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Bass Music

Bass music

Miami Bass is a sub-genre of Hip-Hop/rap music popular in the 1980's and 1990's that is notably different than standard Hip-Hop due to its prominent use of the Roland TR-808 sustained kick drum, the slightly higher dance tempos, and the occasional sexually explicit lyrical content. It is often misunderstood as Florida’s sustaining of the Electro sub-genre of Hip-Hop after its decline in New York area. On the contrary, Florida’s Electro scene paralleled that of New York and Los Angeles, but it was when Rick Rubin slowed the tempo down and removed robotic elements in mid-80’s Hip-Hop that Miami Bass arose out of the ashes of Electro and Disco. Generally speaking, Miami Bass can be broken down into a number of waves, and is subject to much misinterpretation. =Prologue= Henry Stone was seen as head of the only music empire in Miami from 1950-1981. He’s had his hand in careers such as James Brown and Ray Charles, but after he and Steve Alaimo began fostering the writing/producing team of Willie Clark and Clarence Reid did the Florida sound begin to take shape. Once the 1970’s arrived, a new writing/production partnership of Harry Wayne Casey and Rick Finch was blossoming under Henry’s assorted record labels, and they helped usher in the Disco era, reaching stratospheric heights with KC and the Sunshine Band. However, the Disco backlash caused an abrupt end to Henry’s TK Records and associated labels. This left a gaping hole in the Miami music scene, which aligned time wise with the new trend of rap records.

From Disco to Florida Electro and Proto-Freestyle

A Sheep leaves the flock - the roots of Pandisc Records: Bo Crane was an employee for Henry Stone, but he decided to leave the company in 1980 before TK’s demise in an attempt to compete with Henry. Bo was known for his record pool, as being the DJ to the exclusive Disco club Honey for the Bears, and much like Tommy Boy Records’ Tom Silverman, he published a report on hot club records. With all of this under his belt, he began Palm Tree Records, and Red Rooster Records with the band NRBQ. After TK’s fall, he even went so far as to recruit Clarence Reid just as Clarence’s X-rated parody persona Blowfly was finding its niche. However, Bo was no where near finding success as Disco was dying in the U.S. and he failed to corner a contemporary creative source to produce this new trend of rap records. His coaching of Blowfly to perform on his X-rated antics on Electro records could not find an audience in 1984, and Bo floundered a bit until his formation of Pandisc Records began to acquire contemporary acts. Freestyle (the group and the genre): It was a future convicted drug dealer named Sherman Nealey who funded Electro records produced by Pretty Tony Butler that found success with the first Miami based urban music to cause a national sensation since KC and the Sunshine Band. Once Pretty Tony’s Electro records under the group name Freestyle hit along with his production for female singer Debbie Deb, many TK refugees and other industry people aimed to recreate the success. The Freestyle music sub-genre that combines Electro beats with Latina singing arose from the popularity of Pretty Tony's sound and group name combined. 4-Sight Records: The first notable person to try and cash in on the success of Pretty Tony in Floirda was Billy Hines, owner of Royal Sounds record store in the Lauderhill Mall, Ft. Lauderdale. Having an active set of turntables in the record store for his son Adrian and young customers to try out new songs on over the P.A. caused quite a stir. Noticing how much excitement was generated, and how much money was being spent on these records, Billy formed the 4-Sight Records label, which was operated from within the store before making the transistion out of the record store business into being a full time record label. Hiring Frank Cornelius of the Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose family as his in-house producer, and using his son Adrian as creative advisor, he employed many of his customers as performers to front Electro, general rap records, and finally stumbling onto Bass music.

Cashing in on Miami Electro leads to Bass

Knights of the City: A major event that pooled talent during the Electro era was the production of a breakdance movie entitled Knights of the City (aka Cry of the City). Being the only cities to have rap music scenes at large in the early 1980's was New York, Los Angeles, and Miami, and LA and NYC already were featured in Breakin' and Beat Street respectively, Miami seemed the logical third location. For the film's prodction, as many local breakdance crews were rounded up as possible, along with a few local music producers and artists. Among those were breakdance units such as The Amazing Wizards, who later became a Bass group signed to Joey Boy Records, and FBI Crew. The latter crew, along with session musician turned rap producer Amos Larkins II, cut the Proto-Bass track Rockin' It for Posse Records in 1984 as part of the film's soundtrack. Despite the pooling of talent, Knights of the City ran into a slew of legal trouble, and all the big-named stars issued court orders to have their scenes removed from the movie, producing a very low quality b-flick. However, it left behind one of the earliest Miami produced songs to sustain the Roland TR-808 kickdrum. Henry Stone took note of Amos's production skills and provided an outlet for him by creating record labels such as On Records and Prime Choice Records to be manufactured and distributed under the Sunnyview Records/Roulette Records umbrella to a local market. Miami Vice: The failure of the movie was quickly eclipsed by the sucess of the TV show Miami Vice, which also pooled some local talent. Notably, Amos Larkins II again finds himself connected to this project producing the track "Vice Vice Vice" for The Devastaing MC's in 1985. =The Official Start: 1st Wave Bass= First Wave Bass ranges from 1985-1987, and is marked by its minimal production values due to limited technology. Its attitudes range from somewhat naive to supressed giddiness about purposefully breaking taboo subject matter (typically sexual). Early songs often followed the rap trend of co-opting melodies from television theme songs combined with bragadocious lyrics, but this was eclipsed lyrically with lines about clubbing, bass itself, or sexual antics. Musically, it changed by adopting a palette dominated by uptempo raw beats and a plethora of DJ scratching. The tempos of First Wave Bass began near 100 beats per minute, and rose to roughly 125 beats per minute. Bass Rock Express: After Rick Rubin’s bass heavy production of LL Cool J's remake of Rock the Bells became of top 40 hit in 1985, Amos Larkins II also began making mid-tempo bass heavy rap tracks for local rappers such as Double Duce, Mighty Rock, and Prime Choice for Henry Stone. This was timed perfectly as Florida’s demand for Electro began drying up. The first time everything aligned and the genre offically formed was when Billy Hines allowed his son Adrian (MC A.D.E.) to front his own record entitled Bass Rock Express. The track was produced by Amos Larkins II, and was the first to address Bass as the lyrical topic, marking a transition for 4-Sight Records into Bass music (despite the song's somewhat outdated Electro overtones). Luke Skyywalker Records, 2 Live Crew, and X-rated lyrics: A concert promoter and club owner who called himself Luke Skyywalker took notice of a California based group named 2 Live Crew who had a very much in demand bass heavy record in Florida entitled 2 Live (commonly referred to as Beat Box). Luke brought the group to South Floirda to perform the two songs they had recorded, and after returing home to California, they took inventory of their experience in Florida, recording a tribute song to the Sunshine State entitled Throw the D. Luke now acting as the group's manager decided to try and get the record signed in Florida where it would have more pull. One of his first stops was Henry Stone. Luke assumed he had a way in with Henry since the track Ghetto Jump by Krush II and Amos Larkins II was inspired by the activity in Luke's Pac-Jam teen club, but Henry turned Luke's offer down. Furious, Luke decided to start Luke Skyywalker Records with the sole intention to release this record. Upon immediate success, the group packed their bags and moved to Miami. With Throw the D becoming a local sensation, the crowd's response to the song was to dance as X-rated as possible, so the group began to work that observation back into their songs, adding fuel to the fire that was their grassroots promotion (this is when Luke officially joined the group as the stage "hype man", although he did no rapping, nor production). The result was the first X-rated Miami Bass act, which offered something of an identity and a stigma for the genre. Joey Boy Records: With Sherman Nealey’s and Pretty Tony’s conviction on drug dealing arriving, this left side men such as record promoter Allen Johnston and co-producer Calvin Mills without immediate jobs, so Joey Armada Jr., son of the owner of Carribean Record Manufacturing, employed these two men foudning Joey Boy Records to release Bass music for groups such as M 4-Sers, Bass Patrol, Miami Boys, and The Dogs (often reusing these group names for new artists when the old ones left the company). Hot Productions: With Morris Levy being convicted of extortion, he left the country (dying shortly after) which allowed Henry Stone to form a new label with his protégé Paul Klein focusing on this new street music. Hiring former trumpet player for the Disco-Funk band Instant Funk Larry Davis as the in-house producer, Hot Productions was formed, often to produce Bass groups such as L'Trimm, and release outside work of groups such as Gucci Crew II. Being Mo Levy's Roulette Records owned Henry's TK catalog, and Mo was out of commision, Henry augmented the sales of these "street records" by reissuing much of the TK catalog until its acquisition by Rhino Records in 1989. Bass Station Records: Luke’s rival Noberto “Candyman” Morales of the Triple M DJ's crew and Bass Station club countered Luke’s move into the record world by employing his star DJ Eric G to produce tracks for his Bass Station Records. Shortly after, Candyman's drug dealing and violent parties caught up with him as he was shot dead in 1987. Eric G and the Bass Station Records catalog transferred to Edward Meriwether's Suntown Records, who rereleased edited versions of hits later that year, keeping them in the limelight. Pandisc Records: By 1987, Bo Crane had realized the potential of DXJ and his Maggotron alias, banking on Electro Bass records to be released on Pandisc Records, marking a transition for Bo’s creative direction. Bo also took control of Pretty Tony's career after he was released from jail, gaining control of Tony's back catalog in return; however, Tony failed to update his sound and poduced no notable hits afterwards. Mobile DJ Crews: The success of many records in South Florida spanning from the end of Disco until very recently was the result of open air mobile DJ crews such as Jam Pony Express, We Down Express, Triple M DJ's, and The Ghetto Style DJ’s. Crews such as these battled to gain the largest audience with their sound systems, and with the invention of Bass records, had new ammo for their virtual calling cards. To ensure play from these crews, new music groups continued the trend of adding bass to their music, and the "one hand washes the other" mentality helped the genre grow. Many of these crews became acts themselves: We Down Express became Afro-Rican, Triple M DJ's became The Worse'em Crew, Ghetto Style DJ's was the backbone of Luke Skyywalker Records grassroots promotions, and Jam Pony Express's legendary status earned from their mixtapes forced them to release a "proper" album in the mid-1990's.

