartments. These were built near to the highway. This was the second major incident which once more forced the migration of the middle class.

Since the middle class so rapidly began leaving the neighbourhood, a difficulty began of too numerous empty apartments for landlords. These landlords were then forced to sell their properties to lesser top quality landlords. A direct result of this mass sale of property is the empty and poorly managed buildings.

The Bronx in this deteriorating condition fell prey to the third main event which led towards the direct development of the graffiti aspect of the 'Hip Hop' culture. This event occurred in 1968 and coincided with Robert Moses' second main project in the Bronx, the Co-Op City. It needs to be noted that these last two events were not related.

This third event involved a group of seven teenage boys who began terrorizing the vicinity around the Bronxdale Project on Bruckner Boulevard inside the southeast Bronx. This may not seem important, but this group of teenagers laid the groundwork for a surge of street gang activity that would overwhelm the Bronx for the subsequent six years.




About the Author: