New school hip hop
Encyclopedia
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
starting 1983–84 with the early records of Run-D.M.C.
Run-D.M.C.
Run–D.M.C. was an American hip hop group from Hollis, in the Queens borough of New York City. Founded by Joseph "Run" Simmons, Darryl "D.M.C." McDaniels, and Jason "Jam-Master Jay" Mizell, the group is widely acknowledged as one of the most influential acts in the history of hip hop culture.Run–D.M.C...
and LL Cool J
LL Cool J
James Todd Smith , better known as LL Cool J , is an American rapper, entrepreneur, and actor...
. Like the hip hop preceding it, it came predominately from New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The new school was initially characterized in form by drum machine
Drum machine
A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...
led minimalism, often tinged with elements of rock. It was notable for taunts and boasts about rapping, and socio-political commentary, both delivered in an aggressive, self-assertive style. In image as in song its artists projected a tough, cool, street b-boy attitude. These elements contrasted sharply with the funk and disco influenced outfits, novelty hits, live bands, synthesizers and party rhymes of artists prevalent in 1984, and rendered them old school
Old school hip hop
Old school hip hop describes the earliest commercially recorded hip hop music , and the music in the period preceding it from which it was directly descended . Old school hip hop is said to end around 1983 or 1984 with the emergence of Run–D.M.C., the first new school hip hop group...
. New school artists made shorter songs that could more easily gain radio play, and more cohesive LPs than their old school counterparts. By 1986 their releases began to establish the hip hop album as a fixture of the mainstream.
More inclusively, golden age hip hop
Golden age hip hop
Hip hop's "golden age" is a name given to a period in mainstream hip hop—usually cited as being a period varying in time frames during the 1980s and 1990s said to be characterized by its diversity, quality, innovation and influence. There were strong themes of Afrocentricity and political...
is a phrase usually framing the late 1980s in mainstream hip hop, said to be characterized by its diversity, quality, innovation and influence, and associated with Public Enemy, KRS-One
KRS-One
Lawrence Krisna Parker , better known by his stage names KRS-One , and Teacha, is an American rapper...
and his Boogie Down Productions
Boogie Down Productions
Boogie Down Productions was a hip hop group that was originally composed of KRS-One, D-Nice, and DJ Scott La Rock. DJ Scott La Rock was murdered on August 27, 1987, months after the release of BDP's debut album, Criminal Minded. The name of the group, Boogie Down, derives from a nickname for the...
, Eric B. & Rakim
Eric B. & Rakim
Eric B. & Rakim were a hip-hop duo composed of DJ Eric Barrier and MC Rakim .Hailing from Long Island, New York, the pair are generally considered by hip hop enthusiasts to be one of the most influential and innovative groups in the genre...
, De La Soul
De La Soul
De La Soul is an American hip hop trio formed in 1987 on Long Island, New York. The band is best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative hip hop subgenres...
, A Tribe Called Quest
A Tribe Called Quest
A Tribe Called Quest is an American hip hop group, formed in 1985, and is composed of rapper/producer Q-Tip , rapper Phife Dawg , and DJ/producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad. A fourth member, rapper Jarobi White, left the group after their first album but rejoined in 2006...
, and the Jungle Brothers
Jungle Brothers
The Jungle Brothers are an American hip hop group that pioneered the fusion of jazz and hip-hop and also became the first hip-hop group to use a house-music producer. The group began performing in the mid-1980s and released its first album, Straight Out the Jungle, in July 1988...
due to their themes of Afrocentricity and political militancy, their experimental music, and their eclectic sampling
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
. This same period is sometimes referred to as "mid-school" or a "middle school" in hip hop, the phrase covering acts like Gang Starr
Gang Starr
Gang Starr was an influential East Coast hip hop duo that consisted of the late MC Guru and DJ/producer DJ Premier. Their style combined elements of New York jazz and hip hop.-Background:...
, The UMC's, Main Source
Main Source
Main Source was an innovative, acclaimed Toronto and New York-based hip hop group comprising Toronto natives Sir Scratch, K-Cut, and Queens native Large Professor...
, Lord Finesse
Lord Finesse
Lord Finesse is a Hip hop artist and producer, hailing from The Bronx, New York, best known as the leader of the D.I.T.C. rap crew.- Career :...
, EPMD
EPMD
EPMD is an American hip hop group from Brentwood, New York. The group's name is a concatenation of the members' name "E" and "PMD" or an acronym for "Erick and Parrish Making Dollars", referencing its members, emcees Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith...
, Just Ice, Stetsasonic
Stetsasonic
Stetsasonic was an American hip hop group formed in 1979 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York. It is remembered as one of the first hip hop crews to use a live band, and the group's positive, uplifting lyrics made it forerunners of alternative hip hop and jazz hip...
, True Mathematics, and Mantronix
Mantronix
Mantronix was an influential 1980s hip hop and electro funk music group founded by DJ Kurtis Mantronik , and rapper MC Tee...
.
The innovations of Run-D.M.C., LL Cool J, and new school producers such Larry Smith, and Rick Rubin
Rick Rubin
Frederick Jay "Rick" Rubin is an American record producer and the co-president of Columbia Records. Along with Russell Simmons, Rubin was the co-founder of Def Jam Records and also established American Recordings...
of Def Jam, were quickly advanced on by the Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys are an American hip hop trio from New York City. The group consists of Mike D who plays the drums, MCA who plays the bass, and Ad-Rock who plays the guitar....
, Marley Marl
Marley Marl
Marlon Williams , better known as Marley Marl, is an American DJ and record producer, who is considered one of the most important and influential hip-hop producers in the history of hip hop.-Biography:...
and his Juice Crew
Juice Crew
The Juice Crew was a hip hop collective of largely Queensbridge-based artists in the mid- to late-1980s. Founded by producer Marley Marl and radio DJ Mr. Magic and housed by Tyrone William's Cold Chillin' Records, the Juice Crew would introduce New School artists Big Daddy Kane, Biz Markie,...
MCs, Boogie Down Productions
Boogie Down Productions
Boogie Down Productions was a hip hop group that was originally composed of KRS-One, D-Nice, and DJ Scott La Rock. DJ Scott La Rock was murdered on August 27, 1987, months after the release of BDP's debut album, Criminal Minded. The name of the group, Boogie Down, derives from a nickname for the...
, Public Enemy, and Eric B. & Rakim
Eric B. & Rakim
Eric B. & Rakim were a hip-hop duo composed of DJ Eric Barrier and MC Rakim .Hailing from Long Island, New York, the pair are generally considered by hip hop enthusiasts to be one of the most influential and innovative groups in the genre...
