In the realm of popular music, perhaps no genre has been as popular in recent years as hip-hop. However, hip-hop is hardly a new phenomenon, so in this article, we’re going to take an in-depth look at its history and try to make sense of it all.
A Brief History Lesson
As it was originally known, hip-hop was a movement in New York City in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It revolved around four key areas: MCing (now known as rapping), DJing, graffiti art and b-boying (breakdancing).
While all four areas were important, the two that we will focus on are MCing and DJing, as they have the most relevance to audio.
Hip-hop’s roots come from a DJ scratching a record to create a looped beat while an MC raps along to the beat. While much has changed over the years, the essential idea of rapping to a looped beat is still the foundation for most hip-hop songs. Many music producers still follow these old techniques, loading up an old soul record and creating a new track.
However, hip-hop advanced beyond this in 1983 when Afrika Bambaataa and the Soulsonic Force began using synthesizers and drum machines to create entirely new tracks.
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Excerpt from Afrika Bambaataa – Lookin’ For The Perfect Beat
While there is much that took place along with this, and many artists such as Run-DMC, LL Cool J and others helped to define the genre, let’s fast-forward to 1987.
In 1987, in Compton, CA, an important move was taking place. Where previously hip-hop had been politically and socially motivated, a new sub-genre was forming: gangsta rap. A group known as N.W.A., consisting of Dr. Dre, MC Ren, Ice Cube and Eazy-E released an album titled “Straight Outta Compton.” Dr. Dre provided the production for the album, consisting almost entirely of rolling basslines and drums.
Straight Outta Compton was a smashing hit, despite (or perhaps because of) lyrics dealing with police brutality, drug dealing, gang-banging, and racial profiling. While the group eventually disbanded over financial disputes, N.W.A.’s legacy would help shape the future.
Dr. Dre would later sign with Suge Knight’s Death Row Records, along with an up-and coming rapper named 2Pac Shakur, ushering in the era of West Coast Gangsta Rap. Dre remains quite influential in the industry today, widely recognized as a pioneer in hip-hop and music production.
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Excerpt from 2Pac – California Love
Meanwhile, back on the East Coast, a similar movement was happening. Perhaps most notable was Sean “Puffy” Combs’ departure from Uptown Records, taking newly signed rapper The Notorious B.I.G. (Biggie) with him to found Bad Boy Records. Now competing with Suge Knight’s West Coast powerhouse Death Row, the industry would be shaken when 2Pac and Biggie were both violently murdered.
This, while not immediately, would lead to the downfall of gangsta rap as a genre, and move hip-hop into the popular music genre where it remains today.
Let’s end the history lesson here. There is much more that could be said, with artists along the way that I have overlooked, but this is just meant to be a brief outline to provide context. Additionally, the closer we move to our present time, the harder it becomes to analyze the music from a historical standpoint.
Musical Elements
In hip-hop, there is remarkable freedom when making music. However, there are some fundamental elements that are found in nearly every hip-hop song. The first, and far-and-away most important element is drums. The drums lay the foundation for the track, and give the artist a rhythm to work with. Many of the top producers have their own drum libraries that they swear by, giving them their unique sound. Producers such as Timbaland, and The Neptunes are famous for their unorthodox drum sounds and rhythms.
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Excerpt from Snoop Dogg – Drop It Like It’s Hot
The second most important part of hip-hop is the use of loops. As with much of popular music (as opposed to classical music), the both musical components and structural elements are looped or repeated in patterns, giving hip-hop a coherent feel. This is quite important, and it’s the main reason that sampling works with hip-hop so well.
Taking a previous song, using turntables or a sampler to take a piece from that song, and then replaying it, is one of the foundations for hip-hop.
Those are really the two key pieces for hip-hop. There have been points in hip-hop’s history where some element popular at the time was expected, but over the years, the genre has expanded greatly and now it includes any of the following (and more):
- Traditional instruments (Piano, Strings, Brass)
- Synthesized instruments
- Basslines
- Vocal samples
Some other notable producers have made important contributions to the genre. Here’s a quick rundown of some famous producers and their contributions.
- Dr. Dre is most famous for his use of rolling basslines with synthesizers on top of them.