Electro Bass

Even though many felt Electro was an outdated mode in the mid-1980's, some artists felt most comfortable pulling from the palette of Kraftwerk and using a Vocoder for vocals, although now, they began fusing it with Bass music. Between DXJ’s quirky body of work and the presistance of Dynamix II, Florida did manage to sustain and Electro Bass subgenre that outlasted all other trends in Miami Bass; this may've led to the general public's assumption that Miami Bass equates to Electro. However, California's Electro Bass scene may've contributed more artists within a short stretch of time. Between 1986 and 1988, Los Angeles was part of the Miami Bass scene, which made sense being both grew out of the Electro era and shared vehicles for marketing. Whereas artists such as Rodney O-Joe Cooley followed the trend of mid-tempo bass heavy rap songs in 1986 and 1987, several California based producers did not let go of the Electro pastiche so easily. Techno-Hop Records and Techno-Kut Records hosted producers such as Arabian Prince and DJ Unknown, carrying on the Electro tradition of Egyptian Lover while grafting modern Bass techniques onto the music. Oddly, Gangsta rap grew out of California's Electro Bass scene with Ice T's 1986 release of 6 in the Mornin on Techno-Hop Records, and N.W.A.'s/Eazy E's copycat song Boyz in the Hood in 1987. This began a new direction for the West Coast, and Electro Bass was effectivly shutdown when N.W.A. acquired a major-label deal in 1988. Floridian Electro Bass soldiered on and eventually fused itself with the Florida breaks community near the end of the 1990's, where it continues to thrive in a Rave like setting rather than near its Hip-Hop roots. =2nd Wave Bass= Second Wave Bass is characterized by its tempo of 125-130 beats per minute, the expansion of turntablism, its use of sampled loops, and its shedding of outside influences of other forms of Hip-Hop. It also began flirting with forms of House Music, especially Hip-House, and shared the market with Freestyle music. It ranges from 1988-1991. Tonal Bass: E-mu products were a big part of Miami Bass's production arsenal. In the early days of Bass production, the Roland TR-808 drum machine was augmented by E-mu's Emulator II keyboard, but when Eric G began using E-mu's SP1200 drum sampler instead of the Roland TR-808 in 1987, things began to change by sampling the 808 kick drum and playing it tonally. His production of Dynamix II's Just Give the DJ a Break set a new trend with multi-tonal bass sounds, followed quickly by Afro-Rican's Give it All You Got (Doggy Style) merging the SP1200 multi-tonal sound with a faster dance tempo and a little implied smut courtesy of 2 Live Crew's inspiration. Looped samples: After the release of E-mu's SP1200, rap music producers quickly learned that by speeding up records while sampling them, you can slow the sample back down, and effectivly "trick" the sampler into having more sampling time. This technique altered all of rap music by allowing for more loops, utilizing the "space" within the music to its fillest potential. Miami forged a very specific sound as drums from the Roland TR-808 drum machine were coupled with sample loops and SP1200 stock sounds. There were two albums to first to trail blaze this new sound in 1988: Gigolo Tony’s Ain’t it Good to Ya produced by The Whiz Kids for 4-Sight Records, and Beatmaster Clay D’s You Be You and I Be Me produced by Clay D and DJ Magic Mike for Vision Records. Being so new in sonic quality, neither album sold remarkably well. In fact, Billy Hines reported well more than 75% of the pre-ordered albums of Gigolo Tony’s to be returned; however, by 1989, the audience had embraced the new sound, and the following albums by these producers sold remarkably well. MC A.D.E.’s second album How Much Can You Take is said to have saved 4-Sight Records, and DJ Magic Mike’s solo debut is seen as the album that reshaped the genre. Edits: Being all recorded music at this time was recorded onto tape, this allowed for tape manipuation to become part of post-production process of making records. Editing became popular during the Disco days as a way to alter the arrangements of songs to ease the job of club DJ's, and by the 1980's, it changed just from rearranging songs to turntablism type tricks. These techniques were made popular by the NYC scene's Chep Nunez and The Latin Rascals, but Miami began doring these tape tricks as part of the production process also, making great use of crews such as The Whiz Kids and The Blade Runners. Creative peak: The peak of the Second Wave sound arrived when Danny D’s group Boys from the Bottom broke through with a national hit picked up by the major label Atlantic Records while teaming with localk radio personality DJ Laz, and a small West Palm Beach label named Cut it Up Def Records employed two new DJ/producers named DJ Jealous J and DJ Jock D to give DJ Magic Mike a run for his money creatively. National attention: The most visible group during the second wave was again 2 Live Crew as their 1989 album As Nasty as They Wanna Be was marked by massive touring and numerous court battles over charges of obscenity.