. Hip-hop production became denser, rhymes and beats faster, as the drum machine was augmented with the sampler
Sampler (musical instrument)
A sampler is an electronic musical instrument similar in some respects to a synthesizer but, instead of generating sounds, it uses recordings of sounds that are loaded or recorded into it by the user and then played back by means of a keyboard, sequencer or other triggering device to perform or...
technology. Rakim
Rakim
William Michael Griffin Jr. , known by his stage names Rakim , Rakim Allah, R.A.K.I.M., and The Master, is an American rapper. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential and most skilled emcees of all time. Eric B...
took lyrics about the art of rapping to new heights, while KRS-One
KRS-One
Lawrence Krisna Parker , better known by his stage names KRS-One , and Teacha, is an American rapper...
and Chuck D
Chuck D
Carlton Douglas Ridenhour , better known by his stage name, Chuck D, is an American rapper, author, and producer. He helped create politically and socially conscious rap music in the mid-1980s as the leader of the rap group Public Enemy.- Early life :Ridenhour was born in Queens, New York...
pushed "message rap" towards black activism. Native Tongues
Native tongues
Native Tongues is a book by the linguist Charles Berlitz.It is a list of words in different languages, etymology and questions with speculations far and wide about words....
artists' inclusive, sample-crowded music accompanied their positivity, Afrocentricity and playful energy. With the eventual commercial dominance of West Coast
West Coast hip hop
West Coast hip hop is a hip hop music subgenre that encompasses any artists or music that originates in the westernmost region of the United States, as opposed to East Coast hip hop, based originally in New York alone...
gangsta rap
Gangsta rap
Gangsta Rap is a subgenre of hip hop music that evolved from hardcore hip hop and purports to reflect urban crime and the violent lifestyles of inner-city youths. Lyrics in gangsta rap have varied from accurate reflections to fictionalized accounts. Gangsta is a non-rhotic pronunciation of the word...
, particularly the emergence of the relaxed sounds of G-funk
G-funk
G-funk, or Gangsta-funk, is a sub-genre of hip hop music that emerged from Westcoast gangsta rap in the early 1990s. G-funk incorporates multi-layered and melodic synthesizers, slow hypnotic grooves, a deep bass, background female vocals, the extensive sampling of P-funk tunes, and a high-pitched...
by the early nineties, the East Coast
East Coast hip hop
East Coast hip hop is a regional subgenre of hip hop music that originated in New York City, USA during the 1970s. Hip hop is recognized to have originated and evolved first in the East Coast...
new school/golden age can be said to have ended, with hardcore rappers such as the Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
The Wu-Tang Clan is a hip-hop group from Staten Island that consists of RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, and the late Ol' Dirty Bastard. They are frequently joined by fellow childhood friend Cappadonna, a quasi member of the group...
and gangsta rappers such as Nas
Nas
Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, who performs under the name Nas , formerly Nasty Nas, is an American rapper and actor. He is regarded as one of the most important figures in hip hop and one of the most skilled and influential rappers of all-time...
and The Notorious B.I.G coming to dominate the East Coast scene.
The terms "old school" and "new school" have fallen more and more into the common vernacular as synonyms for "old" and "new" (witness the 2003 Urban Dictionary
Urban Dictionary
Urban Dictionary is a Web-based dictionary of slang words and phrases, which contained over 6 million definitions . Submissions are regulated by volunteer editors and rated by site visitors...
entry for new school which reads, "Anything contemporary") and are often applied in this conversational way to hip hop, to the confusion and occasional exasperation of writers who use the terms historically. The phrase "leader of the new school", coined in hip hop by Chuck D in 1988, and presumably given further currency by the group with the exact name Leaders of the New School
Leaders of the New School
Leaders of the New School was a Long Island, New York-based hip hop crew.-History:The crew was composed of Uniondale, New York, natives Charlie Brown and Dinco D ; North Amityville, New York native Cut Monitor Milo ; and Busta Rhymes , who was originally from Brooklyn, New York but later moved to...
(who were named by Chuck D prior to signing with Elektra
Elektra Records
Elektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....
in 1989), remains popular. It has been applied to artists ranging from Jay-Z
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
to Lupe Fiasco
Lupe Fiasco
Wasalu Muhammad Jaco , better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco , is an American rapper, record producer, and entrepreneur. As an entrepreneur, Lupe is the CEO of 1st and 15th Entertainment. He rose to fame in 2006 following the success of his critically acclaimed debut album, Lupe Fiasco's Food...
.
Prehistory
Elements of new school commercially successful had existed in some form in the culture since hip-hop's birth. The first MCs rapped over DJsTurntablism
Turntablism is the art of manipulating sounds and creating music using phonograph turntables and a DJ mixer.The word 'turntablist' was coined in 1995 by DJ Babu to describe the difference between a DJ who just plays records, and one who performs by touching and moving the records, stylus and mixer...
swapping back and forth between two copies of the same record playing the same drum break, or playing instrumental portions or versions of a broad range of records. This part of the culture was initiated by Kool DJ Herc in 1972 using breaks from James Brown
James Brown
James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...
, The Incredible Bongo Band and English rock group Babe Ruth
Babe Ruth (band)
Babe Ruth are a rock music group, primarily active through the 1970s, from Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England. Their characteristically 'heavy' sound is marked by powerful vocals from Janita Haan and full arrangements by Alan Shacklock...
in his block parties. Brown's music—"extensive vamps" in which his voice was "a percussive instrument with frequent rhythmic grunts", and "with rhythm-section patterns ... [resembling] West African polyrhythms"—was a keynote of hip hop's early days. By 1975, Grandmaster Flash
Grandmaster Flash
Joseph Saddler better known as King Grandmaster Flash, is an American hip hop musician and DJ; one of the pioneers of hip-hop DJing, cutting, and mixing....
and Afrika Bambaataa
Afrika Bambaataa
Afrika Bambaataa is an American DJ from the South Bronx, New York who was instrumental in the early development of hip hop throughout the 1980s. Afrika Bambaataa is one of the three originators of break-beat deejaying, and is respectfully known as the "Grandfather" and the Amen Ra of Universal...
had taken up Kool Herc's breakbeat style of DJing, each with their own accompanying rappers
Rapping
Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
. Flash was especially associated with an important break known as "The Bells"—a cut-up of the intro to Bob James
Bob James (musician)
Robert McElhiney James is a jazz keyboardist, arranger and producer.-Biography:During the 1970s, Bob James played a major role in establishing the smooth jazz genre. "Angela", the instrumental theme from the sitcom Taxi, is probably Bob James' most well-known work to date...
