The History of Hip-Hop (Online discussion)

Agree/Disagree (and why): The history of hip hop is a multiracial history.  FOCUS ON THE ORIGINS RATHER THAN ENTIRE HISTORY.  Please integrate specifics and details from the reading to expand the conversation


18 thoughts on “The History of Hip-Hop (Online discussion)

  1. I agree. Hip hop wouldn’t be where it is today if it wasn’t mutiracial. It started with Blacks and Puerto Ricans in NY. As it moved out west, Mexicans began to get involved. Of course the a few, but very prominent white rappers. It’s easy to see just how multiracial Hip Hop is.

    • I definitely agree! And not only to mention all of the white rappers we have seen in our lifetime; Eminem, Marky Mark, Beastie Boys, Mac Miller, Yelawolf, Logic, etc. We also have Latino rappers as well who contribute and play a huge role in how hip-hop transformed from what it WAS to what it IS today; Pitbull, Daddy Yankee, etc. Hip-hop is a multiracial “cult” and without the inclusion of other races, hip-hop would still be an underground hobby. Hip-hop is widely known and a popular musical genre and lifestyle. Awareness from all ethnicities were required to help launch this movement.

  2. I agree with the statement that hip hop is multiracial. Usually when we think of hip hop we just think of music playing and young African American males going against one another when that is not hip hop but a sub culture of hip hop. throughout the videos and different readings many different people talked about how the Latinos had played a large part in hip hop when it first started; because African Americans and Latino Americans shared the same areas. So it was never a black thing it has just been portrayed as a black thing. Hip hop has no color its a feeling you express its your individuality

  3. I agree the history of hip hop is a multiracial history. On the surface however I believe people would be apprehensive to agree but there are hip hop artists from all races, genders, and walks of life. On page 64 in That’s The Joint!, Greg Tate talks about hip hop began as folk culture. Folk culture is defined by its isolation from mainstream society. When hip hop started it was isolated from mainstream society. When joints were being mixed and being introduced for the first time it was in isolation from multiracial groups. In New York where it started and then blossomed hip hop grew in one of the most diverse, culturally enriched cities in the world. Looking now at present day hip hop there are multiple artists that have gone platinum. Men and women, white and black, latino/a, asian, and many others respectively.

  4. The history of hip hop is definitely a multiracial history.Hip hops birth place, New York City, was and is a diverse area. So naturally the music would reflect the diverse individuals of that environment. Many multiracial groups didn’t have a way of expressing themselves. Hip hop was a tool used for visibility by blacks, Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, and other racial groups to express themselves. Before hip hop they did not have a creative outlet. Hip hop was the voice of the youth, “Or it might be a youth uprising, a scream against invisibility that wanted nothing more than to be heard by the world.” (page 34) A perfect example of this, is when you played the video in class of a Native American man and kids rapping that they had not gone anywhere.

  5. I agree with this statement completely. If we look back on “Old School” hip-hop and “game changers” of hip-hop we have artists such as Beastie Boys, Vanilla Ice, Marky Mark, etc., who played a huge part in the innovation of hip-hop. Hip-hop was pioneered in an area of New York where the demographics particularly comprised of African Americans as well as Latinos. We can also take into consideration the artist Goldie, a white female singer, who not only included a rap verse in her song, she also referenced Fab Five Freddy, a famous Graffiti artist, in her song. Goldie’s reference was huge, because it promoted awareness of this new hip-hop culture that many were not familiar with. Sampling is also a huge factor in the history of hip-hop and DJ’s were not just sampling African American artists, these DJ’s were sampling artists of different ethnicities, such as Apache, Led Zepplin, etc. Although hip-hop originated in an area that was predominately African Americans, other ethnicities contributed a great deal as well.

    • How does this compare to history of jazz; there are white, Latino, and Asian-American jazz artists; does that mean that jazz doesn’t have a history that intersects with history of African Americans. Can this history be both multiracial and also be specific/connected to African American history

      • Many Jazz musicians and Jazz historians attribute the origins of jazz to New Orleans and it’s African American residents. But just like hip hop, jazz also has a multi racial history. There are major african roots connected to jazz that mix with European styles of music. Also, each style of jazz has a slightly different influence from certain cultures. To appeal to a white audience, jazz had to be performed a certain way that differed from the way african americans would have performed it and the opposite also applies. But there are many innovators of jazz from all ethnicities.

  6. The history of hip hop is definitely multi racial. Not only can we look at the artists and the pioneers of hip hop, we can look at the influence of other cultures on hip hop. The call and response tradition from Africa and the focus on percussive elements from South and Central America has played a huge role in the sound of hip hop. If we look at sampling, many artists of several ethnicities have provided the background for tracks such as James Brown, Michael McDonald, Queen, Sheila E., Bob Marley, etc. The afrocentric movement in hip hop pieced together african, carribean and american clothing and hair to create an iconic style that is being repeated today. It’s easy to see the influences of other races in the hip hop culture.