Car Audio Bass: A Parallel Market

Car Audio Bass is marked by its loss of syncopated rhythms, its sterile sound, and its over-the-top gimmicks. It is aimed at a mostly suburban clientele who patron custom car shows. Although it began during the second wave of Bass in 1989, it continued until the 2000's. During the first wave when the phenomenon of Bass was recognized, it was seen equally as something for clubs and for cars, but during the second wave, some producers saw to make two separate types of Bass music for each purpose. Feel the Bass: In 1989, DJ Magic Mike created an a track entitled Feel the Bass (Speaker Terror Upper) on his debut album that stripped all extraneous elements away sonically and left a very basic groove to accessorize the slow moving bass track. Techmaster PEB defines the car audio market and marketing: The response to Mike's Feel the Bass resulted in many producers taking the cue to create a whole new sub-genre based on this principle. Some acts such as DJ Fury and Tampa Bay’s Quad Force mimicked Mike’s album by merging club songs and car audio songs onto one album, but it was fellow Tampa area producer Techmaster P.E.B. who noticed the need for albums aimed strictly at the car market. After one failed album released in 1990 entitled It Came from Outer Bass, he struck gold when his 1991 album Bass Computer was marketed directly to car show attendees. From this point, the industry maintained two parallel markets with groups often creating aliases to tap both. Pandisc Records finds its niche: After years of faltering and a brief stint with Electro Bass, Pandisc Records successfully reconfigured into a "flavor of the month" outfit, rather than following other labels' lead of hiring one creative source. Although they released a surplus of Second Wave Bass albums, they kicked into an even higher gear with Car Audio Bass in the mid-1990's. Pandisc went so far as to give a manufacturing and distribution deal to their engineer Neil Case to release Car Audio Bass CD's on his Bass Mekanik imprint in addition to their already abundant supply. Whereas all other Miami Bass labels closed shop eventually, Pandisc remains open due to their approach. Car shows begin to supply themselves: Eventually, even car audio accesory manufacturers such as Orion Car Audio began to market Car Audio Bass CD's produced by in-house producers such as DJ Billy-E under a slew of aliases. Gimmicks and competition: Promoting at car shows was effective as this cottage-industry cut out the middle man and marketed CD's directly to their audience. The word-of-mouth promotion resulted in massive sales of CD's in stores, but it also quickly flooded the market with product. As a result, the competition at the car shows to promote became fierce, and labels relied heavily on new gimmicks from the producers to quickly catch the attention of car show attendees. One ubiquitous gimmick was to have an "scientific" sounding narrator describing frequencies and their effects. This gimmick was lifted from the sample-based intro to DJ Magic Mike's 1990 2nd Wave album Bass is the Name of the Game, although it served a different purpose in that context. Evolution: Eventually, portions of the Car Audio Bass scene would latch onto the Florida breaks sound (presumably due to Pandisc Records simultaneous promotion both sub-genres), but has also unsucessfully flirted with most trends of electronic dance music including the obvious choice of Drum and Bass. =From 3rd Wave Booty Bass to Crunk= Third Wave Bass is usually referred to simply as "booty music". It is discernible due to its removal of turntablism, its extreme incresed tempo, and its over-annunciation of the Southern drawl. Tempos range from 135 beats per minute to 160 beats per minute, and the sub-genre lasted from 1992 through the the early 2000's, giving way to a new form of music altogether billed as Crunk. The end of 2 Live Crew: In 1991, Luke’s out in front personality and underhanded dealings had caught up to him. He was forced by George Lucas to drop the Skyywalker moniker, which he never saught permission to use. Due to Mr. Mixx's early departure from the group, 2 Live Crew’s fourth album failed to make much of an imprint outside its initial single (Pop that Coochie), and the group began to break up over disagreements on how to handle Luke’s exposed short changing. Label mate MC Shy D effectively sued Luke for an overwhelming amount of money for this very same reason. Now Luke was without Mr. Mixx as in-house producer, and his second-string producers known as The O.D.S. never had the hit making track record that Mr. Mixx had. Yet, what seemed to be the end actually created a whole new beginning. Doo Doo Brown booty: Suntown Records failed to recognize where their talent with their signed artist/producer Kenneth "Devastator" Terry. Luke saw his potential and brought Devastator in to produce a solo track for Luke entitled I Wanna Rock (Doo Doo Brown) in late 1991. The high energy dense song upped the tempo from 125 beats per minute to over 140 beats per minute, while Luke himself performed nothing more than call and response vocals rather than actual rapping. This massive club hit structured the template that eventually redefined the purpose of Miami Bass. When Luke reemployed Kenneth "Devastator" Terry in 1992 to produce Poison Clan’s Shake Watch Mama Gave Ya, the new fate of Bass music was sealed; Miami Bass was now fuel for booty dancing competitions. The commercial height signaled the end: During this era, Miami Bass found mainstream success, which was a blessing and a curse. Tracks such as Tag Team’s “Whoomp, There It Is”, 69 Boyz’ Tootsie Roll, Freak Nasty's Da Dip, and Quad City DJ’s C’Mon Ride the Train all made top 40 charts, but onlookers saw these as guilty pleasures at best, and those who dug beneath the surface were finding the genre at it’s lowest point in terms of quality. Each time the genre seemed to become stale throughout the 1990’s, the producers did nothing more than up the tempo another 5 beats per minute, not even changing the palette of samples used; they entered a race with themselves. By this time, Atlanta based artists were no longer traveling to Florida to score record deals, but rather were becoming very self-sufficient business-wise, and creativly, they added more Southern drawl to the rapper’s voices. Bass becomes Crunk: By the end of the 1990’s, the South in general had felt that Bass could offer nothing new. Whereas the term “crunk” was used often in Bass music as a state of mind, Atlanta based artists began taking the term to define themselves as a whole. Eventually, the tempo burst from 160 beats per minute back down to the 100 beats per minute the genre started at, but with a new 00’s hard attitude, and a lack of samples due to new issues with sample clearance. The term Crunk now became the genre’s name, and the sound had changed 100% seemingly overnight. =Booty Music Revival vs. Florida Breaks= The term "booty music" once referred specifically to Miami Bass's latter days, and became retroactive to its early days once that era of it was discovered outside of its immediate region. The perceived smut became an inspiration to producers of newer dance music genres, and as they grafted this attitude onto their productions, Miami Bass suddenly became lumped with these genres. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Floridian producers mostly abandoned the "booty" aspects of the music, usually opting for either Dirty South or Florida breaks/Electro Bass (the artist's race is often the deciding factor in this decision). Non-Miami-Bass booty music: As Crunk took control of a large portion of mainstream Hip-Hop, and the post-rave European electronic dance music climate co-opted the American ghetto created House Music and Techno genres, new urban producers from Chicago, Baltimore, and Detroit looked back on not only their own innovations of House and Techno, but Miami Bass’s legacy at large. Mixing these together with global electronic dance music's use of sped up breakbeats, they created genres such as Ghetto House, Ghettotech, and Baltimore Breaks. However, it is a misconception that these share much in common with Miami Bass. These new genres maintain the repetitive nature of post-rave global electronic dance music, whereas Miami Bass never intended to be anything more than a brand of rap music. Furthermore, the “booty” aspects of Miami Bass only represent a fraction of the actual music, whereas it defines these new school genres in total. Is Florida Breaks Miami Bass?: In contrast to the Ghettotech/Ghetto House trends, electronic dance music producers currently in Florida are still living out rave-era philosophies while stating the creed that Miami Bass is its parent genre. The irony is Florida breaks takes its structure from global electronic dance music such as early 1990’s British breakbeat hardcore and the soundscapes of Trance Music more than Miami Bass itself. The Florida breaks sub-genre is often referred to as Electro-Breaks by its fans despite having no apparent Electro characteristics. Some imply this is a way to align itself more with Miami Bass's legacy.

Funk Carioca/Proibidao

The Bass sub-genre newest to the gloabl radar that comes closest to the Miami Bass sound is the Brazilian offshoot known as Funk Carioca (or simply "Funk", when speaking to Brazilians). When Brazilian record suppliers began coming to the United States in the 1970's to buy Black Music for Brazilian DJ's, they would target stores that sold actual American Funk records. As they continued to support the same hotspots over time, they never took note that American Black Music had evolved away from Funk into new genre names such as Rap or Electro. Being Miami was one of the most southern points in the U.S., it was a popular place to obtain records for Brazil, and therefore, Miami Bass greatly entered the canon of imported Black music. DJ Nazz is one of the main suppliers credited with bringing Miami Bass records home to Brazil while still referring to them as American "Funk" records, which is how Bass became known as Funk there. Miami Bass proved to be one of the most successful of the American Black music imported to Brazil in recent times, and home producers began mimicking it dating back to the late 1980's. However, it was only a localized phenomenon until its discovery by foreign labels in the 2000's. Those labels began compiling this music for the outside world, making it a new global trend. Oddly, compilers chose the term Baile funk to represent the genre, which is a mistranslation. Baile funk in the Brazilian Bass community actually means "the party at which Bass music is played". One recent compilation is entitled Favela Booty Beats, which is striking as the music is more political than sexual, say many who speak Portuguese (again illustrating the the misconception in the Western world that Miami Bass's aesthetics equates to sexual lyrics). Ironically, most Brazilian Bass songs are built on the instrumental to a West Coast Electro Bass track entitled 808 Volt (Beatapella Mix) by DJ Battery Brain, rather than pulling directly from Miami. This of course shows the result of joint marketing between Los Angeles and Miami in the late 1980's. In Brazil, fans have recently taken to calling their brand of Bass "Proibidao", which translates to "prohibited". It is seen as an especially volatile form of music in the eyes of the Brazilian government, and reportedly, arrests have been made just for possesing CD's of Funk/Brazilian Bass music. =The Miami Bass History Project= In 2000, a former Miami Bass artist turned music historian dubbed PappaWheelie took note of how Miami Bass was considered the bastard child of Hip-Hop throughout its existance, and how it had become virtually forgotten more recently. He setup a Yahoo Group entitled Miami Bass History in an attempt to document the releases, artists, and evolution of the genre. After a brief lull in interest from outsiders, the group went on to amass record collectors, followed by artists and producers, and eventually rounding up much of the industry itself. PappaWheelie sees his role as something similar to Alan Lomax's role with American Folk music; documenting a regional culture that flew under the mainstream’s radar for both preservation and to show the origins of modern music. This will reportedly result in a long overdue book that would offer the story for the posterity of electronic dance music and Hip-Hop’s history. =The Players= =External links=
- [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Miami_Bass_History Yahoo Group] devoted to chronicling the evolution & formation of Miami bass Category:Hip hop genres als:Miami Bass

Hip Hop

Hip hop is a cultural movement that began among urban Africans, Jamaicans and Latinos in the Bronx borough of New York City during the early 1970s, and has since spread around the world. The four main aspects, or "elements", of hip hop culture are MCing (rapping), DJing, graffiti, and breakdancing. Some consider beatboxing the fifth element of hip hop; others might add political activism, hip hop fashion, hip hop slang, double dutching (an urban form of rope skipping) or other elements as important facets of hip hop. The term has since come to be a synonym for hip hop music (or rap) to mainstream audiences. hip hop music In recent years the focus has been centrally place on rapping and producing. The origin of the term "hip-hop" itself is unclear; but, over time, the term has taken on a life of its own. The movement that later became known as "hip-hop" is widely accreditted to have begun with the work of DJ Kool Herc in the early 70s, while competing DJ Afrika Bambaataa is often credited with having invented the term "hip-hop" to describe the culture. A variety of mythical etymologies and complex meanings have been attached to the term and continue to propagate within the hip hop community. Beginning in the early 1990s hip hop was almost as popular as rock and roll, and by 2002 was the clear winner in terms of popularity.