's jazz cover of Paul Simon's "Take Me To The Mardi Gras"—while Bambaataa delighted in springing occasional rock music breaks from records like "Mary, Mary
More of The Monkees
More of The Monkees is the second full-length album by The Monkees. It was recorded in late 1966 and released on Colgems label #102 on January 9, 1967. It was number one on the Billboard 200 for 18 weeks—the longest of any Monkees album. It also went to number one in the UK. In the U.S...
", "Honky Tonk Women
Honky Tonk Women
"Honky Tonk Women" is a 1969 hit song by The Rolling Stones. Released as a single on 4 July 1969 in the UK and a week later in the US, it topped the charts in both nations.-Inspiration and Recording:...
", "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (song)
"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" is a song written by Paul McCartney , and first recorded and released in 1967, on the The Beatles' album of the same name. The song appears twice on the album: as the opening track , and as "Sgt...
" and Grand Funk Railroad
Grand Funk Railroad
Grand Funk Railroad is an American rock band that was highly popular during the 1970s. Grand Funk Railroad toured constantly to packed arenas worldwide. A popular take on the band during its heyday was that, although the critics hated them, audiences loved them...
's "Inside Looking Out" on unsuspecting b-boys.
The earliest hip-hop records replaced the DJ with a live band playing funk and disco influenced tunes, or "interpolating
Interpolation (music)
Interpolation in music refers to an abrupt change in musical elements from the main theme.-In classical music:In music and musical composition, especially 20th century and later, interpolation is an abrupt change of elements, with continuation of the first idea...
" the tunes themselves, as in "Rapper's Delight
Rapper's Delight
"Rapper's Delight" is a 1979 single by American hip hop trio The Sugarhill Gang. While it was not the first single to feature rapping, it is generally considered to be the song that first popularized hip hop in the United States and around the world. The song's opening lyric "I said a hip hop, a...
" (Sugar Hill
Sugar Hill Records (rap)
Sugar Hill Records was the name of a rap music record label that was founded in 1979 by husband and wife Joe and Sylvia Robinson with Milton Malden and financial funding of Morris Levy, the owner of Roulette Records.-History:...
, 1979) and "King Tim III (Personality Jock)
King Tim III (Personality Jock)
"King Tim III " is a 1979 song by the Fatback Band from the disco album XII. Released on July 25, 1979, several weeks before "Rapper's Delight" , this song is often cited as the beginning of recorded hip hop...
" (Spring, 1979). It was the soft, futuristic funk closely tied to disco that ruled hip hop's early days on record, to the exclusion of the hard James Brown beats so beloved of the first b-boys.
Figures such as Flash and Bambaataa were involved in some early instances of moving the sound away from that of a live band, as in Flash's DJ track "The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel
The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel
"The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel" is a single released by Grandmaster Flash in 1981. It is a live DJ mix recording of Flash scratching and mixing records from various groups using three turntables...
" (Sugar Hill, 1981), and even innovating popular new sounds and sub-genres, as in the synthesizer-laden electro of Bambaataa's ode to crack smoking: "Planet Rock
Planet Rock (song)
"Planet Rock" is a 1982 song by Afrika Bambaataa & the Soulsonic Force. In the background and hooks featured Marvella Murray, Yvette Murray, Melissa Johnson and Sandra Wheeler. Although it was only a minor hit in the US, Canada, and UK, it helped change the foundations of hip-hop and dance music...
" (Tommy Boy
Tommy Boy
Tommy Boy is a 1995 road comedy film directed by Peter Segal, written by Bonnie and Terry Turner, and Fred Wolf. It stars former Saturday Night Live colleagues Chris Farley and David Spade. The film tells the story of a socially and emotionally immature man who learns lessons about friendship and...
, 1982). Often though the rawer elements present in live shows did not make it past the recording studio.
Bambaataa's first records, for instance, two versions of "Zulu Nation Throwdown" (Winley
Winley Records
Paul Winley Records Inc. was a doo-wop record label founded in 1956 that in 1979 became one of the earliest hip hop labels. It was situated on 125th Street, Harlem, New York City. Winley released doo-wop by The Paragons and The Jesters, and hip hop records by Paul Winley's daughters, Tanya and...
, 1980), were recorded with just drums and rhymes. When Bambaataa heard the released records, a complete live band had been added. Something closer to his intentions can be heard on a portion of Death Mix, a low-quality bootleg of a Zulu Nation
Universal Zulu Nation
|rightThe Universal Zulu Nation is an international hip hop awareness group formed and headed by hip hop pioneer Afrika Bambaataa. Originally known simply as the Organization, it arose in the 1970s as reformed New York City gang members began to organize cultural events for youths, combining local...
night at James Monroe High School in the Bronx, released without his permission on Winley Records in 1983. Likewise on the bootleg Live Convention '82 (Disco Wax, 1982), Grand Wizard Theodore
Grand Wizard Theodore
Grand Wizzard Theodore , is an American hip hop DJ. He is widely credited as the inventor of scratching.Born Theodore Livingston in Bronx, New York, his brother, Mean Gene, was Theodore's mentor, and began teaching him DJing before Theodore was even a teen...
cuts the first six bars of Rufus Thomas
Rufus Thomas
Rufus Thomas, Jr. was an American rhythm and blues, funk and soul singer and comedian fromMemphis, Tennessee, who recorded on Sun Records in the...
's "Do the Funky Penguin" together for five and a half minutes while an MC raps over the top. Grandmaster Flash's "Superrappin'" (Enjoy
Enjoy Records
Enjoy Records was a record label owned and operated by Bobby Robinson from 1962 through the mid-1980s, and was run out of his record shop at 125th Street and 8th Ave. in Harlem...
, 1979) had a pumping syncopated rhythm and The Furious Five emulating his spinbacks and needle drops and chanting that "that Flash is on the beatbox going..." The beatbox itself however, a drum machine which Flash had added to his turntable set-up some time earlier, was absent on the record, the drums being produced by a live drummer.
Kool Moe Dee
Kool Moe Dee
Mohandas Dewese , better known as Kool Moe Dee, is an American Hip Hop MC prominent in the late 1970s through the early 1990s. He was born in Manhattan, New York...
