Rakim

today such as Kanye West, continue to use sampling systems such as Akai MPC2000. Sampling can be used to publicize an artist that may have been forgotten from the past, for example James Brown. James Brown was considered “corny” until duo, Eric B. & Rakim sampled the jazz musician in their hit song ‘Eric B is President’. Hip-Hop artists use these tools to portray messages or set a mood to their…

The roots of hip hop and rap go farther back than one might expect. For centuries, Africans have instilled a keen sense of rhythm and soul into their music no matter what form it took - schoolyard double dutch rhymes, testifying, and beat poetry were all influences on rap. In the 1970’s, the airwaves were overrun with disco. The only escape for people who wanted to dance but not like idiots while doing it was the early funk movement (ex. Ohio Players with their album Honey, and Parliament with…

Rap/Hip hop music is a music genre formed in the United States in the 1970s that consists of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic, and rhyming speech that is chanted. Rap/Hip-Hop music as we know it today, actually began thousands of years ago in Africa with the “griots”. Griots were village story tellers who played a simple handmade instrument while they told stories of family, village, and hunting events. The griot still is a major form of communication in…

Abe, Daudi J. 6 'n the Morning: West Coast Hip-hop Music, 1987-1992 & the Transformation of Mainstream Culture. United States: Over the Edge, 2013. Print. Daudi Abe is a Seattle-based professor, writer, and historian who has taught courses on culture, race, gender, communication, education, hip-hop, and sports for over 20 years. In his article, he discusses how west coast hip-hop during the late ‘80s and early ‘90s heavily impacted societal views on hip-hop and music entirely. In addition, he…

The Golden age of rap and hip-hop is a name that was bestowed unto mainstream music, between the late 1980’s and the early 1990’s. This time period was shaped by popular figures such as Tupac Shakur, Biggie Smalls, NWA (Niggas with Attitude), Rakim, Slick Rick and MC Hammer. This era revolutionized “gangsta rap”, changing it from sub-conscience music to pro-violence music; however political issues and criticism of the African-American community was still prevalent in their music. Between the…

Hip hop artist and basketball players are both performers, who have a rich connection and similar persona, showcasing style, swagger, urbanism, bravado, and coolness. This rich bond was established in 1979; from 1984 to 2009, a new era was conceived, known as “The Dunkadelic Era.” In 1979, the first mainstream explicit connection between hip-hop and basketball was established. The Sugarhill Gang’s hit song “Rapper’s Delight,” which is commonly referred to as the first mainstream hip-hop song,…

Hip hop artist and basketball players are both performers, who have a rich connection and similar persona, showcasing style, swagger, urbanism, bravado, and coolness. This rich bond was established in 1979; from 1984 to 2009, a new era was conceived, known as “The Dunkadelic Era.” In 1979, the first mainstream explicit connection between hip-hop and basketball was established. The Sugarhill Gang’s hit song “Rapper’s Delight,” which is commonly referred to as the first mainstream hip-hop song,…