Hip-hop

Main article: Hip hop music The various factors that influenced early hip hop are complex and numerous, and vary from the griots of Africa to the rock of America. Although the majority of influences can be traced to African culture, the multicultural society of New York City resulted in diverse musical influences from all over the world finding their way into hip hop music. Elements of the style and techniques of rapping originate with the griots of West Africa; traveling singers and poets had musical styles that contained elements of what would later evolve into hip-hop music. Some griot traditions came to the United States, the United Kingdom and the Caribbean with the passage of African slaves to the New World. Other notable influences are the spoken word sections of records by soul and funk musicians such as James Brown and Isaac Hayes. One of the many influences on the creation of contemporary hip hop music is the Jamaican style called dub, which arose as a sub-genre of Reggae in the 1960s. Dub music saw producers such as King Tubby creating instrumental versions of popular reggae records for the purpose of clubs and Sound systems; they had discovered that dancers often responded better to the extended, isolated beats of the records, often featuring intense percussion and heavy basslines. Soon, the MCs that hosted the dances began speaking over the instrumental records, and the skills of MCs such as U-Roy, Dr. Alimontado and Dillinger saw them become popular performers in their own right. This tradition continues in contemporary Dancehall music. In 1967, Jamaican immigrants such as DJ Kool Herc applied the methods of Dub to Funk loops that were popular in New York City. According to David Top, Reggae was not popular among most American Hip-Hop fans in the early years of Hip-Hop, despite its influence. In parks and community centres, up and coming DJs were playing to packed crowds of youngsters eager to hear the old funk tunes. Pretty soon (by 1976/77) the DJs and dancers we’re paying special attention to the percussion breaks in records like Jimmy Castor's 'It's Just Begun', Dennis Coffrey's 'Scorpio' and Herman KeIly's 'Dance To The Drummer's Beat': in fact to any record with a good drum break, including tracks by the Rolling Stones and other white rock bands. One of the first Hip-Hop songs to be released was "Rappers Delight" by the Sugarhill Gang, which sampled Chic, a popular disco group. The kids who danced to the breaks started calling themselves B-Boys and their energetic, acrobatic style of dancing which accompanied the playing of the breaks became known as breaking. The most popular Bronx DJs like Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa and Grandmaster Flash started mixing two copies of the same record to make the breaks last longer; with fast cutting between the decks a 20-second drum break could be turned into a five-minute mix. Besides experimenting with the technical side of DJ-ing like cutting and scratching, the Bronx Jocks experimented with the the electronic music coming out of Europe. Kraftwerk's 1977 hit 'Trans-Europe Express' was a B-Boy favourite for its cool driving metallic Kraftwerk mixture of computerised drumbreaks and synthesisers. While all this was happening on the hot and sweaty dancefloors of the Bronx, out on the streets another vital element of the hip hop scene was falling into place.

Emceeing

The old, black tradition of using rhyming slang to brag or put down your enemies (or friends) had developed, through the street jive of the early Seventies, to become for many urban youngsters a new way of talking. In a larger sense, this was a continuation of a verbal tradition that goes back as far as the African griots. Half speaking, half singing the rhythmic street talk of Rapping was soon in the clubs, with aspiring rappers doing their thing over the local sound systems, the DJs providing backing tracks of instrumental loops of the latest dance hits. Another significant influence is Blues music. In many ways, hip hop is a continuation of an oral historical tradition dating back to the griots and traced through the Blues that came out of slavery. One of the main influences Blues had on rapping was the Call/Response aspect of the music. This survived into the tradition of "toasting" over Dub music, a tradition which was transferred to hip hop by Jamaicain immigrants like Kool Herc. This became most pronounced in the MC "Battles" of the early 1980's. Freestyle rapping of improvised lyrics is also part of a tradition that began with musicians improvising on their instruments in Jazz and the Blues. Rappers such as Guru give credit to the Jazz element that influences Hip-Hop. Rapping]Herc was one of the most popular DJs in early 70s New York, playing at neighborhood parties (also known as block parties). After his first gig on Sedgwick Ave. in the Bronx in 1973, Herc quickly switched from using reggae records to funk, rock and disco, as he found that the New York audience did not particularly like reggae. Herc and other DJs found that dancers often preferred the funky, percussive breaks of the records, and began extending them using an audio mixer and two records. Within a highly-competitive atmosphere, Herc's friends and competitors quickly developed other mixing techniques in order to keep audiences excited. As in Jamaica, these events were often hosted by a performer who spoke while the music played; these were originally called MCs (Masters of Ceremonies) and, later, rappers. Early rappers focused on introducing themselves, the DJ and others in the audience, although they quickly progressed to including improvisation and a simple four-count beat, along with a simple chorus. Later MCs added more complex and often humorous lyrics, and incorporated a focus on sexual themes and all around boasting. Although it was yet to be recorded, hip hop music steadily grew in popularity, and by the end of the 1970s was beginning to become a major artistic force which had spread throughout the United States. During the 1980s and 1990s, hip hop gradually became mainstream (a transition usually considered to have been completed in 1992) in the US and, to a lesser degree, worldwide. By the 2000s hip-hop became the most popular music genre in the United States, at times occupying every top ten spot on the music charts. Famous rappers of the past and present include Melle Mel, Whodini, LL Cool J, Slick Rick, MC Lyte, Run DMC, Beastie Boys, Tupac Shakur, Rakim, Notorious BIG, Snoop Dogg, OutKast, Eminem, Jay-Z, Nas, Wu-Tang Clan, 50 Cent and NWA

DJing

Main article: DJing Hip-Hop DJing, referred to by some as turntablism, is the practice of using a turntable as a musical instrument. Skills associated with turntablism include record scratching, beat juggling, and mixing. A DJ should not necessarily be considered a producer of a music track (though there is considerable overlap between the two roles). Today, the terms are often used exchangably, similar to 'rapper' and 'MC'. Famous DJs include Grandmaster Flash, Grandwizard Theodore (credited with "inventing" scratching), Mr. Magic, DJ Jazzy Jeff, DJ Scratch from EPMD, DJ Pete Jones, Prince Paul (widely lauded for collaborations with De La Soul and assorted solo ventures), DJ Premier from Gang Starr, Pete Rock, DJ Scott La Rock from Boogie Down Productions, DJ Miz, DJ Muggs from Cypress Hill, Jam Master Jay from Run-DMC, Eric B., DJ Shadow, RJD2, DJ Q-Bert, Diamond D, Mr. Khaliyl (an associate of Mos Def and Jurassic 5), Young Einstein, DJ Nu-Mark, James Lavelle, Cut Chemist, DJ Format, DJ Serious, Mister Cee, DJ Paul Nice, DJ Aladdin, Mix Master Mike, DJ D-Styles, DJ Signify, DJ Rhettmatic, DJ Babu, DJ Kay Slay, DJ Quik, DJ Spooky, Mr. DJ, and DJ Spinderella (of Salt-N-Pepa). Before they became the center of attention, an MC's role was to get the crowd into the DJ's mix. In general, Hip hop has focused on getting one's audience to dance, although relatively large niche audiences have formed in present day that focus on lyrics rather than dance such as Tech N9ne. Disillusioned by the centrality of emcees, with this new culture, some DJs further explored the art of spinning records, creating the turntablist scene. A DJ generally needs turntables, a good sound system, and scratch material, which typically comes in the form of vinyl records. Some early recorded rap music does not contain any sampling or DJing, however; for example, none of the members of the Sugarhill Gang were involved in the Bronx DJing scene and thus couldn't have done any, which explains the session player remake of "Good Times".

