This is an OT to celebrate the preeminent American cultural artform, Hip-Hop. What is Hip-hop?
"Street Art" aka Graffiti:
Turntablism:
Breakdancing and various other dance subgenres:
And of course, rapping:
Hip-Hop was created by marginalized Black and Latino kids from the Bronx,New York during the 70's who turned these art-forms (MC'ing, Breakdancing, Turntablism, Urban Graffiti) into a movement that's changed the way we talk, think, and absorb the world around us. It can be beautiful, heartbreaking, angry, sexy, and outright ugly at times but that's being human, isn't it? To quote a cantankerous practitioner of the artform rapper Vincent Staples – 'Anyone can rap if they've got a story to tell.".
SUMMER READING
Hip-hop moves faster than the speed of the pop-culture it largely dictates but if you want to get a handle of how the artform came to be and many of forces that still drive it today here are some books that might help. Even if you're familiar with much of the beginnings they are still entertaining reads and serve as great stocking stuffers if you have parents who fell into a Soundcloud rap hole and fired up Garageband wanting to make the dope beats and the dope rhymes.
Ego-Trip's Book of Rap Lists
us.macmillan.com
Dilla Time: The Life and Afterlife of J Dilla, the Hip-Hop Producer Who Reinvented Rhythm
us.macmillan.com
Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation
us.macmillan.com
The Big Payback: The History of the Business of Hip-Hop
WHAT IF I DON'T LIKE READING
Back when bloodsucking corporate brands were handing out cash to be associated with cool (before they realized it was cheaper paying influencers directly) they funded a lot of interesting shit. Red Bull was particularly prolific with the bag and while they've since shuttered that initiative they collected all their content into 'Red Bull Music Academy'. While not necessarily hip-hop focused (its purview was electronic created music) it remains a great resource with links to the original videos and transcripts of interviews from Young Guru and Just Blaze talking about the early Roc A Fella days to Metro Boomin, Sonny Digital, Zaytoven reminiscing about the early ATL scene. It's a fun little rabbit hole.
www.redbullmusicacademy.com
WHAT IF I WANT TO DO THE HIP-HOP, WHERE DO I START?
I mean, google motherfucker. But here's some quick and easy resources on basic ideas; Ableton has a good mini-course on synthesis which gives you an idea on shaping sounds which is a basis for hip-hop and techno/house alike:
learningsynths.ableton.com
Someone re-created a browser version of the Roland 808 Drum machine which remains a staple of hip-hop production. Perhaps you will be the next one to be flown out to Wisconsin tohave your ears bleed from marathon Kanye West rants work on the new Kanye West album!
io808.com
TO CLOSE
Considering many of the architects are passing way before their time without receiving the acknowledgement they deserved I hope that we take time to reflect and give props to our elders and those that passed too young. This is also a space to celebrate unheralded acts that don't get to rock arena and stadium stages but whose flows and production styles (ahem) do. And of course, the new Kendrick album.
While art is generally passively consumed it is not the same in Hip-Hop. When a commuter is confronted with bubble letters on the side of a building, two dancer throw moves back and forth, a DJ is reads the crowd trying to figure out what to play next and when someone is rapping bars it is a living conversation.
That said, what are we listening to this week?
"Street Art" aka Graffiti:
Turntablism:
Breakdancing and various other dance subgenres:
And of course, rapping:
Hip-Hop was created by marginalized Black and Latino kids from the Bronx,New York during the 70's who turned these art-forms (MC'ing, Breakdancing, Turntablism, Urban Graffiti) into a movement that's changed the way we talk, think, and absorb the world around us. It can be beautiful, heartbreaking, angry, sexy, and outright ugly at times but that's being human, isn't it? To quote a cantankerous practitioner of the artform rapper Vincent Staples – 'Anyone can rap if they've got a story to tell.".
SUMMER READING
Hip-hop moves faster than the speed of the pop-culture it largely dictates but if you want to get a handle of how the artform came to be and many of forces that still drive it today here are some books that might help. Even if you're familiar with much of the beginnings they are still entertaining reads and serve as great stocking stuffers if you have parents who fell into a Soundcloud rap hole and fired up Garageband wanting to make the dope beats and the dope rhymes.
Ego-Trip's Book of Rap Lists
Ego Trip's Book of Rap Lists
Ego Trip's Book of Rap Lists is more popular than racism! Hip hop is huge, and it's time someone wrote it all down. And got it all right. With over 25 aggreg...
us.macmillan.com
Dilla Time: The Life and Afterlife of J Dilla, the Hip-Hop Producer Who Reinvented Rhythm
Dilla Time
WINNER OF THE PEN/JACQUELINE BOGRAD WELD AWARD FOR BIOGRAPHYNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER“This book is a must for everyone interested in illuminating the idea...
us.macmillan.com
Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation
Can't Stop Won't Stop
Can't Stop Won't Stop is a powerful cultural and social history of the end of the American century, and a provocative look into the new world that the hip-ho...
us.macmillan.com
The Big Payback: The History of the Business of Hip-Hop
The Big Payback by Dan Charnas: 9780451234780 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
“There has never been a better book about hip-hop…a record-biz portrait that jumps off the page.”—A.V. Club The perfect read for music lovers and business aficionados alike, The...
www.penguinrandomhouse.com
WHAT IF I DON'T LIKE READING
Back when bloodsucking corporate brands were handing out cash to be associated with cool (before they realized it was cheaper paying influencers directly) they funded a lot of interesting shit. Red Bull was particularly prolific with the bag and while they've since shuttered that initiative they collected all their content into 'Red Bull Music Academy'. While not necessarily hip-hop focused (its purview was electronic created music) it remains a great resource with links to the original videos and transcripts of interviews from Young Guru and Just Blaze talking about the early Roc A Fella days to Metro Boomin, Sonny Digital, Zaytoven reminiscing about the early ATL scene. It's a fun little rabbit hole.
Red Bull Music Academy
Explore the Red Bull Music Academy archive, tracing the global music institution’s more than 20-year history
www.redbullmusicacademy.com
WHAT IF I WANT TO DO THE HIP-HOP, WHERE DO I START?
I mean, google motherfucker. But here's some quick and easy resources on basic ideas; Ableton has a good mini-course on synthesis which gives you an idea on shaping sounds which is a basis for hip-hop and techno/house alike:
Learning Synths
Learn about synthesizers via Ableton’s interactive website. Play with a synth in your browser and learn to use the various parts of a synth to make your own sounds.
Someone re-created a browser version of the Roland 808 Drum machine which remains a staple of hip-hop production. Perhaps you will be the next one to be flown out to Wisconsin to
iO-808
A fully recreated web-based TR-808 drum machine using React, Redux, and the Web Audio API.
io808.com
TO CLOSE
Considering many of the architects are passing way before their time without receiving the acknowledgement they deserved I hope that we take time to reflect and give props to our elders and those that passed too young. This is also a space to celebrate unheralded acts that don't get to rock arena and stadium stages but whose flows and production styles (ahem) do. And of course, the new Kendrick album.
While art is generally passively consumed it is not the same in Hip-Hop. When a commuter is confronted with bubble letters on the side of a building, two dancer throw moves back and forth, a DJ is reads the crowd trying to figure out what to play next and when someone is rapping bars it is a living conversation.
That said, what are we listening to this week?
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