American hip hop
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The United States is the nation of origin of hip hop, a cultural movement that began in the 1970s in New York City, among primarily African American and Hispanic audiences.[1] For many years, hip hop remained known only in a few neighborhoods in New York, but it spread to nearby urban areas like Philadelphia and New Jersey. During the early to mid-1980s, hip hop underwent regional diversification, while New York-based East Coast hip hop attained the first national recognition for recorded hip hop. Cities like Miami, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Detroit, Cleveland, Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Dallas, Memphis and the San Francisco Bay Area developed their own styles, incorporating local influences.
Beginning with N.W.A, West Coast rap, based primarily in Los Angeles, became a mainstream success. For the first time, New York was not the only city on the hip hop map. The two were rivals in many ways, fueling the East Coast-West Coast rivalry. In the late 1990s, many cities saw their own scenes find popular acclaim. These included Miami, Atlanta, St. Louis and New Orleans.
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[edit] The East Coast
[edit] Boston
Boston first gained attention nationally with the success of Ed O.G. and Da Bulldogs in the early 90s, most notably with their song "I Got To Have It" off of the album "Life of a Kid in the Ghetto". Their burgeoning underground hip hop scene has given rise to many notable undergrounds acts, such as Mr. Lif and Akrobatik of the Perceptionists, Benzino, Krumbsnatcha, Gangstarr and 7L & Esoteric. Boston is also home to Dre Robinson, Brix, Frankie Wainwright, Omega Red and many other notable acts. John Cena a rapper/wrestler from West Newbury, Massachusetts released his debut album You Can't See Me in 2005. Cena is also famous for freestyle raps that he performs on his fellow WWE wrestlers. The Boston scene includes MCs such as Guru (rapper) and Big Shug as well as underground rappers Mr. Lif, Akrobatik, Edan, Slaine, Vendetta (Rick Boston) and MC/producer duo 7L & Esoteric. Also up and coming M-Dot,Termanology and the group W.O.L.V.E.S. hailing from the city of Lawrence, Massachusetts.
Boston is also the birthplace of The Source, America's longest running rap periodical, as well as undergroundhiphop.com, one of the more recognized websites dedicated to underground hip hop.[citation needed] Boston was also home to Landspeed Records, which was a dominant independent hip hop label in the 1990s and early 2000s,[citation needed] and home to many underground hip hop acts.
[edit] New Jersey
Having historically played second violin to New York, New Jersey's musical circles have nonetheless produced several high-profile artists, such as Jus Allah, Queen Latifah, Outsidaz, Naughty By Nature, Poor Righteous Teachers, Redman, Lords Of The Underground, The Fugees, The Outlaws, Akon, Artifacts, Chino XL, Joe Budden and producer Just Blaze, who was born in Paterson. Some rappers also have little-known ties with the state, such as Ice T and Scarface, was born in New Jersey but later moved away. Its major hubs are Newark, Jersey City, Camden,
[edit] New York City
New York City was the birthplace of hip hop, in the early 70's and all of its prime early movers, such as DJ Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash, Caz and Afrika Bambaataa grew up and began performing there.
The city also produced all of the style's early stars, like LL Cool J (from Queens) and Kurtis Blow. Other influential artists from the New York area and this era that have endured through the ages are KRS-One (from the Bronx), Public Enemy (from Long Island), Run-DMC (from Queens), and the Beastie Boys (from Brooklyn). By the beginning of the 1990s, however, the West Coast had eclipsed New York in popular success. This began a rivalry which culminated in the deaths of New York MC Notorious B.I.G. and West Coast rapper 2Pac, who was born in East Harlem. In 1993 the pioneering Wu-Tang Clan from Staten Island emerged, and have continued to be influential to independent street hip hop. By the middle of the decade, Puff Daddy (from Manhattan), the Notorious BIG and Mase reinvigorated East Coast rap to popular acclaim using a pop-oriented approach. The East Coast also bred several hard-edged stars during this time, including Big Pun, Busta Rhymes, DMX (from Yonkers) and Nas, culminating in the breakthrough of Brooklyn's Jay-Z late in the decade. New York also produced a vital underground in the Native Tongues Posse, including A Tribe Called Quest and long island natives De La Soul. 50 Cent & his G-Unit clique, Ja Rule, Mobb Deep, Fat Joe, Jadakiss, and Fabolous are a few successful rappers/groups of the 21st century from the New York area.