Graffiti art

Main article: Graffiti, Types of graffiti Types of graffitiGraffiti as an urban art form had been known since at least the 1950s, but began developing in earnest in the late 1960s and flourished during the 1970s. Hip-hop graffiti began during these periods on the subways of New York, and later expanded to the city walls themselves. This movement from trains to walls was encouraged by efforts by the city's Metropolitan Transportation Authority to eradicate graffiti on their property (the M.T.A. officially declared the transit graffiti-free in 1989). The first forms of subway graffiti were quick spray-painted or marker signatures ("tags"), which quickly evolved into large elaborate calligraphy, complete with color effects, shading, and more. Finding original techniques was very important for graffiti artists; for example, in 1972, one well-respected graffiti artist called Super Kool replaced the dispersion cap on his spray paint with a wider one, found on a can of oven cleaner. This is still a common practice. By 1976, graffiti artists like Lee Quinones began painting entire murals using advanced techniques. Some of the most memorable of Quinones' work were political in nature, calling for an end to the arms race, for example. The book Subway Art (New York: Henry Holt & Co, 1984) and the TV program Style Wars (first shown on the PBS channel in 1984) were among the first ways the mainstream public were introduced to graffiti. Quickly the rest of the globe imitated and adapted hip hop graffiti. Today, there are also strong scenes in Europe, South America, Australia and Japan. (Graffitti is a European-origin tradition. The word comes from the Italian term "graffito.") Graffiti has long been villainized by those in authority because of its (perceived) ties to gangs, violence, drug culture and street crime. Although it is a crime, falling under the category of vandalism, many artists are not violent criminals and do not engage in such activity as the brands that their art form has been labeled. This may be true in some cases, but most "writers", as they are often called, are in fact true artists that spend painstaking hours practicing and refining their skill to create something that is beautiful, at least in their own eyes. Demonizing their art by saying it is nothing more than a nuisance that might not be aesthetically pleasing has resulted in knee-jerk legislation, such as the 3-strike laws in Los Angeles, California. These can send a young artist to prison for life just for writing on a wall, even if it is the only crime they have ever committed, because it is has been classified as "gang related activity".

Breakdancing

Main article: Breakdancing Breakdancing, also known as B-boying or B-girling by its practitioners and followers, is a dynamic style of dance. The term "breakdancer" originates from the dancers at DJ Kool herc's parties who would save their best dance moves for the break section of the song. Breaking is one of the major elements of hip hop culture, commonly associated with, but distinct from, "popping", "locking", "hitting", "ticking", "boogaloo", and other funk styles that evolved independently in New York during the late 20th century. It was common during the 1980s to see groups of people in a playground, basketball court, or sidewalk with a radio performing breakdancing shows for a large audience. While breaking in its current form began in the South Bronx alongside the other elements of hip-hop, it is similar in style to and may possibly derive from the Capoeira form of dancing/martial arts, which was developed by slaves in Brazil. "Hip-Hop" as a form of dance is becoming more popular. Derived from, but not wholly consisting of, breakdancing moves, it is a dance without any limitations to positions and is an expression of how a dancer feels on the inside. The style of hip-hop dance incorporates a lot of fast paced combinations and rhythm. Hip-hop is very casual and fun. The modern moves and energy make it a great form of fun and exercise for teens and pre-teens of today. Certain shoes can be worn at some studios, preferably the dance sneaker or jazz shoe.

Beatboxing

Main article: Beatboxing Beatboxing, considered by many to be the "fifth element" of hip hop, is the vocal percussion of hip hop culture. It is primarily concerned with the art of creating beats, rhythms, and melodies using the human mouth. Early pioneers of the art include Mahjeed Marrow, Doug E. Fresh, Biz Markie, and Buffy of the Fat Boys. The term 'beatboxing' is derived from the mimicry of the first generation of drum machines, then known as beatboxes. The art form enjoyed a strong presence in the '80s. Beatboxing declined in popularity along with breakdancing in the late 80s, and almost slipped even deeper than the underground. Beatboxing has been enjoying a resurgence since the late '90s, marked by the release of "Make the Music 2000." by Rahzel of The Roots (known for even singing while beatboxing) The Internet has greatly aided the rebirth of modern beatboxing—on a global level never seen before—with thousands of beatboxers from over a dozen countries interacting on the UK's Humanbeatbox.com. The art form has radically evolved, extending its reach to include physical theater routines, and has integrated itself into hip hop (and other forms of theater). Vocal percussion is a standby of a capella groups, as well. Beatboxing has also recently branched beyond its traditional scope (mimicry of "beat boxes" to create hip-hop beats) to several new stand alone forms. It is now widely practiced as a form of human Drum & Bass, a style of heavy electronic music. The range of sounds that can be reproduced by the human vocal chords are staggering to many unfamiliar with this musical practice. A recent development in the area of hip hop performance is hip hop theatre.

References


- (1999) Light, Alan, ed. The VIBE History of Hip-Hop. New York: Three Rivers Press.

External links


- [http://www.hhdirecto.net Spanish Hip Hop]
- [http://www.hiphop-blogs.com Hip hop discussion and community]
- [http://www.rap.about.com Rap.about.com] Vast Hip-hop culture resource
- [http://www.westlord.com/rapdictionary/ Rap Dictionary] the oldest and ultimate resource for looking up hip-hop slang.
- [http://www.hiphop-battles.com/ HipHop-Battles.com] - Audio Battle Platform for MCs and Beatboxer
- [http://www.jumpoff.tv JumpOff.tv] Big Hip Hop Battle Events Category:Pop culture Category:Electronic music Category:Electronica als:Hip Hop ko:힙합 ja:ヒップホップ

Roland TR-808

Introduced in late 1980, the Roland TR-808 was one of the first programmable drum machines. ("TR" stands for "Transistor Rhythm"). Roland originally intended the TR-808 as a tool for studio musicians to create demos. Like earlier Roland drum machines, it does not sound very much like a real drum kit. Indeed, since the TR-808 came out a few months after the Linn LM-1 (the first drum machine to use digital samples), people gererally considered its sound inferior to sampling drum machines; a 1982 Keyboard magazine review of the Linn Drum indirectly referred to the TR-808 as sounding like "marching anteaters". One of the earliest uses of the TR-808 for a live performance was by YMO (or Yellow Magic Orchestra) in December 1980, in the song "1000 Knives", composed by Ryuichi Sakamoto in 1978. The outstanding "Hand Clap" sound was later publicized by YMO's innovative album BGM released in March 1981 in Japan, used on "1000 Knives" as well as in another of Sakamoto's songs, "Music Plans". The TR-808 was an important step forward from Roland's previous CR-78 drum machine. Its sounds were much more punchy and powerful. It featured better controls to allow the user to control the sounds in real time: volume knobs for the level of each sound, and tone-shaping controls for the more important sounds. The memory capacity for storing patterns was increased substantially: 32 pattern locations were available, and furthermore, these could be "chained" together to produce "songs", 12 of which could also be stored in memory. The memory was non-volatile (maintained by three AA-size batteries!). The programming interface was hugely improved: a row of 16 buttons allowed to user to employ a very intuitive "step programming" method—the pattern is divided up into 16 steps, and, and the buttons and LEDs indicate whether a drum sound plays on each step. The unit also feature Roland's new "DIN-Sync" clock interface for synchronization with other equipment, plus various analogue clock-outputs for slaving other devices. The TR-808 predated the invention of the MIDI interface, however such is the TR-808's enduring popularity that several third-party manufacturers provided MIDI-retrofit kits for it over the years. It was only in the mid-to-late 1980s, years after the TR-808 was discontinued, that its sound became popular. One factor leading to its popularity was its kick drum sound, which could produce a very deep sub-bass. By the end of the 1980s, the TR-808 was very popular within electronic music and Hip-Hop generes. The TR-808 also was the inspiration for the name of the British electronic outfit 808 State. The sounds of the TR-808 were and still are very often used in Hip-Hop, R&B, House, Electro and many forms of electronic dance music.