  7. I agree that hip hop is multi-rational. The fact that hip hop started in New York and has been expanding throughout the whole world is just simply amazing. Hip Hop started out as a movement to let people who were living in poor conditions to have a way to express themselves and let their voices be heard. Back then you would have African American rappers and throughout time as Alexis Renee pointed out these “White rappers” such as Eminem, and old school legends beastie boys have come up and decided to join this culture that is becoming so popular. Heck, nowadays there are rappers from foreign countries that have decided to join in the game of hip hop! Now back to the point if it wasn’t for this type of culture that is expanding I do not believe hip hop would be as big as it is today. Even though some rappers have expressed that “hip hop is dead” such as NAS, there is talent from places that you wouldn’t imagine would be involved in this community. As the video we were shown in class about the Native American rapper named Red who raps about his people still being alive. Hip Hop will keep growing throughout time and more people of different races will join this cult.

    • Does the emergence of white rappers or even rappers throughout the world change its origins? Would we say the same thing as to a culinary tradition that is being practiced by people across different communities? What about baseball? People locate the history of baseball within the United States, referring to it as America’s national past time. baseball is now played across many countries? Does that mean that baseball doesn’t not have a specific history and origin to the United States (of course we could talk about the global influences?

  8. I believe that hip-hop had a multiracial history, though I think certain aspects and feelings were a little less multiracial. There was a specific iconic image that stuck out among different races. I think that the N.W.A had a rebellious attitude to them and that group consisted of pretty much all African Americans. When the music moved across the country, white suburban kids picked it up too. In the same way, Mexican and Mexican Americans would write lyrics about different problems and situations. I think that the music itself is multiracial but the different lyrics and meanings usually come from select groups.

  9. I agree that hip hop is multiracial for sure, like its been said in the conversation many rappers have given great contributions to the world of hip hop, from many different racial backgrounds. To me those are all reflections of the history rather than the origins. The “Founding Fathers” of hip hop as Nelson George calls them, embodied different forms of what blackness was. When you talk about true origins of hip hop like; scratching from Grandmaster Flash or the electronic sounds of Bambaataa, that came from black culture. Hip Hop would definitely not be what it is today without growing into a multiracial genre, but I think back then it wasn’t as multiracial as its grown to be.

  10. I believe that hip-hop is multiracial in it’s foundation by virtue of who was involved, both passively and directly. While the credit for the artistic ingenuity is firmly held by oppressed minorities such as the American black and Latino communities, the larger white majority and/or mainstream body created an environment for which this expression of frustration and abandonment to be directed and a target for which to aim at. This argument glosses over a few detail but in short, yes hip-hop owes it’s origin to all American communities, with the talent generated out of lower income ones.

  11. I believe that hip-hop in a sense is a multiracial history. I agree with this because of the fact that when hiphop first came about, it helped different cultures merge together to find common ground whether it was through the different elements of hiphop as we discussed in class. The example of bboying is a great element to look at as throughout the times in the bronx, more different races caught on the the idea of battling but through a dancing art form.

  12. Hip hop without a doubt is multiracial. You could walk down the CUB and you’d run into hip hop in all shapes and forms. Hip hop has resinated with minorities since “back in the day” during Afrika Bambaataa, bboy era, etc when the black and latino communities first began to take a stand to gain visibility. The culture of hip hop travels through very many mediums, each adding a twist and flavor of their own. The culture of hip hop is like having a big family, some members you resinate with immediately, others you look at and don’t know how you could possibly be related, and others you don’t understand all the way, but you learn to accept them because after all, they’re family. The East coast was the hot spot for the originators/ “grand” members because that’s where most of the displaced minorities lived, had the movement started on the West coast, I’m sure we would have seen many similarities and differences in styles but the fundamental origins of hip hop would have still risen out of oppression.

  13. The history of Hip-Hop is definitely a multiracial history. No one race is superior throughout Hip-Hop. Although it is a predominately black industry, no race is discriminated. Looking at a global perspective, there are many Hip-Hop artists and up and coming artists from different countries.

    The origination of Hip-Hop came from all colored individuals that had a story to tell. Whether it was from living in poverty, to how they had to grow up under different circumstances to survive. When Hip-Hop began to receive recognition, different genres of music began to have a positive influence on the growing of this new movement.

    Blondie was one of the main contributors to the growing of hip-hop because there group was able to use Fab Five Freddy’s lyrics and incorporate them into their own style of music. Blondie was a white group that helped African-American rappers to become recognized and heard.

    I agree that Hip-Hop is an overall multiracial history. Each race had something to contribute to the growing of the Hip-Hop establishment. Whether it was based from the movement in New York, all the way to white rappers like Eminem who have made major steps in forming the basis of hip-hop to become equal.

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