's verbal personal attacks on Busy Bee Starski
Busy Bee Starski
Busy Bee Starski born October 26, 1962, in the Bronx, New York, is an old school hip hop musician, and MC...
live at Harlem World in 1982 caused a popular sensation in hip hop circles. In the same way, groups like the Cold Crush Brothers and The Force MCs were known for their routines, competitive attitude, and battle rhymes. Tapes of battles like these circulated widely, even without them becoming viable recordings. Apart from some social commentary like Melle Melle's one verse on "Superrappin'", Kurtis Blow
Kurtis Blow
Kurt Walker , better known by his stage name Kurtis Blow, is an American rapper and record producer. He is one of the first commercially successful rappers and the first to sign with a major record label...
's ruefully comedic "The Breaks
The Breaks (song)
"The Breaks" is a critically acclaimed 1980 hit single by Kurtis Blow from his self-titled debut album. It was one of the earliest hip-hop hits, peaking at #87 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.-Remakes:...
" (Mercury
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
, 1980) and a spurt of records following the success of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five's "The Message" (Sugar Hill, 1982), the old school specialized lyrically in party rhymes.
Advent
David Toop
David Toop
David Toop is an English musician and author, and as of 2001 was visiting Research Fellow in the Media School at London College of Communication. He was notably a member of The Flying Lizards. He was a prominent contributor to the British magazine The Face. He is a regular contributor to The Wire,...
writes of 1984 that "pundits were writing obituaries for hip hop, a passing fad" which "Hollywood had mutated into an all-singing, all-dancing romance" in movies like Flashdance
Flashdance
Another song used in the film, "Maniac", was also nominated for an Academy Award. It was written by Michael Sembello and Dennis Matkosky, and was inspired by the 1980 horror film Maniac. The lyrics about a killer on the loose were rewritten so that it could be used in Flashdance...
and Breakin'
Breakin'
Breakin', released as Breakdance: The Movie in some countries, is a 1984 breakdancing-themed film directed by Joel Silberg. The film setting was inspired by a German documentary entitled Breakin' and Enterin set in the Los Angeles multi-racial hip hop club Radiotron, based out of Macarthur Park in...
. Against this, Run-D.M.C., The Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys are an American hip hop trio from New York City. The group consists of Mike D who plays the drums, MCA who plays the bass, and Ad-Rock who plays the guitar....
and the label Def Jam were "consciously hardcore", "a reaction against the populist trend in hip hop at the time" , and "an explosive emergence of an underground alternative". For Peter Shapiro, Run-D.M.C.'s 1983 two-song release "It's like That
It's Like That (Run-D.M.C. song)
"It's like That" is a song by American hip hop group Run-D.M.C. It was first released in 1983 on a cassette backed with the track "Sucker M.C.'s". The release marked the start of Run-D.M.C.'s career and is widely regarded as ushering in a new school of hip hop artists with a street image and an...
"/"Sucker MCs" "completely changed hip-hop" "rendering everything that preceded it distinctly old school with one fell swoop." In a 47 point timeline of hip hop and its antecedents spanning 64 years, Shapiro lists this release as his 43rd point. Reviewing Toop's book in the LA Weekly, Oliver Wang of Soul Sides
Soul Sides
Soul-Sides.com is a mp3 blog written and curated by Oliver Wang.Oliver Wang is a music journalist, sociology professor and DJ. He has been writing on pop music, culture, and politics since 1994 on publications including NPR, Vibe, Wax Poetics, Oakland Tribune, Village Voice, SF Bay Guardian, URB,...
concurs, hailing Run-D.M.C. as inaugurating the new school of rap.
Run-D.M.C.
Oberheim DMX
The DMX is a programmable digital drum machine introduced in 1981 by Oberheim Electronics.The Oberheim DMX was the second digital drum computer ever to be sold to the public as a product, following the Linn LM-1 in 1980...
drum machine
Drum machine
A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...
, a few scratches and nothing else, while the rhymes harangued weak rappers and contrasted them to the group's success. "It's like That" was an aggressively delivered message rap whose social commentary has been defined variously as "objective fatalism", "frustrated and renunciatory", and just plain "reportage". Run-D.M.C. wore street clothes, tracksuits, sneakers, one even wore glasses. Their only possible concession to an image extraneous to that of kids on the street was the stylistic flourish of black fedoras atop their heads. This stood in sharp contrast to the popular artists of the time, who had variously bedecked themselves with feathers, suede boots, jerri curls, and red or even pink leather suits.
The group's early singles are collected on their eponymous debut (Profile
Profile Records
Profile Records was a record label that specialized in many types of urban-oriented music, such as hip hop, active until 1996..- History :In 1980, at 23 years old, after working briefly for MCA, Cory Robbins was looking to start a record label. He invited his songwriter friend Steve Plotnicki to be...
, 1984), introducing rock references in "Rock Box", and recognized then and now as the best album of hip hop's early years. The next year, they appeared at Live Aid
Live Aid
Live Aid was a dual-venue concert that was held on 13 July 1985. The event was organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for relief of the ongoing Ethiopian famine. Billed as the "global jukebox", the event was held simultaneously in Wembley Stadium in London, England, United Kingdom ...
and released King of Rock (Profile, 1985), on which they asserted that they were "never ever old school". Raising Hell (Profile, 1986) was a landmark, containing quintessentially hip hop tracks like "Peter Piper", "Perfection" and "It's Tricky
It's Tricky
"It's Tricky" is the final single released from Run-D.M.C.'s third album, Raising Hell. It was released late in 1987 through Profile Records and was co-produced by Rick Rubin and the group themselves. The song peaked at No. 57 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 21 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. Two...
", and going platinum in the year of its release on the back of the huge crossover hit "Walk This Way
Walk This Way
"Walk This Way" is a song by American hard rock group Aerosmith. Written by Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, the song was originally released as the second single from the 1975 album Toys in the Attic. It peaked at Number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1977, part of a string of successful hit...
". The group had rapped over the beat from the 1975 original in their early days, without so much as knowing the name of the band. When Raising Hell
Rick Rubin
Frederick Jay "Rick" Rubin is an American record producer and the co-president of Columbia Records. Along with Russell Simmons, Rubin was the co-founder of Def Jam Records and also established American Recordings...
heard them playing around with it in the studio, he suggested using the Aerosmith
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...
lyrics, and the collaboration between the two groups came about. The album's last track was "Proud To Be Black", written under the influence of Chuck D of the as-yet unrecorded Public Enemy. On "My Adidas" the band rapped that they "took the beat from the street and put it on TV".