Features


- Number of memory locations for user-programmable rhythm patterns:
  - two banks of 12 (or these can be combined to give 1 bank of 12 double length patterns)
  - plus: an additional two banks of 4 for use as "Intro / Fill-in" (again, these can be combined to give 1 bank of 4 double length patterns)
- Number of song memory locations (ie lists patterns chained together)
  - 12 'tracks' each storing a list of up to 64 patterns (tracks themselves can also be chained together)
  - song and pattern memories maintained by three 1.5 volt AA batteries (dry cell) [http://www.rolandus.com/support/product_manual.asp?Letter=T Roland Manuals (T)]
- Divisions per pattern:
  - maximum of 32 steps per pattern
- Sound Sources:
  - Bass drum
  - Snare drum
  - Low Tom or Low Conga (selectable)
  - Mid Tom or Mid Conga (selectable)
  - Hi Tom or Hi Conga (selectable)
  - Rimshot or Claves (selectable)
  - Handclap or Maracas (selectable)
  - Cow bell
  - Cymbal
  - Open hi-hat or Closed hi-hat (selectable)
  - Accent (NOTE: Accent isn't a sound. Instead it lets you place 'accents'—i.e. increase the loudness—on certain beats in the bar. All sounds playing on these beats are accented.)

Artists Who used the TR-808


- 808 State
- Arthur Baker
- Aurora
- Afrika Bambaataa
- Aphex Twin
- Beastie Boys
- Bomb the Bass
- Chris Carter
- Phil Collins
- D.A.V.E.
- DDR
- DJ Jazzy Jeff
- D-Nice
- Dr.Dre
- The Drummer
- Electronic Dream Planet
- Warren G
- Marvin Gaye
- Paul Hardcastle
- Whitney Houston
- Jean Michel Jarre
- Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis
- Tom Jones
- Kleer
- KL
- KMFDM
- Chris Liberator
- Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam
- Lil Jon
- Midnight Star
- Guy McAffer
- DJ Muggs of Cypress Hill
- N.W.A
- Orbital
- Panic On The Titanic
- Plastik Man
- Public Enemy
- John Robie
- Rowland The Bastard
- Thighpaulsandra
- Scott Storch
- Insom Shalom
- Sir Mix-A-Lot
- The Sisters of Mercy
- Skinny Puppy
- Snoop Doggy Dogg
- Too $hort
- The Troutboys
- Mark Tyler
- Uberzone
- XSUPERMODELS
- Vangelis
- Yazoo

External links

[http://www.synthmuseum.com/roland/roltr80801.html The TR-808 at SynthMuseum.com] Category:Drum machines ja:Roland TR-808

Electro

Electro is either a) a prefix used to indicate a relationship to electricity, as in electro-mechanical, or electro-magnet, or b) a stand-alone word. When used alone, it can refer to:
- The fictional comic book villain Electro.
- The funky sounds of electro (or electro funk) music.
- Also mistakenly used to describe the descendents of electro such as electroclash or electropop
- A type of copy of an object made using electrolysis (short for "electrotype")
- A series of cameras made by Yashica.

See also


- Electron

Electro

Electro is either a) a prefix used to indicate a relationship to electricity, as in electro-mechanical, or electro-magnet, or b) a stand-alone word. When used alone, it can refer to:
- The fictional comic book villain Electro.
- The funky sounds of electro (or electro funk) music.
- Also mistakenly used to describe the descendents of electro such as electroclash or electropop
- A type of copy of an object made using electrolysis (short for "electrotype")
- A series of cameras made by Yashica.

See also


- Electron

Hip Hop

Hip hop is a cultural movement that began among urban Africans, Jamaicans and Latinos in the Bronx borough of New York City during the early 1970s, and has since spread around the world. The four main aspects, or "elements", of hip hop culture are MCing (rapping), DJing, graffiti, and breakdancing. Some consider beatboxing the fifth element of hip hop; others might add political activism, hip hop fashion, hip hop slang, double dutching (an urban form of rope skipping) or other elements as important facets of hip hop. The term has since come to be a synonym for hip hop music (or rap) to mainstream audiences. hip hop music In recent years the focus has been centrally place on rapping and producing. The origin of the term "hip-hop" itself is unclear; but, over time, the term has taken on a life of its own. The movement that later became known as "hip-hop" is widely accreditted to have begun with the work of DJ Kool Herc in the early 70s, while competing DJ Afrika Bambaataa is often credited with having invented the term "hip-hop" to describe the culture. A variety of mythical etymologies and complex meanings have been attached to the term and continue to propagate within the hip hop community. Beginning in the early 1990s hip hop was almost as popular as rock and roll, and by 2002 was the clear winner in terms of popularity.

Hip-hop

Main article: Hip hop music The various factors that influenced early hip hop are complex and numerous, and vary from the griots of Africa to the rock of America. Although the majority of influences can be traced to African culture, the multicultural society of New York City resulted in diverse musical influences from all over the world finding their way into hip hop music. Elements of the style and techniques of rapping originate with the griots of West Africa; traveling singers and poets had musical styles that contained elements of what would later evolve into hip-hop music. Some griot traditions came to the United States, the United Kingdom and the Caribbean with the passage of African slaves to the New World. Other notable influences are the spoken word sections of records by soul and funk musicians such as James Brown and Isaac Hayes. One of the many influences on the creation of contemporary hip hop music is the Jamaican style called dub, which arose as a sub-genre of Reggae in the 1960s. Dub music saw producers such as King Tubby creating instrumental versions of popular reggae records for the purpose of clubs and Sound systems; they had discovered that dancers often responded better to the extended, isolated beats of the records, often featuring intense percussion and heavy basslines. Soon, the MCs that hosted the dances began speaking over the instrumental records, and the skills of MCs such as U-Roy, Dr. Alimontado and Dillinger saw them become popular performers in their own right. This tradition continues in contemporary Dancehall music. In 1967, Jamaican immigrants such as DJ Kool Herc applied the methods of Dub to Funk loops that were popular in New York City. According to David Top, Reggae was not popular among most American Hip-Hop fans in the early years of Hip-Hop, despite its influence. In parks and community centres, up and coming DJs were playing to packed crowds of youngsters eager to hear the old funk tunes. Pretty soon (by 1976/77) the DJs and dancers we’re paying special attention to the percussion breaks in records like Jimmy Castor's 'It's Just Begun', Dennis Coffrey's 'Scorpio' and Herman KeIly's 'Dance To The Drummer's Beat': in fact to any record with a good drum break, including tracks by the Rolling Stones and other white rock bands. One of the first Hip-Hop songs to be released was "Rappers Delight" by the Sugarhill Gang, which sampled Chic, a popular disco group. The kids who danced to the breaks started calling themselves B-Boys and their energetic, acrobatic style of dancing which accompanied the playing of the breaks became known as breaking. The most popular Bronx DJs like Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa and Grandmaster Flash started mixing two copies of the same record to make the breaks last longer; with fast cutting between the decks a 20-second drum break could be turned into a five-minute mix. Besides experimenting with the technical side of DJ-ing like cutting and scratching, the Bronx Jocks experimented with the the electronic music coming out of Europe. Kraftwerk's 1977 hit 'Trans-Europe Express' was a B-Boy favourite for its cool driving metallic Kraftwerk mixture of computerised drumbreaks and synthesisers. While all this was happening on the hot and sweaty dancefloors of the Bronx, out on the streets another vital element of the hip hop scene was falling into place.

Emceeing

The old, black tradition of using rhyming slang to brag or put down your enemies (or friends) had developed, through the street jive of the early Seventies, to become for many urban youngsters a new way of talking. In a larger sense, this was a continuation of a verbal tradition that goes back as far as the African griots. Half speaking, half singing the rhythmic street talk of Rapping was soon in the clubs, with aspiring rappers doing their thing over the local sound systems, the DJs providing backing tracks of instrumental loops of the latest dance hits. Another significant influence is Blues music. In many ways, hip hop is a continuation of an oral historical tradition dating back to the griots and traced through the Blues that came out of slavery. One of the main influences Blues had on rapping was the Call/Response aspect of the music. This survived into the tradition of "toasting" over Dub music, a tradition which was transferred to hip hop by Jamaicain immigrants like Kool Herc. This became most pronounced in the MC "Battles" of the early 1980's. Freestyle rapping of improvised lyrics is also part of a tradition that began with musicians improvising on their instruments in Jazz and the Blues. Rappers such as Guru give credit to the Jazz element that influences Hip-Hop. Rapping]Herc was one of the most popular DJs in early 70s New York, playing at neighborhood parties (also known as block parties). After his first gig on Sedgwick Ave. in the Bronx in 1973, Herc quickly switched from using reggae records to funk, rock and disco, as he found that the New York audience did not particularly like reggae. Herc and other DJs found that dancers often preferred the funky, percussive breaks of the records, and began extending them using an audio mixer and two records. Within a highly-competitive atmosphere, Herc's friends and competitors quickly developed other mixing techniques in order to keep audiences excited. As in Jamaica, these events were often hosted by a performer who spoke while the music played; these were originally called MCs (Masters of Ceremonies) and, later, rappers. Early rappers focused on introducing themselves, the DJ and others in the audience, although they quickly progressed to including improvisation and a simple four-count beat, along with a simple chorus. Later MCs added more complex and often humorous lyrics, and incorporated a focus on sexual themes and all around boasting. Although it was yet to be recorded, hip hop music steadily grew in popularity, and by the end of the 1970s was beginning to become a major artistic force which had spread throughout the United States. During the 1980s and 1990s, hip hop gradually became mainstream (a transition usually considered to have been completed in 1992) in the US and, to a lesser degree, worldwide. By the 2000s hip-hop became the most popular music genre in the United States, at times occupying every top ten spot on the music charts. Famous rappers of the past and present include Melle Mel, Whodini, LL Cool J, Slick Rick, MC Lyte, Run DMC, Beastie Boys, Tupac Shakur, Rakim, Notorious BIG, Snoop Dogg, OutKast, Eminem, Jay-Z, Nas, Wu-Tang Clan, 50 Cent and NWA