- Timbaland is most famous for his use of synthesized instruments on top of rhythmically irregular beats.
- The Neptunes are most famous for their use of the Korg Triton’s instruments, coupled with unique drum sounds. They also blend rock with hip-hop quite often.
- Scott Storch is perhaps most notable for his use of Arabic instruments in his songs.
- Kanye West is famous for using vocal samples from other songs to form a new one.
There are many other producers who deserve a mention, but these are a few that I feel have the most unique sound to them. Hip-hop has always been a genre to borrow from other genres such as techno, latin and reggae, and thus is much more accepting of new ideas.
Regional Breakdown
East Coast is probably the hardest to broadly define these days, as the underground movement in NYC is still quite prominent, and they rely largely on sampling. Much of their music is produced using an MPC. As far as more popular sound goes, they definitely aim far more for up tempo, more dance style tracks.
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Excerpt from Marco Polo – Nostalgia
South is all about two things. The first, is dirty south style music, relying heavily on horns and snare rolls. This style of music is probably best heard through artists like Young Jeezy, giving the music
a slow, southern drawl.
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Excerpt from Young Jeezy – Put On
The second style from the south is the simple club song. Differing from East Coast sound, the South’s club sound is much more simplistic, and usually has a certain dance that is meant to be associated with it. Songs like “Walk it Out”, “2 Step”, “Crank Dat”, etc, show this style.
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Excerpt from Unk – Walk It Out
The Midwest is more of a newcomer into the mainstream music scene for hip-hop. It relied originally on a large underground following, although many of those artists have branched into mainstream. Not to say the music is more meaningful, but there is often a much clearer message to the song. The beats also vary widely, with artists like Kanye West relying totally on sampling, and other artists like Common, Lupe Fiasco, Twista and others using various elements from other styles.
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Excerpt from Kanye West – Stronger
The West Coast style is about chilling out and partying, and being tough on the streets, drawing from the gangsta rap genre. Probably most notable with artists like The Game, but also with the deceased 2Pac Shakur, the style of music is different than the rest of hip-hop. Perhaps most prevalent in the ‘90’s, although still popular today, West Coast music came to define the use of bass in hip-hop. Led by Dr. Dre’s innovations in the studio with using synthesizer lines on top of rolling basslines, West Coast songs like “California Love” illustrate the West Coast’s style to the fullest.
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Excerpt from The Game – Let’s Ride
Wrap-Up
Wrapping up our overview of the hip-hop genre, let’s summarize some key points:
- Drums are important! If you spend most of your time on one part of the track, focus on your drums. There are many songs that don’t have anything but drums and vocals, so give them their due attention.
- Looping is the backbone of hip-hop. It gives the music a coherent feel and helps form your track.
- Experiment with various instruments. There are many instruments out there, so don’t just stick to the same ones for each track.
While I didn’t mention this above, it’s also important to note that the less dynamic your rapper (or singer) is, the more you will probably have to compensate with instrumentation. For example, if you have a singer (or a rapper and a singer) for a track, odds are you can skimp on the instrumentals, as the singing will add most of the flavor to your track.
However, if you only have a rapper, whose vocals are somewhat dry, you’ll have to add more instrumentation to make the song full.
Happy recording!
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By Eric Shafer
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I agree.
While I’m not a big hip hop fan, I appreciate the article. It was a well written and good read, and a nice use of audio tracks to prove your point. Keep it up
One of these articles would be really interesting if it were written on a genre such as House or Trance; you know, genres that are actually good.
Then again, this site would be a lot better if you guys stopped posting “Top 15 xxxxx” or “A History of xxxx” articles like every other blog on the internet and concentrated on every post being a tutorial; the one thing I love and visit this site every day for.
Regardless, this was kind-of an interesting read.
“One of these articles would be really interesting if it were written on a genre such as House or Trance; you know, genres that are actually good.”
So your personal music opinion decides that Trance and House is better that Hiphop?
Trance/House: A lot of sounds put together on the computer – Could be by anyone actually
Hiphop: Real persons behind the production, microphone, mixing, etc.
I’ve been producing both genres for a lot of years, and like them both, but people like you just make me laugh, because you hide in your little box and can’t understand anything else than you like.
