Funk and Hip Hop are two similar yet different genres of music that have been popular amongst music lovers throughout the last three decades. Both have upbeat drum grooves as well as rhythmic basslines and melodies that the listener will be bound to remember. They also share similar articulation in their drums and basslines. However, while the two genres might be similar they have their own differences in lyricism and meaning as well instrumentation and production. Songs that exemplify their characteristics include funk group Midnight Star’s 1983 hit “No Parking on the Dance floor” and rapper Grandmaster Flash’s 1982 “The Message” from the album of the same name. Both are reflective in respect to their genre and through their structure, instrumentation/production …show more content…
(Crauwels, 2016) states that hip hop enabled a higher word concentration and has more meaning to be potentially conveyed. Originally aimed to end ghetto poverty, bigotry and racism by connecting remote subcultures, Hip hop is more focused on lyrical content, focusing on experiences and hardships, unlike funk’s focus on “good times”. Hip Hop music is structured to typically include an Intro, followed by a few verses, a hook and an outro, proclaimed in “raps”, or flow of words. Funk music is focused on choruses as part of its danceable nature and also typically focuses its lyrics on having a good time, rather than telling a story of poverty, etc. Unlike hip hop, which deviated to an electronic focus, funk retained the use of natural instruments, though it is true that they also incorporated electronic instruments as the years progressed. The timbre is another contrasting factor between the two genres as well. Funk music made for dancing and partying, therefore it presents a very happy, bright aesthetic. This can be heard in “No Parking on the Dance floor”, particularly with the main synth melody and it harmonious counterpart, the bassline, both of which are played in G major and 120bpm. In “The Message”, the opposite aesthetic is presented, with a gloomier, serious tone which reflects the lyrics. The song is instead in G minor and was produced at a much …show more content…
Hip Hop used to be made by sampling old funk records which featured breakdowns, or drum and bass only sections used to create a continuous breakbeat. The rhyme, or rap is equivalent to “flow of words”. An emcee (MC is short for master of ceremonies) or hip-hop artist would then “rap” over the sampled beat into a completely new track. Hip hop songs usually lie between 80 to 105 beats per minute, though it began to expand as newer subgenres emerged in the following years. (Crauwels, 2016) mentions that since hip hop initially tried to end ghetto poverty, bigotry and racism, artists tried to shift their focus to white audiences, connecting remote subcultures. Hip hop music was still very music connected with the black community, however, since it was a lifestyle that brought many people with the same experiences together. What was then recognized as MCing, hip hop had been around a few years before gaining any commercial attention. In those early days, it was essentially a live performance art form that complemented hip hop’s main attraction, the DJ. Ironically, some DJs began to rhyme or add MCs as a way to keep rivals from stealing their two most prized possessions: their records and their technique. (Watkins, 2005). Funk music branched out of Soul music, but incorporated other genre characteristics such as Jazz and a Rock to create even more rhythmical music. Funk introduces a repeating rhythmic groove,
Hip-Hop became characterized by an aggressive tone marked by graphic descriptions of the harshness and diversity of inner-city life. Primarily a medium of popular entertainment, hip-hop also conveys the more serious voices of youth in the black community. Though the approaches of rappers became more varied in the latter half of the 1980s, message hip-hop remained a viable form for addressing the problems faced by the black community and means to solve those problems. The voices of "message" hip...
Motown paved the way for future artists to explore themselves. It helped created the grounds of a great music and cultural integration in the 1970’s to now and hopefully forever. Hip Hop’s arrival was credit to Motown triumphs in the musical world. Through the mixing of percussion and the rhythm of the drumbeats of funk and disco, hip hop revealed the opposition to social inequality and discrimination
Perhaps this trend of commercially successful music promoting hypermasculinity and misogyny found success in funk music and the labels continue to push for these themes in an attempt to continue benefitting from the themes’ popularity and profitability. Both funk and hip hop share the characteristic of being genres that have recurring themes that have been commercially successful, and although it may be out of the control of the artist, these themes play a huge role in both
Back in the disco days, in the early 1970’s, began a new genre called Hip Hop. It was born in the crime ridden neighborhoods of the South Bronx. Hip Hop is the extracting rhythms of melodies from existing records and mixing them up with searing poetry chronicling life in the hood. Though, hip hop started on the east coast, it did spread rapidly throughout all the clubs and hotels in New York. Then later on, it began to spread to the west coast in Los Angeles. This is where hip hop began to develop its own musical style. Hip hop is known and described as the voice of a generation that refused to be silenced by urban poverty. It is a genre that is fueled up with a lot of passion and truth that is spreading across the entire world. Hip hop is
Hip hop is both a culture and a lifestyle. As a musical genre it is characterized by its hard hitting beats and rhythms and expressive spoken word lyrics that address topics ranging from economic disparity and inequality, to gun violence and gang affiliated activity. Though the genre emerged with greater popularity in the 1970’s, the musical elements involved and utilized have been around for many years. In this paper, we will cover the history and
The longevity of Hip-Hop as a cultural movement can most directly be attributed to its humble roots. For multiple generations of young people, Hip-Hop has directly reflected the political, economic, and social realities of their lives. Widely regarded as the “father” of the Hip-Hop, Afrika Bambaataa named the cultural movement and defined its four fundamental elements, which consisted of disc jockeying, break dancing, graffiti art, and rapping. Dating back to its establishment Hip-Hop has always been a cultural movement. Defined by far more then just a style of music, Hip-Hop influences fashion, vernacular, philosophy, and the aesthetic sensibility of a large portion of the youth population (Homolka 2010).