DJing

Main article: DJing Hip-Hop DJing, referred to by some as turntablism, is the practice of using a turntable as a musical instrument. Skills associated with turntablism include record scratching, beat juggling, and mixing. A DJ should not necessarily be considered a producer of a music track (though there is considerable overlap between the two roles). Today, the terms are often used exchangably, similar to 'rapper' and 'MC'. Famous DJs include Grandmaster Flash, Grandwizard Theodore (credited with "inventing" scratching), Mr. Magic, DJ Jazzy Jeff, DJ Scratch from EPMD, DJ Pete Jones, Prince Paul (widely lauded for collaborations with De La Soul and assorted solo ventures), DJ Premier from Gang Starr, Pete Rock, DJ Scott La Rock from Boogie Down Productions, DJ Miz, DJ Muggs from Cypress Hill, Jam Master Jay from Run-DMC, Eric B., DJ Shadow, RJD2, DJ Q-Bert, Diamond D, Mr. Khaliyl (an associate of Mos Def and Jurassic 5), Young Einstein, DJ Nu-Mark, James Lavelle, Cut Chemist, DJ Format, DJ Serious, Mister Cee, DJ Paul Nice, DJ Aladdin, Mix Master Mike, DJ D-Styles, DJ Signify, DJ Rhettmatic, DJ Babu, DJ Kay Slay, DJ Quik, DJ Spooky, Mr. DJ, and DJ Spinderella (of Salt-N-Pepa). Before they became the center of attention, an MC's role was to get the crowd into the DJ's mix. In general, Hip hop has focused on getting one's audience to dance, although relatively large niche audiences have formed in present day that focus on lyrics rather than dance such as Tech N9ne. Disillusioned by the centrality of emcees, with this new culture, some DJs further explored the art of spinning records, creating the turntablist scene. A DJ generally needs turntables, a good sound system, and scratch material, which typically comes in the form of vinyl records. Some early recorded rap music does not contain any sampling or DJing, however; for example, none of the members of the Sugarhill Gang were involved in the Bronx DJing scene and thus couldn't have done any, which explains the session player remake of "Good Times".

Graffiti art

Main article: Graffiti, Types of graffiti Types of graffitiGraffiti as an urban art form had been known since at least the 1950s, but began developing in earnest in the late 1960s and flourished during the 1970s. Hip-hop graffiti began during these periods on the subways of New York, and later expanded to the city walls themselves. This movement from trains to walls was encouraged by efforts by the city's Metropolitan Transportation Authority to eradicate graffiti on their property (the M.T.A. officially declared the transit graffiti-free in 1989). The first forms of subway graffiti were quick spray-painted or marker signatures ("tags"), which quickly evolved into large elaborate calligraphy, complete with color effects, shading, and more. Finding original techniques was very important for graffiti artists; for example, in 1972, one well-respected graffiti artist called Super Kool replaced the dispersion cap on his spray paint with a wider one, found on a can of oven cleaner. This is still a common practice. By 1976, graffiti artists like Lee Quinones began painting entire murals using advanced techniques. Some of the most memorable of Quinones' work were political in nature, calling for an end to the arms race, for example. The book Subway Art (New York: Henry Holt & Co, 1984) and the TV program Style Wars (first shown on the PBS channel in 1984) were among the first ways the mainstream public were introduced to graffiti. Quickly the rest of the globe imitated and adapted hip hop graffiti. Today, there are also strong scenes in Europe, South America, Australia and Japan. (Graffitti is a European-origin tradition. The word comes from the Italian term "graffito.") Graffiti has long been villainized by those in authority because of its (perceived) ties to gangs, violence, drug culture and street crime. Although it is a crime, falling under the category of vandalism, many artists are not violent criminals and do not engage in such activity as the brands that their art form has been labeled. This may be true in some cases, but most "writers", as they are often called, are in fact true artists that spend painstaking hours practicing and refining their skill to create something that is beautiful, at least in their own eyes. Demonizing their art by saying it is nothing more than a nuisance that might not be aesthetically pleasing has resulted in knee-jerk legislation, such as the 3-strike laws in Los Angeles, California. These can send a young artist to prison for life just for writing on a wall, even if it is the only crime they have ever committed, because it is has been classified as "gang related activity".

Breakdancing

Main article: Breakdancing Breakdancing, also known as B-boying or B-girling by its practitioners and followers, is a dynamic style of dance. The term "breakdancer" originates from the dancers at DJ Kool herc's parties who would save their best dance moves for the break section of the song. Breaking is one of the major elements of hip hop culture, commonly associated with, but distinct from, "popping", "locking", "hitting", "ticking", "boogaloo", and other funk styles that evolved independently in New York during the late 20th century. It was common during the 1980s to see groups of people in a playground, basketball court, or sidewalk with a radio performing breakdancing shows for a large audience. While breaking in its current form began in the South Bronx alongside the other elements of hip-hop, it is similar in style to and may possibly derive from the Capoeira form of dancing/martial arts, which was developed by slaves in Brazil. "Hip-Hop" as a form of dance is becoming more popular. Derived from, but not wholly consisting of, breakdancing moves, it is a dance without any limitations to positions and is an expression of how a dancer feels on the inside. The style of hip-hop dance incorporates a lot of fast paced combinations and rhythm. Hip-hop is very casual and fun. The modern moves and energy make it a great form of fun and exercise for teens and pre-teens of today. Certain shoes can be worn at some studios, preferably the dance sneaker or jazz shoe.

Beatboxing

Main article: Beatboxing Beatboxing, considered by many to be the "fifth element" of hip hop, is the vocal percussion of hip hop culture. It is primarily concerned with the art of creating beats, rhythms, and melodies using the human mouth. Early pioneers of the art include Mahjeed Marrow, Doug E. Fresh, Biz Markie, and Buffy of the Fat Boys. The term 'beatboxing' is derived from the mimicry of the first generation of drum machines, then known as beatboxes. The art form enjoyed a strong presence in the '80s. Beatboxing declined in popularity along with breakdancing in the late 80s, and almost slipped even deeper than the underground. Beatboxing has been enjoying a resurgence since the late '90s, marked by the release of "Make the Music 2000." by Rahzel of The Roots (known for even singing while beatboxing) The Internet has greatly aided the rebirth of modern beatboxing—on a global level never seen before—with thousands of beatboxers from over a dozen countries interacting on the UK's Humanbeatbox.com. The art form has radically evolved, extending its reach to include physical theater routines, and has integrated itself into hip hop (and other forms of theater). Vocal percussion is a standby of a capella groups, as well. Beatboxing has also recently branched beyond its traditional scope (mimicry of "beat boxes" to create hip-hop beats) to several new stand alone forms. It is now widely practiced as a form of human Drum & Bass, a style of heavy electronic music. The range of sounds that can be reproduced by the human vocal chords are staggering to many unfamiliar with this musical practice. A recent development in the area of hip hop performance is hip hop theatre.

References


- (1999) Light, Alan, ed. The VIBE History of Hip-Hop. New York: Three Rivers Press.