Darryl McDaniels
-Video game appearances:*The Warriors - Scopes*Guitar Hero: Aerosmith - Himself- External links :* * * * * http://articles.latimes.com/2009/dec/12/entertainment/la-et-people-speak12-2009dec12...
, AKA DMC of Run-D.M.C., make this connection to the underground explicit: "[T]hat's exactly what we did. We didn't really think it was pioneering, we just did what rappers did before us was doing on tapes. When a lot of the old guys, like Kool Moe Dee, The Treacherous Three, and Grandmaster Flash, got in the studio, they never put their greatness on records. Me and Run
Joseph Simmons
Joseph Ward Simmons , known by the stage name Rev. Run or DJ Run, is one of the founding members of the influential hip hop group Run–D.M.C., and a practicing minister, known as Reverend Run. Simmons was born in Hollis, Queens, New York. He is the younger brother of Daniel "Danny" Simmons, Jr...
and Jay would listen ... and we'd say, 'They didn't do that shit last night in the Bronx!' ... So we said that we weren't going to be fake. We ain't gonna wear no costumes. We're gonna keep it real."
Def Jam
The other production credit on Raising Hell went to Run's brother, Russell SimmonsRussell Simmons
-External links:** * * * * * * from the US Holocaust Memorial Museum* *...
; he ran Rush Artist Management, now Rush Communications
Rush Communications
Rush Communications is the company owned by hip-hop pioneer Russell Simmons. He is also the founder. Rush Communications is one of the largest African American owned media firms in the United States. Rush continues to draw on its roots in hip hop, targeting young consumers through urban and hip-hop...
, which as well as handling Run-D.M.C., managed the Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, Whodini
Whodini
Whodini is a hip hop group that was formed in 1981. The Brooklyn, New York-based trio consisted of vocalist and main lyricist Jalil Hutchins; co-vocalist John Fletcher, aka Ecstasy ; and turntable artist DJ Drew Carter, aka Grandmaster Dee.-Early years:Whodini was among the first hip-hop groups to...
and Public Enemy. Simmons also co-owned Def Jam Recordings, an important new school label, with Rubin. Simmons rose with Def Jam to become one of the biggest moguls in rap, while Rubin claimed credit for introducing radio-friendly brevity and song structure to hip hop. Def Jam's first 12-inch release was the minimalist drum machine breakdown "I Need A Beat" by LL Cool J (1984). This was followed by "I Can't Live Without My Radio" (Def Jam, 1985), a loud, defiant declaration of public loyalty to his boom box which the New York Times in 1987 called "quintessential rap in its directness, immediacy and assertion of self". Both were on his debut album for Def Jam, 1985's Radio
Radio (LL Cool J album)
Radio is the debut album of American rapper LL Cool J, released November 18, 1985 on Def Jam Recordings in the United States. It serves as the label's first full-length album release. Recording sessions for the album took place during 1984 to 1985 at Chung King House of Metal in New York City...
("Reduced by Rick Rubin", read the liner notes), which contained another minimalist b-boy classic with shards of rock guitar, "Rock the Bells". Perhaps rock fan Rubin's natural protégés
Mentorship
Mentorship refers to a personal developmental relationship in which a more experienced or more knowledgeable person helps a less experienced or less knowledgeable person....
were the Beastie Boys, sampling AC/DC
AC/DC
AC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...
on their Rock Hard EP on Def Jam in 1984, and recording a Run-D.M.C. outtake and a heavy metal parody on their hugely commercially successful debut album Licensed To Ill (Def Jam, 1986). In 1987, Raising Hell surpassed three million units sold, and Licensed to Ill five million. Faced with figures like these, major labels finally began buying into independent New York hip hop imprints.
The Juice Crew
Marley Marl's first production was an "answer record" to "Sucker MCs" in 1983 entitled "Sucker DJs" by Dimples D. Soon after came 14-year-old Roxanne ShantéRoxanne Shanté
Roxanne Shanté is an American hip-hop pioneer. Born and raised in the Queensbridge Projects, Shanté first gained attention through the Roxanne Wars and her association with the Juice Crew....
's answer to UTFO
UTFO
UTFO is an old school hip-hop group, popular in the 1980s, that was mentored by the contemporary R&B group Full Force. The group consists of the Kangol Kid , the Educated Rapper , Doctor Ice , and Mix Master Ice...
's "Roxanne Roxanne", "Roxanne's Revenge" (1985), sparking off the huge wave of answer records known as the Roxanne Wars
Roxanne Wars
The Roxanne Wars is a well-known series of hip hop rivalries during the mid-1980s, yielding perhaps the most answer records in history. It arose from a dispute over a failed appearance at a radio promotional show...
. More disses (insults intended to show disrespect) from Shanté followed: "Bite This" (1985), "Queen of Rox" (1985), introducing Biz Markie
Biz Markie
Marcel Theo Hall better known by his stage name, Biz Markie, is an American rapper, beatboxer, DJ, comedian, singer, reality television personality, and commercial spokesperson. He is best known for his single "Just a Friend", an American Top 10 hit in 1989...
on "Def Fresh Crew" (1986), "Payback" (1987), and perhaps her greatest record, "Have a Nice Day" (1987). MCs from Marley's Juice Crew like Big Daddy Kane
Big Daddy Kane
Antonio Hardy better known by his stage name Big Daddy Kane, is an American rapper who started his career in 1986 as a member of the rap group the Juice Crew. He is widely considered to be one of the most influential and skilled MC's in Hip Hop...
, Kool G Rap
Kool G Rap
Nathaniel Thomas Wilson , better known by his stage names Kool G Rap , Kool G. Rap, and Giancana , is an American rapper, from the Corona neighborhood of Queens, New York. He began his career in the mid-1980s as one half of the group Kool G Rap & DJ Polo and as a member of the Juice Crew...
and Masta Ace
Masta Ace
Duval Clear , known better by his stage name Masta Ace, is a rapper from Brownsville, Brooklyn. He appeared on the classic 1988 Juice Crew posse cut "The Symphony"...
came to define the "fast rap" style characteristic of the late eighties, and the producer introduced to recorded hip hop a breakbeat that became ubiquitous in this period, James Brown's "Funky Drummer" break, on Kool G Rap
Kool G Rap
Nathaniel Thomas Wilson , better known by his stage names Kool G Rap , Kool G. Rap, and Giancana , is an American rapper, from the Corona neighborhood of Queens, New York. He began his career in the mid-1980s as one half of the group Kool G Rap & DJ Polo and as a member of the Juice Crew...