[edit] Philadelphia
Philadelphia has produced a few of the most hard-edged rappers, including Schoolly D and Kurupt. DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince were one of the first to put Philly on the map along with Steady B. While Fresh Prince and DJ Jazzy Jeff made music that crossed over to R&B and Pop radio, Steady B drove the Philly underground sound with hard beats and rhymes which were reminiscent of early LL Cool J. The Roots, the first proclaimed hip hop band, have also been followed by underground fans since the mid-1990s. Bahamadia also hails from Philly, and has worked with the likes of The Roots, as well as Gang Starr. She is a well known & highly respected female MC on the scene.
It also famous for early 2000s mainstream acts such as Beanie Sigel, Eve, Freeway, State Property, Cassidy and Cyssero. The Philadelphia underground scene consists of Reef the Lost Cauze, Chief Kamachi, Hezekiah, Random, The Last Emperor, Jedi Mind Tricks, Nickelz, meek mill and more. The Philadelphia hip hop scene has a unique style and slang; the term "jawn" is used as a universal interjection.
[edit] Midwest
[edit] Chicago
The first Chicago hip hop record was the Groovy Ghost Show by Casper, released in 1980 and a distinctively Chicago sound began by 1982, with Caution and Plee Fresh. Chicago also saw the development of house music (a form of electronic dance music, Chicago House) in the early 1980s and this soon mixed with hip hop and began featuring rappers; this is called hip house, and gained some national popularity in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The Chicago underground scene produced several major acts such as Common, Da Brat, Do or Die, and Crucial Conflict. Despite having the second-largest African American population in the nation (after New York, in numbers), only now with Kanye West, Twista, Rebel XD, Shawnna, Lupe Fiasco, Common, Yung Berg, Mikie da Poet, Rhymefest, Soulja Boy, The Cool Kids, GLC, and Boo and Gotti, is the Windy City beginning to receive mainstream attention.
Chicago rappers, Twista and Rebel XD, were Guinness Book record holders in the category "Fastest Rap MC" (though of the pair, only Twista has released a CD).
[edit] Ohio
Rapper Bow Wow also hails from Columbus. Producer and rapper Hi-Tek has become a well respected player in the hip industry. He is best known as the producer and other half of Talib Kweli. Hi-Tek has released a collaboration album with Talib Kweli and two solo albums. He has produced songs for 50cent, G-Unit, The Game, Talib Kweli, Mos Def and Common.
[edit] Cleveland
One of the most influential hip hop groups of all time is from Cleveland, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, they are best known for coining a fast pace flow with R&B like harmonies which paved the way for a whole new genre of rap. Ray Cash is from Cleveland. R&B singer Avant is from Cleveland. New genre artist Kid Cudi hails from Cleveland. Chip tha Ripper Al Fatz and Charles Hamilton also hail from Cleveland.
[edit] St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri has produced a few prominent rappers, of which Nelly & the St. Lunatics, Chingy, Jibbs, Huey and J-Kwon are the best known.
[edit] Kansas City
Tech N9ne is known to be a reasonably fast rapper, also known for his ability to speed-rap, a skill mostly dominant in the American Midwest, and due to his geographic location as well as his fast rapping shares many of the same fans as Twista and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. Other notable artists including Mac Lethal, Reach, Rich the Factor, DJ Sku, Stik Figa, Miles Bonny, Joc Max, and Approach (among others) are steadily making names for themselves on national level.
[edit] Indiana
Indiana has an emerging underground rap scene with some underground artists. Along with Mike Epps starting Naptown Records in Indianapolis with some local artists. During the late 90's rappers started hitting the Indiana music scene including Freddie Gibbs and Sani G from Gary, and N.A.P, Uneeq, and Naptown Ridaz from Indianapolis. Naptown is a name used by rappers when referring to Indianapolis in many songs.
[edit] Milwaukee
[edit] Denver
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[edit] Sioux City, Iowa
Sioux City is becoming increasingly known for its Hip-Hop following. Acts based out of the town include The Gateway Drug, Lazer Rocket Arm, Vital Hourz, Destino, and Kisor Flowsay.
