West Coast hip hop

technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to the album sales or chart position.” Album of the year is easily the most prestigious award category at the Grammy’s and has been since 1959. Kendrick Lamar, a West Coast rapper, was recently nominated for 11 Grammys; almost surpassing the late Michael Jackson’s record of 12 nominations. Kendrick Lamar’s third studio album “To Pimp a Butterfly”, is one of the greatest albums of this decade. Because of it’s…

Within recent years, people have been quick to blame hip-hop music for a trend in youth violence and the bad habits they have inherited over the years. As a massive hip-hop head myself, that is nothing but ignorance to me. It’s never been about the music and the music has never been the problem… if anything, hip-hop has been the most important outlet for our youth. From the ever too common East Coast – West Coast rivalry, to the death of Tupac & Biggie, to even the notion of past rappers who…

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…

Hip Hop is said to have evolved from R&B ,but history shows that hip hop stems as far back as the 1940’s. However, in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s , Hip Hop made a shift as MC and DJ groups such as RUN-D.M.C and Public Enemy began to form. With the use of turntables and monumental word flow , the lyrical essence of Hip Hop captured hearts. During the rise of Hip Hop, the infectious tunes soon became a source of “good vibes” and freedom of expression through a form of lyrical nourishment as…

Stereotypes have been outcasted in most forms of popular culture, but a few are left that utilize these ideas. Music genres like rap or hip-hop stereotype women and colored people, but when it is used by a television personality, people become outraged. One incident in particular, a famous cook, Paula Deen, used degrading terms to describe an African-American, but those and similar terms are used in popular music today (Dowd). All minorities alike will become outraged when derogatory terms are…

Hip Hop in society is anything but a word. It is a living thing that grows, changes, and expresses itself as it goes through this. No matter how it may change though, it has always had one single meaning for its existence: peace; and with this meaning for existence, there must always be nine elements that are presence in order for Hip Hop to fulfill its purpose. The first element of Hip Hop, is dancing. Usually those who dance in Hip Hop are considered either the B-boy or the B-girl, and they…

Spoken word, rhyming lyrics, spitting bars, or rapping. It is the technique of an individual expressing content with a particular rhythm or beat. “Rap” has been extremely important for a people of all genders and ethnicities for many past generations and it is especially influential in the current modern culture. The history of this word goes back to the 16th century, said to be originated in Africa, and over time it has evolved with generations to become the great phenomenon to currently be…

Is Lyricism In Hip Hop A Lost Art Form? It is no surprise that hip hop ten years ago sounds much more different than it does now. Even a person who is unfamiliar with hip hop can distinguish a rap song from the 90’s and one in 2015. Lyrics, production, and subject matter strays away from its “gangster” persona, and now associates with a personal story modern rappers are trying to tell. Ask a person who has grown up in the 90’s hip hop era about their thoughts on todays hip hop, and expect a…

Kendrick Lamar Duckworth he was born in Compton, California, on June 17,1987. His parents moved from Chicago to Campton in hope of escaping city’s gangs. Kendricks father had been a part of the notorious Gangster Disciples gang. In the 1980s the West Coast gang presence increased as well as the crack trade, Kendrick was harmed by this. He started off as a child writing stories that he later transformed into music about the rough times of living in Campton, California. In 2003 age 16 Kendrick…

being doubted to getting recognized at the Grammy’s to having its own award show, but along the way record companies managed to steer Rap of its intended course and purpose from the voice of the streets to being the voice of corporations What is Hip Hop? It is a name for the 4 elements of the late 70 's New York City renaissance which includes break dancing, emceeing (rapping), graffiti, and turntablism. It was birthed at the end of the Disco era and the first rap was released in 1979, “Rapper’s…