& DJ Polo's "It's a Demo" (Cold Chillin'
Cold Chillin' Records
Cold Chillin' Records was a record label that released some important music in the golden age of hip hop from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. A producer-and-crew label founded by manager Tyrone Williams and run by Len Fichtelberg Cold Chillin' Records was a record label that released some...
, 1986).
Boogie Down Productions
 |
|
| BDP's 1988 album By All Means Necessary (left) and Malcolm X posing for Ebony Ebony (magazine) Ebony, a monthly magazine for the African-American market, was founded by John H. Johnson and has published continuously since the autumn of 1945... in 1964 in response to death threats (right). "By any means necessary By any means necessary By any means necessary is a translation of a phrase coined by the French intellectual Jean Paul Sartre in his play Dirty Hands. It entered the popular culture through a speech given by Malcolm X in the last year of his life... " is a much-quoted phrase from a statement made by Malcolm X. |
|
Shante's "Have a Nice Day" had aimed some barbs at the principal two members of a new group from the Bronx called Boogie Down Productions (BDP): "Now KRS-ONE you should go on vacation with that name soundin' like a wack radio station, and as for Scott La Rock, you should be ashamed, when T La Rock
T La Rock
Clarence "Terry" Ronnie Keaton , known by the stage name T La Rock, is an American old-school emcee best known for his collaboration with Def Jam Recordings co-founder Rick Rubin and the 1984 single "It's Yours." He disappeared from the hip hop scene after a traumatic brain injury in 1994, but as...
said "It's Yours", he didn't mean his name". Boogie Down Productions had manufactured a disagreement with the Juice Crew's MC Shan
MC Shan
MC Shan is an American rapper. He is perhaps best known for collaborating with Snow in "Informer", an international number one hit single.-Biography:...
, releasing "South Bronx" and "The Bridge is Over" in reply to his "The Bridge" and "Kill That Noise" respectively.
KRS-One considered Run-D.M.C. the epitome of rap music in 1984 and had begun to rap following their lead. But he has also said that BDP's approach reflected a feeling that the early innovators like Run-D.M.C. and LL Cool J were by 1986 tainted by commercial success and out of touch with the streets.
Boogie Down's first album Criminal Minded (B-Boy
B-Boy Records
B-Boy Records was an important independent hip hop record label formed by Jack Allen and Bill Kamarra in 1986, and situated at 132nd Street and Cypress Avenue in the Bronx, New York City. Its most notable signing was Boogie Down Productions...
, 1987) admitted a reggae influence and had KRS-One imititating the Beatles' "Hey Jude" on the title track. It also contained two tales of grim street life, yet played for callous laughs: "The P Is Free", in which KRS speals of throwing out his girl who wants crack cocaine
Crack cocaine
Crack cocaine is the freebase form of cocaine that can be smoked. It may also be termed rock, hard, iron, cavvy, base, or just crack; it is the most addictive form of cocaine. Crack rocks offer a short but intense high to smokers...
in exchange for sex, and "9mm Goes Bang", in which he shoots a drug dealer then cheerfully sings "la la la la la la". Songs like these presaged the rise of an underground that matched violent lyrics to the hardcore drum machine tracks of the new school. The gangsta rap
Gangsta rap
Gangsta Rap is a subgenre of hip hop music that evolved from hardcore hip hop and purports to reflect urban crime and the violent lifestyles of inner-city youths. Lyrics in gangsta rap have varied from accurate reflections to fictionalized accounts. Gangsta is a non-rhotic pronunciation of the word...
was also being pioneered by Philadelphia's Schoolly D
Schoolly D
Jesse B. Weaver Jr. , better known by the stage name Schoolly D, is an American rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.- Career :...
. The cover of Criminal Minded was a further reflection of a move towards this sort of radical image, depicting the group in a half-light, holding firearms. The next album By All Means Necessary (B-Boy, 1988) left that element behind for political radicalism following the murder of Scott La Rock
Scott La Rock
Scott "La Rock" Sterling was the original DJ of the hip hop group Boogie Down Productions.-BDP:Sterling, a social worker, met rapper KRS-One in 1986 at the Franklin Men's Shelter in the Bronx where KRS lived. The pair, together with DJ D-Nice, formed Boogie Down Productions...
, with the title and cover alluding to Malcolm X
Malcolm X
Malcolm X , born Malcolm Little and also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz , was an African American Muslim minister and human rights activist. To his admirers he was a courageous advocate for the rights of African Americans, a man who indicted white America in the harshest terms for its...
. KRS-One became involved with the Stop the Violence Movement
Stop the Violence Movement
The Stop the Violence Movement was begun by rapper KRS-One in 1989 in response to violence in the hip hop and African American communities.In 1988, during a concert by Boogie Down Productions and Public Enemy, a young fan was killed in a fight. The killing occurred shortly after Scott La Rock, a...
at this time. Boogie Down Productions, along with Run-D.M.C. and Public Enemy, associated the new school as rap music with a strong message.
Eric B. & Rakim
Eric B. & Rakim appeared with the Marley Marl produced "Eric B. Is President" and "My Melody" on Zakia Records in 1986. Both tracks appeared on Paid in Full (4th & Broadway, 1987). Just as B.D.P. had, the pair reflected changes in street life on their debut's cover, which depicted the two wearing huge gold chains and surrounded by money. Like Criminal MindedCriminal Minded
Criminal Minded by Boogie Down Productions is a highly influential hip hop album. Production on the LP is credited to 'Blastmaster' KRS-One and DJ Scott La Rock , but in interviews it has been revealed that an uncredited Ced-Gee of The Ultramagnetic MCs had a key role in crafting the sound of the...
, the sampling prevalent in the album cemented James Brown's status as a hip hop source, while Rakim's allusions showed the growing influence of mystic Islam-offshoot The Nation of Gods and Earths
The Nation of Gods and Earths
The Nation of Gods and Earths, sometimes referred to as NGE or NOGE, the Five-Percent Nation, or the Five Percenters is an American organization founded in 1964 in the Harlem section of the borough of Manhattan, New York City, by Clarence 13X, a former student of Malcolm X, who left his mosque...
in hip-hop. The music was minimalist, austerely so, with many writers noting that coupled with Rakim's precise, logical style, the effect was almost one of scientific rigour. The group followed Paid in Full with Follow The Leader (Uni
Uni Records
Uni Records was a record label owned by MCA Inc. The brand, which long featured a distinct UNi logo, was established in 1966 by MCA executive Ned Tanen and developed by music industry veteran Russ Regan...
