Hip Hop Music Influence

Today’s technology plays a role in how we discover or experience music; the days when the radio station was the singular source for showcasing talent are gone. Limited mediums united in effort to manipulate what was heard. In addition, media which also consisted of television and print “rubber stamped” what the music industry put forth. Today, the internet has led to unfettered public choice and access to music; as well as it has had an impact on music because it allows fans to spectate the lifestyles of artists which has become equally part of the music. In essence, there are many more sources therefore, more diversity involved in discovering new talent. In the past, gatekeepers were in place to control or segregate music. Prejudices and fears were the product and the politics of that time, the focus was fear of assimilation. Taste in music was limited and primarily reflective of individual culture,

race, and wealth. Because the assortment was limited, there were albeit, limited stations dedicated to playing Black music. Moreover, the “black stations” bandwidths were extremely limited but purveyors were able to find these artists for exploitation. The way we now discover new talent has dramatically changed the way we listen to music. Enthusiasts no longer just listen to music in genre, they consume it constantly in ways that even they are not consciously aware. Cable television, video games and phones are some of the ways cross genre music has flowed into the mainstream.
Crossover music is the adaptation of a musical style created by blending elements of two or more styles or categories for appealing to a wider audience, commercially. This is seen when an artist’s song finds popularity in another genre’s fan base, style and most important, sales. This can create diversity and depth within their own brand and extends the genre beyond its boundary. Moreover, when appreciation of a Pop artist, is supported by the fans in the R&B genre, both genres fuse; this contemporary style of music is called fusion. Fusion becomes a new genre that is not only aesthetic but a commercial success. For instance, Rock and Roll originally developed as a fusion of Blues, Gospel and Country music. Most recently, music such as Pop, Hip Hop/ Rap, R&B as well as other genres have experienced this “fusion.” Today it is more unusual than not for an artist to make music exclusively in one style. Hip-hop, R&B, and Rock have merged towards Pop. Music styles have become primarily conflated that boundaries of the genres are almost gone. Case in point, Alternative Rock, A term used to describe a style of music that derived in the late 80's and early 90's. Alternative Rock is usually characterized by bands that have non-conformist attitudes. However, the Alternative rock band, Coldplay released a song & video, “Princess of China,” featuring Pop star, Rihanna. This is the antithesis of the ideology of the Alt-Rock genre because Rihanna epitomizes mainstream popular music. In the video, Coldplay singer Chris Martin and Rihanna are in a type of conflicting love story. The duo represents the merging of race and culture. The song has been well received by both fan bases.
Nonetheless, recently criticized by other artists, about song chart placement and complained about in award shows; crossover artists have won awards in genres where their song’s airplay didn’t reflect the honors or support. Instead of solely taking into consideration airplay by radio stations, Billboard, the "bible" of the recording industry, is now taking the volume of digital downloads, and plays on streaming services. “The Billboard Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for singles, published weekly by Billboard magazine.” Due to this change, Taylor Swift has changed the Country music scene, with Pop singles, because of radio play from all other formats her music is sampled. Crossover country stars who also have their music played on pop and rock stations, will now get credit in Billboard’s ratings too, for those plays on the country chart. The criticism of crossover is often more vocal when acclaimed disproportionally the resulting fusion product, as opposed to the more traditional and mainstream work within the genre. Often genres such a County music and R&B are the most negatively affected by the stardom of a Pop artist.
Perhaps, the criticisms flow from outdated expectations by well-meaning people within the industry. In the past, “Tastemakers” decided what music was placed into a genre. Since a music genre was once a conventional category that identified pieces of music as belonging to a shared tradition or set of conventions; the executives of the past looked exclusively to those artists that fit the mold. With the advent of the internet, new and unlikely startups have exploded on to the scene producing and managing the next million-dollar star without attention to a mold. More, services like Sirius XM, a satellite radio company, with hundreds of channels, plays The Top 40, which is a mixture of all current “popular” music. Peter Robinson, The Guardian, argues that the boundaries of each genre may not exist anymore. A survey by “Youth marketing & Millennial Insight agency” Ypulse surveyed 1,000 young adults. When asked about their favorite artists, many respondents couldn’t answer, not out of ambivalence but because, it was concluded, “this generation is interested in so many music genres and artists”.
As a result of crossover, has the popularity or star power of an artist, affected the authenticity or critical acclaim of the music? It has been said by the Hip hop industry, Drake has gone from an unlikely rapper to an accepted rapper to maybe the biggest rapper, all in four years, and now he's the genre's biggest Pop crossover star. That analysis is not considered a compliment from the Hip hop genre. Moreover, Kanye West told BBC’s Zane Lowe, to the consternation of the Rock industry pundits, “Rap is the new rock & roll. We the new rock stars, and I’m the biggest of all of them. I’m the No. 1 Rock Star on the planet.” Kanye West made this claim during a 2013 interview. Transitioning from rap to pop, is a feat very few artists have managed to navigate; Both Drake and Kanye's ability to stay relevant and set trends has allowed both to maintain their star power even though the music may not be at the top of either genre’s artistry. One reason for their success, the media’s coverage of their lifestyles has become as entertaining as the music.
Equally important, crossover can affect the distinctive characteristic of a genre like rap, by “watering down” the qualities particular to Rap music to appeal to wider tastes. Here is the second complaint. Touched upon above, the artist can lose credibility in their original category when they look to expand their brand in another. In terms of quality, there are rappers who own record labels whose sole motivation is to contribute to their own pockets with little regard for progress in the industry, their fans or contributing to the art form. The turnover for rap records within the industry is fast because the attention span of fans has shortened. The incentive to create a timeless record is lost because of an artist seeking quick commercial success. Rap legends like TI have sponsored new, white and gimmicky artists for a quick payoff without thought to the potential backlash or creditability. Those artists that are gimmicks, have been fortunate to have their songs linked with a movie, video game or commercial have become rich and famous for being one hit wonders.
Case in point, hip-hop, a largely sample-driven art form by blacks, was once off-limits to wannabees and whites. It seems modern day pop stars, white rappers, and white fans have taken more from hip-hop than they’ve given to the art form. Iggy Azalea is a pop artist and Rapper TI’s prodigy; she has gained creditability as a rap artist but not without heavy criticism. She is Australian but raps in a black Southern accent. She says she respects rap’s history, but called herself “a runaway slave master” in her song “D.R.U.G.S.” She has been accused of appropriating Black culture. Cultural appropriation as it is technically defined, is taking intellectual property, traditional knowledge, cultural expressions or artifacts from someone’s culture without permission. In most cases, it’s mainstream culture borrowing cultural elements from people of color, who have been marginalized by racism, stereotypes and global oppression. Some say it is benign and an inevitable evolution of musical style and culture. Others say, appropriation is a scurrilous label older than Elvis, and as revolting as Pat Boone’s theft and revised versions of early rock n’ roll classics by Little Richard and Fats Domino. Such concerns center not only on who makes the music, but who claims its legacy and shapes its future. Macklemore, a Grammy winning white rapper talks about cultural appropriation, his experiences as a white rapper and says what’s most important for white rappers to understand, “Hip-Hop was birthed out of the Civil Rights Movement. This is a culture that came from pain, it came from oppression, it came from white oppression… you cannot disregard where this culture came from and our place in it as white people." Nowhere is this discussion more volatile a subject than in hip-hop where the music is culture and the culture is the way of life. In a genre where its most devoted groupies still believe authenticity is everything, young artists are expected to earn the right to stand alongside the legends.
Hypocritically today, the Hip Hop music itself is an example of aggressive liberties taken.

