Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five

Hip-Hop and Rap have been regarded to be genres that promote gun violence, gang affiliation, and drugs. This however is not true. Hip-Hop and Rap has moved people emotionally and mentally throughout the years. Impacting and connecting individuals in riots within communities, more specifically in the US. These are usually triggered by the musical structure of the piece performed, along with the message being foretold to the audience. Artists in other genres such as Bob Marley, have accomplished…

Today’s culture in America is a very diverse one. It derives from different ethnicities or groups of people. America as a country has the type of culture that is always changing. Weather that be a style of fashion, type of music, or even food, the American culture is always changing. One type of music in particular has had a huge impact on American culture as a whole. That type of music being Hip-Hop. This type of music changed the dynamic of the music industry from the moment it became popular…

radio station. They shared common interests for politics, philosophy, and, of course, the musical realm of hip-hop [6]. Each of the members’ upbringing in the suburbs of New York was filled with the influential music by artists such as Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Brother D, and James Brown [2]. These pop culture icons provided the social framework for Public Enemy to deliver their assessment of the current issues plaguing the black…

The Decade of Decadence: Racial Divide and Police Brutality in the 80s The early to mid-1980s were a time of relative political and social stability in the United States. A handful of laws promoting equality were enacted, such as Wisconsin outlawing discrimination based on sexual orientation, and the Supreme Court’s ruling outlawing sexual harassment in the workplace (Dreier, 2015). While war raged on in other parts of the world, the majority of U.S. citizens lived in relative comfort and…

from the bigger cities to the smaller cities surrounding until it became a nationally known genre. The main cause of its spreading were thanks to two of the first hip hop groups, Sugar Hill Gang and their song Rapper’s Delight, and Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five (Szatmary,…

Music has always been used by the voiceless, especially those in the African American community, as a tool that will pave the way to their representation in a community that is shunning them out and neglecting their issues and concerns. According to Lakeyta Bonnette, a Political Science professor at Georgia State University, if a person is trying to gain an understanding of the struggles and issues that are encountered by the African American community one should study the various forms of music…

Another area that the media often associates with hip hop music is its relation to drugs and violence. Violent and explicit themes are what makes rap music often subject to controversy. Looking at Eminem, a notorious artist known for his provocative and explicit songs, is very often criticized for the vulgar themes and aggressive behavior. His “The Marshall Mathers LP” album details his rage with drugs, his relationship with his estranged wife Kim and his mother, and his price for fame. Despite…

Graffiti comes in as an expression of urban art. Because of Kool Herc’s great accomplishments, many other DJs followed in his footsteps and went on to mimic his sound such as Afrika Bambaataa. In an interview, Grand Wizzard Theodore of the Fantastic Five talks about Afrika Bambaataa saying, “when he formed the Zulu Nation, it was a melting pot of different gang members and people wanting to straighten their lives out and the…

Hip Hop can be defined as a culture containing the following elements: Bboying/Bgirling, Tagging, DJing, MCing, and Knowledge. Hip Hop also has an influence in other areas such as media and fashion. Hip Hop is not to be confused with rapping, because rapping is a subset of the overall umbrella that is Hip Hop. In today’s society, many people fail to realize that in order to be a true Hip Hop artist they must incorporate more than one element into their career. Bboying/Bgirling, people often…

One of the many truths of life that exist in relation to human interaction and functionality of the aggregate of people within communities is that change is necessary. Change is is vital part of the inevitable progression that occurs within society across the world. From the United States of America to Japan, forms of social reform: a movement by the “people” whom seek to transform, the political and social ideologies of the current ruling body or majority people, in regards to those who have…