This article is not about music opinion but about hiphop. “Hip-hop explained” if you have trouble reading and understanding, that means he explains hiphop. If you have further troubles understanding a headline, then perhaps you would be better of talk it through with your parents before posting this nonsense.
I never have and never will understand why people think Kanye West is good.
barely touched the surface of hiphop, but yeah an ok read i suppose for anyone who has no knowledge of it at all.
could of done with a bit more mention of the TR808 and its history, and the MPC and its history. Also maybe the progression of popular hiphop through the ages, eg from 1980s – 2008 with popular hiphop songs from each year to show the progression and change.
I think hiphop is to much of a wide genre to explain in a short article, It needs a constant thousand page website dedicated to it lol.
You forgot about Yella (N.W.A)
how can we forget about the underdorg dj yella, where u @ man?
Not to be argumentative, but it would be nice if people could be objective about the various genres of music presented. In every genre of music, for every talented artist, there is an army of untalented wannabes. It doesn’t matter if it is hip-hop, trance, electronica, rock, r&b, country, latino, nintendocore, jazz, soundtrack, classical, or any other genre you can mention. I may not love every genre of music that has been created, but I can at least appreciate the musical aspects and influences of it.
The purpose of this was to help brush the surface of a genre that, despite common misconceptions, actually has a somewhat deep history. What people often fail to understand is that a genre like hip-hop draws much of its influence from other musical genres. Hip-hop as we know it would not exist today if it had not been for many artists in the 1950s, 60s, 70s and 80s, from jazz artists to pop music. The sampling of older soul records is a key influence in the music, a direct result of the music from previous generations.
Artists like Kanye West and Lil’ Wayne, while certainly not the most ingenuitive or soulful songwriters, are very adept at understanding their target audience and connecting with them. Many of today’s most popular artists are not the most talented, but instead, the most charismatic. Since music is so mainstream, the ability to create music that is enjoyable for untrained listeners is an important skillset.
Also, I agree with Rinser that this is a rather short article and hip-hop (as well as any genre) could have an entire encyclopedia devoted to it. The major purpose of it was to provide a backbone, a framework, on which understanding and appreciation of the music could be built.
Man seems like there’s a bunch of haters in the audience. I actually produce Hiphop and Urban Pop for a living and I found the article to be an accurate, concise, and easy read. I should remind all the wannabe’s that knock this article so badly that success in the music business is all about giving positive constructive criticism and finding the good parts of someone’s work.
I liked the article. I personally feel that there could be some more mention of recent styles like hyphy, foreign hip hop (eg. mc solaar), instrumental hip hop (dj shadow), and the crossover into urban top40 and RnB. However, all told, I challenge any of the haters to create a better article of the same length.
Interestingly, the sub-genre of hip hop that we now know as “Dirty South” was actually created in Detroit first, and was known then as simply “Bass-Music”, and was a popular sound in many underground clubs.
I would have mentioned J Dilla as a pioneer producer of the Midwest sound, but I guess the article was more geared towards the mainstream. But BoneThugs n Harmony, who were the first Midwest rappers to go platinum, working with people like Eazy E, Big Pun, Tupac, and Biggie, deserve a mention.
Also, another thing which seems to have shaped the whole East/West sound, is the fact that, due to the ‘cultural’ differences of the two coasts, the East side beats were mainly designed to be played on ‘ghetto-blasters’, so relied on melodic sampling and harsh, piercing sounds, while the West side beats were more tailored for car-stereos, and therefore had stronger, deeper basslines, with rolling, laid-back drums and slightly more sparse melodies.
Just my observations..
Well said Eric. great article. I dont see why these dudes are complaining,
how can you expect to take music forward if you dont know where it’s been.
And to Anona, yes it is a shame that this website isn’t tailored to YOUR needs. Stop moaning read something else.
Eric,
This was a dope (nice) article written about the varying evolution for the most influential music genre to emerge and be embraced globally. For those that commented, apparently this article was not intended to discredited or neglect any other music genre, artist, or producer. Take it for what it is…knowledge. Thanks for the enlightenment regardless if I love hip-hop or not. Informative. AudioTuts rule…this forum has helped me progress as an artist.
Thanks!