, 1988) (on which they were open-minded enough to sample The Eagles), Let The Rhythm Hit 'Em (MCA
Music Corporation of America
MCA, Inc. was an American talent agency. Initially starting in the music business, they would next become a dominant force in the film business, and later expanded into the television business...
, 1990) and Don't Sweat The Technique (MCA, 1992). Rakim is generally regarded as the most cutting-edge of the MCs of the new school era.
Jess Harvell in Pitchfork in 2005 wrote that "Rakim's innovation was applying a patina of intellectual detachment to rap's most sacred cause: talking shit about how you're a better rapper than everyone else." Christgau in the Village Voice in 1990 wrote of Rakim's style as "calm, confident, clear. On their third album, as on their phase-shifting 1986 debut," he continues, "Eric B.'s samples truly are beats, designed to accentuate the natural music of an idealized black man's voice." Looking back at the late eighties in Rolling Stone in 1997, Ed Moralez describes Rakim as "the new-school MC of the moment, using a smooth baritone to become the jazz soloist of mystic Afrocentric rap."
Public Enemy
Public Enemy, having been reluctantly convinced to sign to a record label, released Yo! Bumrush the Show on Def Jam in 1987. It debuted the Public Enemy logo, a circle of hatted b-boy in a sniper's cross-hairs, was repelete with battle rhymes ("Miuzi Weighs a Ton", "Public Enemy #1"), social-political fare ("Rightstarter (Message to a Black Man)" and anti-crackCrack cocaine
Crack cocaine is the freebase form of cocaine that can be smoked. It may also be termed rock, hard, iron, cavvy, base, or just crack; it is the most addictive form of cocaine. Crack rocks offer a short but intense high to smokers...
messages ("Megablast"). It was influenced by the energy of early Run-D.M.C. and LL Cool J, the booming Roland TR-909
Roland TR-909
The Roland TR-909 Rhythm Composer is a partially analog, partially sample-based drum machine built by the Japanese Roland Corporation in 1983. The brainchild of Tadao Kikumoto, the engineer behind the Roland TB-303, it features a 16-step step sequencer and a drum kit that aimed for realism and...
drums of Schoolly D. The album was a critical and commercial success, particularly in Europe, unusually so for a hip hop album at that time. Bumrush the Show had been recorded on the heels of Run-D.M.C.'s Raising Hell, but was held back by Def Jam in order for them to concentrate on releasing and promoting the Beastie Boys' License to Ill.
Slayer
Slayer is an American thrash metal band formed in Huntington Park, California, in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. Slayer rose to fame with their 1986 release, Reign in Blood, and is credited as one of the "Big Four" thrash metal acts, along with Metallica, Megadeth and...
's "Angel of Death") and "Don't Believe the Hype" (in which Chuck D declared himself "leader of the new school" rapping from "the book of the new school rap game"), dealt again with crack on "Night of the Living Baseheads", rapped from the perspective of a black conscientious objector
Conscientious objector
A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion....
breaking out of prison on "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos". Chuck D accused the FBI of tapping his phone in "Louder Than a Bomb", declared himself a "Rebel Without a Pause" and flipped the title of a Beastie Boys hit to rhyme about the Black Panthers in "Party For Your Right to Fight". All this was to the dense, fast-paced squalls of noise created by Public Enemy's production team, The Bomb Squad
The Bomb Squad
The Bomb Squad is an American hip hop production team, known for their work with the rap group Public Enemy. The Bomb Squad are noted for their dense, distinct, innovative production style, often utilizing dozens of samples on just one track...
. The landmark album was followed by 1990's Fear of a Black Planet (Def Jam), whose "Fight the Power" described Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
and John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
as racist and declared "most of my heroes don't appear on no stamps".
Gangsta Rap
The underground sound centered on urban violence that was to become gangsta rapGangsta rap
Gangsta Rap is a subgenre of hip hop music that evolved from hardcore hip hop and purports to reflect urban crime and the violent lifestyles of inner-city youths. Lyrics in gangsta rap have varied from accurate reflections to fictionalized accounts. Gangsta is a non-rhotic pronunciation of the word...
existed on the East Coast from soon after Run-D.M.C. had inaugurated the new school of hip hop. This was reflected in Schoolly D
Schoolly D
Jesse B. Weaver Jr. , better known by the stage name Schoolly D, is an American rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.- Career :...
's "Gangsta Boogie" (1984), "P.S.K. What Does It Mean?"/"Gucci Time" (1985), and "Saturday Night" (1986) and Boogie Down Productions' album Criminal Minded
Criminal Minded
Criminal Minded by Boogie Down Productions is a highly influential hip hop album. Production on the LP is credited to 'Blastmaster' KRS-One and DJ Scott La Rock , but in interviews it has been revealed that an uncredited Ced-Gee of The Ultramagnetic MCs had a key role in crafting the sound of the...
(1987).
West Coast Hip-Hop
The West Coast soon became the epicenter of gangsta rap, with Toddy Tee's influential Batteram mixtape in 1985, Ice-TICE-T
* Ice-T, an American rapper and actor* ICE T , a tilting model of the German InterCityExpress series of high-speed trains...
's "6 in the Mornin'
6 in the Mornin'
"6 in the Mornin'" is a song by Ice-T. Released in 1986 as the B-side of "Dog 'N the Wax ", the song is considered to be one of the defining tracks of the gangsta rap genre. The song appeared on Ice T's debut album, Rhyme Pays , in 1987...
" (1986), N.W.A.
N.W.A.
N.W.A was an American hip hop group from Compton, California, widely considered one of the seminal acts of the gangsta rap sub-genre....
's first records, and Eazy-E
Eazy-E
Eric Lynn Wright , better known by his stage name Eazy-E, was an American rapper who performed solo and in the hip hop group N.W.A. Wright was born to Richard and Kathie Wright in Compton, California...
's "Boyz-n-the-Hood" (1987). This led to the hugely successful Straight Outta Compton
Straight Outta Compton
The lyrics on the album were mainly written by Ice Cube and MC Ren. Critics of the album expressed their view that the record glamorized Black-on-Black crime, but the emcees stated that the group was simply showing the reality of living in the areas of Compton, California, and South Central Los...
by N.W.A in 1988. Pop-rap crossovers from the West Coast would also see great success at this time, with Tone Loc
Tone Loc
Anthony Terrell Smith , better known by his stage name Tone Lōc, is an American rapper and actor.-Early life and career:...