Moreover, Hip Hop earns its place because its creation involves the art of fusion. From DJs mixing records, (multiple artists’ music), they spin to “beat maker’s” samplings, chopping, looping, sequencing, recording and mixing beats, sounds all which make the music. Further it blends together from a broad range music including Funk, Soul, R&B, Disco, Jazz, Rock, Heavy Metal, Reggae, Salsa, and Pop.

Inescapably, music is not just creative expression of an art form but big business. The industry will “sell out” because of profits. Even artistically committed artist like John Legend have embrace commercialism. Green Light and All Of Me, two very successful singles, represents a break from Legend's previous material, as one song features nontraditional American rapper André 3000 and the other landed on the coveted Adult Contemporary Chart. Green Light demonstrates a shift in musical style choosing to sample a funk, up-tempo, electro sound, considered dance club

music.
Artists like John Legend, Taylor Swift and numerous others were reference to show their success with sampling other genres artistically and commercially. Several sources were used to demonstrate an artist’s conversion and phenomena into another genre causing the disappearance of boundaries and cutting off the notion of appropriation. Finally, has Pop, Rap, and Rock music as opposed to jazz and classical, been watered down technically as an art form because of fusion? No. The music has become characteristically different and separate from the traditional notions of genres. Lifestyles of the artists are included as art and entertainment which are not viewed as trivial and sensational. Finally, music has evolved and become diverse and as a result culture and race have merged. Today’s fusion in music is evidence of artistic tolerance.