We could sit here and say what rapper or producer should have been added. I think the list would be endless. Hip-hop is an EXTREMELY large genre. Someone had said we don’t need any more hip-hop producers, but for every 100 bad producers, there’s going to be one that progresses the genre that much further. It’s the same with any genre. I know A LOT of people that aren’t very good at rock. Or house, or trance, or country. It doesn’t matter, it keeps music alive. For that one person, there are more learning and expanding their musical talents. And yes, hip-hop does take musical talent. It’s easier to take a piece from each area of music you can and then use that for your knowledge of music and add it to something you may use later. I may not like to listen to country, but their are song with some interesting chord changes and melodies that you wouldn’t here anywhere else. It’s just something that all producers to get used to doing.
yo this post has to be hated on. you mentioned kanye west and scott storch but did not mention dj premeir, pete rock, or the rza?
The Roots, Blackalicious, Mos Def, Talib Kweli
These guys (among many others) actively work to progress the craft of Hip Hop music.
Nice article.
Great article. There’s a lot more that could have been touched on (ie: Native Tongue Movement) but overall good.
Also… for the idiots commenting who don’t like hip hop, why even speak on something you don’t like and don’t have knowledge about?
I’m not a heavy metal fans but you won’t me see me making negative comments just because it’s not something I enjoy.
Some of you are really just assholes.. with I guess nothing better to do.
Dude, you totally forgot about Yella & the D.O.C. And 2pac wasn’t up and coming when he signed with Death Row…he’d already put out a Gold album, a Platinum album and a multi-platinum album. I could go on, but I don’t think there’s enough room.
I can’t believe how people criticize a genre of music THEY do not like. I find it very hard to believe that people can be retarded enough to argue over something that is purely based on personal opinions.
HipHop/Rap artists make millions upon millions of dollars yearly. 50 Cent isn’t even good at what he does, yet he managed to rake in over $150 million dollars last year. Clearly, he has an audience.
I’d recommend keeping your negative opinions on others tastes in music to yourself. This world would be an ugly, boring place if we all liked the same crap.
(PS. I listen to House, Country, Hip Hop, R&B, Classical, Soul, Jazz, you name it. I can appreciate all different types of music and the different messages they send.)
another nice article you have here baby.
what are the plug-in settings to create a hip-hop track that reaches out to the children that don’t have a fighting chance?
“what are the plug-in settings to create a hip-hop track that reaches out to the children that don’t have a fighting chance?”
??????????????????????
It’s odd to me that a person who enjoys music, would completely discredit a form of music or the society that it works within based upon his or her personal opinion. There will always be something for a person to dislike about this, that or anything else within (or outside) the realm of music. But to ignore what is happening to music, and take the elitist high road and hate it all together will definitely make you an island where you will chant to yourself with the other elitist snobs, “What the fuck is that? Turn it down!” like the generations before us. An exercise to try and find something within the bad would be better than swearing it off completely.
Stomp the snitches..Hip hop is the shit..Am punchin machines here fo those sounds and I never get enough..These suckaz who hated on this article must have just bumped into the wrong room,forget them!..And yo whoever said 50 cent isnt that good,oh fo real,you are dead wrong..(am not a fan of his by the way,but I listen to his music the most..)..I freakin compare every track I render with his tracks…they are my 0 dB on the matter,my reference point of study..I know,I know,some of his tracks have whack production but most are quality standard..A year bak I used to disregard this guy,but I need to produce hot stones so now I heavily listen to his tracks…before I started producin I used to smack about his WANKSTA track..but after I started I came to realise how much knowhow was in that track(am much interested in the mixing,placing of the instruments!maybe its me,but its magic)..these dumb pipz whining about trance and house,are just amateurs,thats what!..those genres are way too easy to produce,you have an arp sequence,a drum pattern,and atmospheric synth and u shoot..i started with this before I jumped to hip hop (i do listen to trance,house,techno,blah blah)..its too easy,beginners do that..Hip hop is harder,not with drums and basslines,nah,but when it comes to adding other instruments,the piano,bells,e.t.c…NICE ARTICLE.
all i need to say is Wu Tang is forever! i dont listen to any new hip hop music its all went down hill from 2000 search for some older stuff like pete rock and cl smooth, wu tang, nas, big l, pac, biggie yous will see whats happend to hip hop… old school is the best!!!