's "Wild Thing" (1989) on the Californian independent label Delicious Vinyl
Delicious Vinyl
Delicious Vinyl is an American independent record label founded by Matt Dike and Michael Ross in 1987 and based in Los Angeles. Throughout its history, the label has had distribution deals with [Island Records/[PolyGram]], Warner Music Group, EMI, Red Ant, Rhino and Universal Music Group.-Early...
, MC Hammer
MC Hammer
Stanley Kirk Burrell , better known by his stage name MC Hammer , is an American rapper, entertainer, business entrepreneur, dancer and actor. He had his greatest commercial success and popularity from the late 1980s until the mid-1990s...
's "Turn This Mother Out" (1988) among other later hits, and Young MC
Young MC
Marvin Young , better known by his stage name Young MC, is an English-born American singer and actor. He is best known for his 1989 hit "Bust a Move"...
's Bust a Move
Bust a Move
Bust a Move can refer to:in music* Bust a Move , a 1989 hip hop song by Young MC* Bust a Move, a song by Infected Mushroom from the album Classical Mushroom* BustAMove, a coverband from Germanyin video games* Bust-A-Move Bash!...
(1989).
Native Tongues
Less confrontational developments in the New York new school continuum in this climate were represented by the Native TonguesNative tongues
Native Tongues is a book by the linguist Charles Berlitz.It is a list of words in different languages, etymology and questions with speculations far and wide about words....
groups—The Jungle Brothers, De La Soul
De La Soul
De La Soul is an American hip hop trio formed in 1987 on Long Island, New York. The band is best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative hip hop subgenres...
, A Tribe Called Quest
A Tribe Called Quest
A Tribe Called Quest is an American hip hop group, formed in 1985, and is composed of rapper/producer Q-Tip , rapper Phife Dawg , and DJ/producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad. A fourth member, rapper Jarobi White, left the group after their first album but rejoined in 2006...
, Queen Latifah
Queen Latifah
Dana Elaine Owens , better known by her stage name Queen Latifah, is an American singer, rapper, and actress. Her work in music, film and television has earned her a Golden Globe award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Image Awards, a Grammy Award, six additional Grammy nominations, an Emmy...
, Black Sheep
Black sheep
In the English language, black sheep is an idiom used to describe an odd or disreputable member of a group, especially within a family. The term has typically been given negative implications, implying waywardness...
and Monie Love
Monie Love
Simone Riscoe , better known by her stage name Monie Love, is an English emcee and former radio personality in the United States...
—along with similar acts like Leaders of the New School
Leaders of the New School
Leaders of the New School was a Long Island, New York-based hip hop crew.-History:The crew was composed of Uniondale, New York, natives Charlie Brown and Dinco D ; North Amityville, New York native Cut Monitor Milo ; and Busta Rhymes , who was originally from Brooklyn, New York but later moved to...
, KMD
KMD
KMD was an American hip hop trio in the early 1990s, best known for launching the career of acclaimed rapper and producer MF DOOM, who at the time was known as Zev Love X. Other members of the group were Rodan and DJ Subroc–Zev Love X's younger brother...
and Brand Nubian. They moved away from aggressive, macho posturing, towards ambiguity, fun and Afrocentricity. Their music was sample-crowded, more open and accessible than their new school predecessors. De La Soul's debut sampled everyone from The Turtles
The Turtles
The Turtles are an American rock group led by vocalists Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman. The band became notable for several Top 40 hits beginning with its cover version of Bob Dylan's "It Ain't Me Babe" in 1965...
to Steely Dan
Steely Dan
Steely Dan is an American rock band; its core members are Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. The band's popularity peaked in the late 1970s, with the release of seven albums blending elements of jazz, rock, funk, R&B, and pop...
, while A Tribe Called Quest matched tough beats to mellow jazz samples and playful, thoughtful raps.
Mid-1990s
In the nineties, West Coast gangsta rap evolved into the slow, P-funk influenced keyboard sounds known as G-funkG-funk
G-funk, or Gangsta-funk, is a sub-genre of hip hop music that emerged from Westcoast gangsta rap in the early 1990s. G-funk incorporates multi-layered and melodic synthesizers, slow hypnotic grooves, a deep bass, background female vocals, the extensive sampling of P-funk tunes, and a high-pitched...
. Oakland based rapper 2pac quickly rose to prominence in the West Coast after releasing 1993's Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z.
Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z.
2Pac's "Keep Ya Head Up " [previously-unreleased] from The Outlawz' 2Pac: Evolution 12-CD box set :goo.gl/5K81bEven more unreleased mp3s from the 2Pac: Evolution 12-CD box set:goo.gl/T5dw4...
featuring the popular tracks "I Get Around" and "Keep Ya Head Up". In 1995, 2pac released the critically acclaimed album Me Against the World
Me Against the World
Me Against the World is the third studio album by American hip hop artist Tupac Shakur. It was released March 14, 1995 on the Interscope Records label. The album was composed of un-used tracks from the Thug Life era, and from other studio sessions from 1993 to 1994...
while serving a prison term. In 1996, 2pac was bailed out of prison and released arguably his most popular album All Eyez On Me
All Eyez on Me
All Eyez on Me is the fourth studio album by American rapper 2Pac, released February 13, 1996 on Death Row Records and Interscope Records....
. However in 1996, 2pac was killed in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas and did not live to see his newest album, The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory
The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory
The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory is the fifth and final studio album by Tupac Shakur, under the new stage name Makaveli, finished before his death and his first studio album to be posthumously released...
released. The 7 Day Theory was released under the alias Makaveli in what some 2pac fans have interpreted as an intentional departure from his past style. The album's thematic qualities are of a much darker and dystopian feel, but it is the album's ingenuity and lyrical depth that has garnered it universal praise. During this time the East Coast responded with a new breed of hardcore hip-hop, pioneered by the likes of Black Moon
Black Moon (band)
Black Moon is an American hip hop group, consisting of members Buckshot, 5 ft and DJ Evil Dee . The group were most notable for their debut album Enta da Stage, and their affiliation with the Boot Camp Clik.-Biography:...
, Onyx, Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
The Wu-Tang Clan is a hip-hop group from Staten Island that consists of RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, and the late Ol' Dirty Bastard. They are frequently joined by fellow childhood friend Cappadonna, a quasi member of the group...
, and tales of New York street life in the debut records of Nas
Nas
Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, who performs under the name Nas , formerly Nasty Nas, is an American rapper and actor. He is regarded as one of the most important figures in hip hop and one of the most skilled and influential rappers of all-time...
and the Notorious B.I.G.