The Beat Goes On: Evolution of Hip Hop

Something I wrote for Journalism..

  

We can all come to a consensus that the genre of Hip Hop has evolved greatly from the time it began to now. Over the years, the genre has branched off into many niches. There are typical, lyrical and radical artists in the genre of Hip Hop. Typical artists create songs that praise the “lifestyle” of being a famous rap artist. They talk about guns, violence and degrade women, which is the saddest part about the evolution of Hip Hop. Music mogul Missy Elliot had this to say about the genre today, “Hip Hop is definitely not what it used to be, which was creative, original music.” This statement is completely true because the older music of this genre was much more meaningful and soulful. However, there is still some hope for today, thanks to the lyricists. Artists of today that are lyrically inclined include J. Cole, Wale, Lupe Fiasco, Drake, Kendrick Lamar and many others that aren’t mainstream. These types of artists fulfill this statement said by John F. Kerry, “I'm fascinated by rap and by hip-hop. I think there's a lot of poetry in it. There's a lot of anger, a lot of social energy in it. And I think you'd better listen to it pretty carefully, 'cause it's important.” As a person in love with Hip Hop, I like to listen to music with meaning and poetry as John F. Kerry stated and I am so appreciative that this genre is being revived.
   However, there are few people who listen to Hip Hop music now that know the roots of it, “...that left the brothers out on the street with nothing, so they went to the turntables and started rhyming. Then they had a way to express themselves, and that's the birth of hip-hop” says soul legend Isaac Hayes. Englewood, New Jersey. It took the 80s by storm resulting in hip hop being “born”. In the late 70s and 80s, the genre had a very limited audience, people were not open-minded. Therefore, people were not “enthusiastic” about this new type of music. Little did they know, this genre would spread all across the globe. Over the course of the 80s and 90s, artists emerged from all cities and states all over the United States. It became a movement and was very powerful. The only downside was that many people decided to put a face to the name. They branded the genre of Hip Hop with an ethnicity, which was the African American race. According to Chad Hugo, “I grew up around hip-hop so I didn't think it was about being cool or being black or being white or whatever.” If everyone had that type of personality towards music, it would be way more tangible for new artists to receive recognition.

As we all know, the artists of today would not be here is it weren’t for those who innovated the genre.

In 1979, the first Hip Hop song to become a “top 40 Hit” was “Rapper’s Delight” by Sugar Hill Gang, a group from no where other than

   The moral of the story is that Hip Hop music has come a long way over the years. Whether it changed for good or for bad, it changed some type of way. In 2011, we have artists who are helping this genre thrive and sadly, those who are depleting it. Thankfully, the good in this genre is beginning to outweigh the bad in all areas. People today should really look into Hip Hop, both old and new records. I can make a promise that you will find something meaningful!