External links


- [http://www.hhdirecto.net Spanish Hip Hop]
- [http://www.hiphop-blogs.com Hip hop discussion and community]
- [http://www.rap.about.com Rap.about.com] Vast Hip-hop culture resource
- [http://www.westlord.com/rapdictionary/ Rap Dictionary] the oldest and ultimate resource for looking up hip-hop slang.
- [http://www.hiphop-battles.com/ HipHop-Battles.com] - Audio Battle Platform for MCs and Beatboxer
- [http://www.jumpoff.tv JumpOff.tv] Big Hip Hop Battle Events Category:Pop culture Category:Electronic music Category:Electronica als:Hip Hop ko:힙합 ja:ヒップホップ

Electro

Electro is either a) a prefix used to indicate a relationship to electricity, as in electro-mechanical, or electro-magnet, or b) a stand-alone word. When used alone, it can refer to:
- The fictional comic book villain Electro.
- The funky sounds of electro (or electro funk) music.
- Also mistakenly used to describe the descendents of electro such as electroclash or electropop
- A type of copy of an object made using electrolysis (short for "electrotype")
- A series of cameras made by Yashica.

See also


- Electron

Disco

:"Discothèque" redirects here. For the U2 song, see Discothèque (song). Disco is an up-tempo style of dance music (generally between 110 and 136 beats per minute) that originated in the early-1970s, a derivative of funk and soul music, popular with audiences in larger cities all over the world. It derives its name from the French word discothèque (meaning a nightclub where the featured entertainment was recorded music rather than an on-stage band), a portmanteau coined around 1941 from disc and bibliothèque (library) by La Discothèque, then located on the Rue de la Huchette street in Paris (Jones + Kantonen, 1999).

Origins

Paris As with all such musical genres, defining a single point of disco's development is difficult, as many elements of disco music appear on earlier records (such as the 1971 theme from the film Shaft by Isaac Hayes) (Jones and Kantonen, 1999). In general it can be said that first true disco songs were released in 1973, however, many consider Manu Dibango's 1972 Soul Makossa the first disco record (Jones and Kantonen, 1999). Initially, most disco songs catered to a nightclub/dancing audience only, rather than general audiences such as radio listeners, but there are many aspects proving opposite tendencies as well; popular radio-hits were being played in discothèques, as long as they had an easy to follow rhythmic base-pattern close to 120 BPM (beats per minute). Musical influences include funk, soul music, and salsa and the Latin or Hispanic musics which influenced salsa. Social trends that contributed to disco music include the surpassing of white people by racial and ethnic minorities, black and Hispanic people in the purchasing of records and sound equipment, the increased independence of women in finance and leisure, gay liberation, and the sexual revolution. (Jones and Kantonen, 1999) Influential soul or funk records that influenced disco include:
- The Supremes - "You Keep Me Hangin' On" (1966)
- Sly and the Family Stone - "Dance to the Music" (1968), "Everyday People" (1968) (Jones and Kantonen, 1999), "Family Affair" (1971)
- Friends of Distinction - "Grazing in the Grass" (1969)
- Jackson 5 - "I Want You Back", "ABC", "The Love You Save", "Mama's Pearl" (1969-71)
- Stevie Wonder - "Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday" (1969), "Superstition" (1972) (ibid)
- Isaac Hayes - "Shaft" (1971)
- Incredible Bongo Band - "Bongo Rock" (1973) (ibid)
- Eumir Deodato - "Also Sprach Zarathustra" (1973)
- Average White Band - "Pick Up the Pieces" (1974), "Cut the Cake" (1975) (ibid)
- James Brown - "(Get Up I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine" (1970), "Get Up Off of That Thing" (1975) Philadelphia International Records defined Philly soul and helped define disco (ibid) with records such as:
- Three Degrees - "When Will I See You Again" (1973) (ibid)
- Intruders - "I'll Always Love My Mama" (1973) (ibid)
- O'Jays - "Love Train" (1972), "I Love Music" (1975) (ibid)
- MFSB - "TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)" (1973), "Love is the Message" (1973) (ibid) Pre-/Early-disco TK Records tracks:
- Betty Wright - "Clean Up Woman" (1972) (ibid)
- George McCrae- "Rock Your Baby" (1974) (ibid)
- KC and the Sunshine Band - "Get Down Tonight" (1975), "That's the Way (I Like It)" (1975) (ibid) Early-disco hits include:
- Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes - "The Love I Lost" (1973)
- Love Unlimited Orchestra - "Love's Theme" (1973) (ibid)
- The Jackson 5- "Dancing Machine" (1974) (ibid)
- Barry White - "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe" (1974) (ibid)
- Shirley and Co. - "Shame, Shame, Shame" (1974) (ibid)
- Hues Corporation - "Rock the Boat" (1974) (ibid)
- Commodores - "Machine Gun" (1974)
- LaBelle - "Lady Marmalade" (containing the lyric: "Voulez-vous coucher avec moi?") (1975) (ibid)
- Van McCoy - "The Hustle" (1975) (ibid)
- Silver Convention - "Fly Robin Fly" (1975)
- Andrea True Connection- "More More More" (1976) (ibid)
- Dalida- "J'Attendrai" (the first french disco song and first hit in Europe) (1975) (ibid)

Popularity

1975 was the year when disco really took off, with hit songs like Van McCoy's "The Hustle" and Donna Summer's "Love To Love You Baby" reaching the mainstream. 1975 also marked the release of the first disco mix on album, the A side of Gloria Gaynor's Never Can Say Goodbye (Jones and Kantonen, 1999). Disco's popularity peaked in the so-called Disco era of 1977 - 1980, driven in part by the 1977 classic film Saturday Night Fever. Disco also gave rise to an increased popularity of line dancing and other partly pre-choreographed dances; many line dances can be seen in films such as Saturday Night Fever, which also features the Hustle. In 1975, the pop star Dalida was the first to make disco music in France with her song "J'attendrai" which was a big hit there as well as in Canada and Japan in 1976. She also released many other disco hits between 1975 and 1981, including "Monday, Tuesday... Laissez-moi danser" in 1979, translated the same year as "Let Me Dance Tonight" for the USA, where she was their "French diva" since her late-1978 performance at the Carnegie Hall). Soon after Dalida's pioneering French disco work, other French artists recorded disco: Claude François, in 1976 with his song "Cette année-là" (a cover of The Four Seasons' disco hit "December 1963 (Oh what a night)"), then the famous "yé-yé" French pop singer Sheila, with her group B. Devotion, who even had a hit in the USA (a rarity for French artists) with the song "Spacer" in 1979. Many other European artists also recorded disco music.

Popular disco artists

The most popular disco artists of the 1970s include ABBA, A Taste of Honey, Cerrone, The Bee Gees, Chic, Sister Sledge, The Jacksons, Claudja Barry, Linda Clifford, Teri DeSario, Donna Summer, Giorgio Moroder, Grace Jones, Stephanie Mills, Carol Williams, Sylvester, Gloria Gaynor, Boney M, Village People, K.C. and the Sunshine Band, Vicki Sue Robinson, MFSB, Loleatta Holloway, France Joli, Evelyn King, Yvonne Elliman, Tavares, Salsoul Orchestra, Phyllis Hyman, The Emotions, Thelma Houston, Cheryl Lynn, The Trammps, Love and Kisses, Barry White, Silver Convention, and Dalida. However, many disco fans would agree that, "for every chart hit pounded into the public's consciousness, fifty far superior tracks from all over the world were being played at some hard-to-find basement club" (Jones and Kantonen, 1999). There appeared many non-disco artists, which included Eagles, The Rolling Stones, KISS, The Grateful Dead, Dolly Parton, Cher, Aretha Franklin, Isaac Hayes, Leif Garrett, Toto, Chaka Khan, the Beach Boys, Billy Preston, Chicago, Electric Light Orchestra, The Pointer Sisters, Frankie Avalon, Elton John, James Brown, Barry Manilow, Bette Midler, Prince, Helen Reddy, Carly Simon, Diana Ross, Earth, Wind and Fire, Rod Stewart, Queen (with the bass guitar riffs emulating those of Chic in their hit Another One Bites The Dust), Blondie, Bryan Adams, as well as veteran entertainers such as Paul Anka, Ann-Margaret, Charo, Engelbert Humperdinck, Ethel Merman, Wayne Newton, Barbra Streisand, and Frank Sinatra. Many disco novelty songs sold well and were popular. Rick Dees, at the time a radio DJ in Memphis, Tennessee, recorded what is considered to be one of the most popular parodies of all time, Disco Duck.

DJs and Producers

Disco music diverged from the rock of the 1960s, elevating music from the raw sound of 4-piece garage bands to refined music composed by producers who contracted local symphony and philharmonic orchestras and session musicians. For the first time in three decades, orchestral music became the preeminent sound in the popular-music scene. Top disco music producers included Patrick Adams, Biddu, Cerrone, Alec R. Costandinos, John Davis, Gregg Diamond, Kenneth Gamble, Norman Harris, Leon Huff, Sylvester Levay, <