.. i have a question… what about the north … i know west coast east coast and dirty south…. but u never here ppl repn the north
By north, do you mean Canada? There are a few artists from Canada (notably Kardinal Offishall and Drake). But other than that, there’s mainly East, West, South, and Midwest.
Author is well informed of early hip-hop but his lack of knowledge in todays music ruins it.
Modern day rap music finds its immediate roots in the toasting and dub talk over elements of reggae music. In the early 70’s, a Jamaican dj known as Kool Herc moved from Kingston to NY’s West Bronx. Here, he attempted to incorporate his Jamaican style of dj which involved reciting improvised rhymes over the dub versions of his reggae records. Unfortunately, New Yorkers weren’t into reggae at the time. Thus Kool Herc adapted his style by chanting over the instrumental or percussion sections of the day’s popular songs. Because these breaks were relatively short, he learned to extend them indefinitely by using an audio mixer and two identical records in which he continuously replaced the desired segment.
Well structured and written article. It could have been even better if there were paragraphs dealing with the internationalization of hip hop and the emergence of talented MCs and DJs in the UK, France or Japan. Hip hop is absolutely everywhere now, and that’s even scary (meeting a bunch of Chinese kids dressed up like Ja rule was quite a terrific experience).
This article was ok. Maybe like a bare bones super intro to hip-hop. Southside can be further broken down as there’s Crunk, Miami Bass, and Chopped and Screwed. And to say that one particular style focuses on club music or party music or being chill is not true. East Coast is more grimy if anything. Lots of darker dirtier beats. The south has always been pretty bass heavy. There’s a lot of overlap in the midwest with St. Louis taking a lot of southern influence, Detroit taking a lot of new york influence. And even within regions, SF/Oakland scene is much much different than the Compton/L.A. scene.
Interesting article. There’s a lot more to tell, but well done for a short piece. I do think DEF JAM deserves a mention along with NAS. Also, stronger isn’t really a good example of Mid-west hip-hop. There was a lot going on there before Kayne took over (as I’m sure the author knows). How about THE LIGHT instead? anything from like water for chocolate.
shepshepard: You’re definitely right, Nas did deserve a mention in the East Coast section. As far as the Midwest, it’s just hard to find a ‘defining’ theme or style behind it all. I chose ‘Stronger’ primarily because it is something that most readers will have heard of. Personally, when I think of Chicago or Midwest, I think of Common, Kidz-N-The-Hall, Lupe Fiasco for Chicago, and Jibbs and Chingy for St. Louis. I know that there is a rapidly growing movement in Minneapolis/St. Paul, but unfortunately I haven’t been up there lately to see what it’s all about.
I was excited to see a link to this article, but was rather let down by the content. This article focuses on pop rap instead of true hip-hop. Young Jeezy is a horrible example to represent Southern rap as he is an awful MC. Nappy Roots would have been a better example there. I was mainly perturbed by the author ignoring some of the most influential groups that helped to create the hip-hop genre as it exists today. The older groups that weren’t quite hip-hop but led to its creation, such as George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic. The earliest pioneers of hip hop, like the Sugar Hill Gang. The groups that have existed throughout much of hip-hop’s history, such as Hieroglyphics, Nas, and the Roots. This article is a horrible representation of hip-hop because none of these groups, who were and are imperative to hip-hop’s development. There is also no mention of the incredible underground hip-hop movement that is keeping the roots of hip-hop alive and not allowing their music to be compromised by the desires of MTV and ClearChannel radio. Hieroglyphics has been around for about 20 years and are still making fantastic music – you just don’t hear it because ClearChannel won’t play it. Sage Francis/Non-Prophets, Slug/Atmosphere, Heiruspecs, the Strange Fruit Project, Talib Kweli, the Living Legends, Immortal Technique – these groups deserve at least a mention because of their impact on the hip-hop community. In all, this article is nothing more than a decent foundation for a truly encompassing post on the hip-hop genre.
wow i didn’t know kanye’s stronger was considered midwest… when i think midwest i think of producers like Blackmilk that have that swing in their shit….and artist wise i think of slumvillage. I would of like to see an example of something like that, that defines midwest in a deeper way. either way good article !