Since hip-hop has expanded from the undergrounds in Bronx in the 70’s it has grew into a popular accepted music genre. Consequently, as it progressed from the golden age it gradually grew away from its original roots. If one were to evaluate the change of lyrics in hip-hop, they would see a difference between early hip-hop and today’s hip-hop. The current state of hip-hop is in a stage where things like hey young world are outdated. Instead of broadcasting out a positive message, hip-hop sends out a message of sex, drug, and violence. The early musicians who helped solidify hip-hop, by producing music that told stories on subjects of race, respect, or even music that had a positive message.
Rap Music, a genre of R&B that includes rhythmic poetry put over a musical background. The background consists of beats combined with digitally isolated sound bites from other recordings. The first recording of rap was made in 1979 and the genre began to take notice in the U.S. in the mid-1980s. Though the name rap is often used back and forth with hip hop. The name hip-hop comes from one of the earliest phrases used in rap on the song “Rapper’s Delight” by Sugarhill Gang. “I said a hip hop, hippie to the hippie, the hip, hip a hop, and you don't stop, a rock it to the bang bang boogie, say, up jump the boogie, to the rhythm of the boogie, the beat.”. In addition to rap music, the hip-hop subculture also formed other methods of expression like break dancing, graffiti art, a unique slang vocabulary, and fashion sense.
Mose Def’s “Hip Hop” works as a song and as a poem. He is telling the world through his words what it was like growing up as a black man. “Speech is my hammer, bang the world into shape, now let it fall….(Hungh!!) (5). He talks about being restless, can’t sit still to finish his words. Growing up in Brooklyn, standing on the street corners, he started rapping. He spoke the “King’s English, but caught a rash on my lips” (23). It was easier to express
Hip hop culture has been around since the 1970s. Multiple sources all come down to the South Bronx in New York City, as the origin of hip hop culture. The culture began to take its shape within the African American, Afro-Caribbean, and Latino communities. The father of the start of this culture was a Jamaican-born DJ named Clive Campbell but also known as DJ Kool Herc. He brought forth a new sound system and the Jamaican style of “toasting.” Toasting was when Jamaicans would talk or rap over the music they played. This whole new style soon brought what is now known as DJs, B-Boys, MC’s, and graffiti artists (Kaminski).
In conclusion, these theorists who explore hip hop all have generalized ideas of what hip hop represents. Johnson is more oriented towards the female side of hip hop, whereas Jeffries is focused on the unity side of what it offers and Smitherman thinks that it is a black CNN. Although each scholar focuses on different aspects of hip hop, it is evident to point out that all these aspects correlate with one another. Hip hop is a cultural tool formed out of a need to take a stance on the issues that relate to the black community. And that it’s a voice to relate and unite people who share the same struggles on which to advocate change.
Some weaknesses of James McBride’s “Hip Hop Planet” include its cynical tone and his attitude towards the musical side of Hip Hop. McBride opens the essay with a reflection on what his ultimate nightmare is. He showcases the Hip Hop community in a negative light with phrases like, “music that doesn’t seem to be music—rules the world” (McBride, pg. 1). This starts the essay off negatively because it misleads the reader by letting them think he is not a supporter of the Hip Hop movement. As you read the entire essay you realize this is not the case. The article itself isn’t very inviting because tone of the entire essay is very cold and cynical. He also doesn’t agree with the typical Hip Hop sound saying things like, “It sounded like a broken record” (McBride, pg. 1). The sound of Hip Hop music is what helps define it and is a crucial aspect of
Hip-hop is one of the major music genres of today like the blues were in the 1950's. Stanley Crouch views hip-hop as being vulgar and obscene while he sees the blues as being one of the classic music genres. In actuality, these two genres are similar in many ways.
Consequently, new school Hip-Hop is much diluted and has no originality about it whatsoever. It has even gone as far as them biting off the old school beats and rhymes and turning them into a lot of the distasteful songs heard today. Old School Hip-Hip songs always had major characteristics that set each and every artist apart and them unique, which inspired some of the best in the game like Snoop Dog, Eazy E, and Biggie Smalls. In new school Hip-Hop there’s a lack of a positive message that’s not being relayed to today’s generation. The only thing you can translate from the Hip-Hop of present is that you need to stack paper, make it rain the club, and what kind of car’s to drive. Old Hip-Hop tried to instill ambition in the children of the ghetto because let’s face it; many believed that once born in the hood that’s ...
Not only is hip-hop a way of expressing ones feelings or views, but it is a part of the urban culture and can be used as a communication tool. Slang originally came from hip-hop music and has become a very popular use in today’s society, especially the urban parts. Hip-hop is a standout amongst the most compelling musical sorts on the globe. There are rappers everywhere that know what amount of an impact their music can have. Some entertainers attempt to utilize that force of impact to do great (Ruiz INT).