[edit] Twin Cities
[edit] The South
[edit] Baltimore
Despite having one of the largest African-American populations in the nation (64%), Baltimore's biggest claim to fame in rap was being the teenage hometown of the late Tupac Shakur who attended the Baltimore School for the Arts. Also from Baltimore was the 1990s R&B group Dru Hill. Its lead singer Sisqó, who in 2000 had a few hits, most notably with the "Thong Song." Baltimore is also the hometown of Mario, who is best known for his hit single "Let Me Love You." There is also a music scene in Baltimore that is often referred to as Baltimore Club. While not traditional hip hop, it incorporates hip hop as well as house and drum and bass influences. It is also the birthplace of DMX, who in turn grew up in Yonkers, New York.
[edit] Virginia
Virginia has long been a state of Hip-Hop innovation since the early 90s with Teddy Riley's (originally from New York) Future Records; based in Virginia Beach and its Wreckx-N-Effect duo with hits like "Rump Shaker". Which later gave rise to other performers and producers like Pharrell and Chad Hugo as The Neptunes. He also spear-headed the Hip-Hop sub-genre of New Jack Swing. The scene has also produced numerous other well sought after producers such as Timbaland and Rich Harrison. Other notable acts include Skillz and The Superfriendz, DMP, Clipse who shot to mainstream status with their Neptunes produced hit "Grindin", Yung Nem from Hampton Roads who is a member of the Bronx and Virginia group Young Warriorz, Wu Syndicate (a short lived expansion of the Wu-Tang Clan), also NBA player Allen Iverson as Jewelz and his controversial unreleased album, and Missy Elliott. Virginia has a well defined underground scene with epicenters around the cities of Hampton Roads (Chesapeake, Norfolk and Virginia Beach), Richmond, Roanoke, and the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C. Fam-Lay is also a big name in Virginia hip hop.
[edit] Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.'s hip hop scene has always been overshadowed by go go. While go has failed to break into popular mainstream music, it still remains at the forefront of urban music in the greater Washington D.C. area.
Two notable pioneers in the D.C. hip hop scene are DJ Kool, whose 20+ year career includes the hit "Let Me Clear My Throat", as well as guest appearances on tracks by Redman, Mýa and Rampage, Trouble Funk, Experience Unlimited (EU) and DC Scorpio. Although DC Scorpio only released three singles in the late 80's, the video for "Stone Cold Hustler II" was a staple on BET's Rap City for months after its release. Though considered more go than straight hip hop, Stinky Dink, who had a major hit locally with his 1991 release "One Track Mind", and Fat Rodney are both considered forefathers in emceeing in the D.C. area.
The 90s saw an expansion of D.C. hip hop's scene. 3LG, also known as Three Levels of Genius, were a cornerstone of the D.C. hip hop scene. Combining a 4-piece band with complex lyrics, 3LG paved the way for many underground acts in the D.C. area, winning 6 Washington Area Music Awards for Best Hip Hop Group throughout their career. Head-Roc and Platted Mind, two of the emcees from 3LG, were also members of the group Infinite Loop, which included One Two, Noyeek the Grizzly Bear and Omega Red among its expansive roster of members. Priest Da Nomad and Storm the Unpredictable are two established emcees who started making a name for themselves in the mid-90s. Though actually hailing from the Northern Virginia metropolitan area, Team Demolition is also a notable group in the D.C. hip hop scene, and was one of the first to independently release and distribute their music on record and CD, garnering some buzz off the strength of their 1998 single "Dirty Gusto". Asheru and Blue Black, also known as the group Unspoken Heard, are well known in the underground hip hop scene; Asheru is best known nationally for performing the theme song for the Adult Swim cartoon The Boondocks.
Notable acts emerging since 2000 include K-Beta, Flex Mattews, Poem-Cees, ALorious,Thad Reid and Wale. Wale is currently generating a lot of buzz, in part to his work with producer Mark Ronson, and was listed in the November 30, 2007 issue of Entertainment Weekly, as one of 8 people to watch in 2008. Wale's song "Breakdown" was featured in the sports video game Madden NFL 09. Wale is considered by many, especially the youth, to be leading the DC hip-hop movement.
[edit] Atlanta
In the late 1990s, a wave of Atlanta-based performers like Goodie Mob and Outkast gained national attention. By the mid 90's, Outkast had become critical behemoths and the Southern rap-inspired Dirty South style was a major component of popular hip hop. Although there a many subgenres of Dirty South Hip-Hop,Atlanta has also popularized another subgenre of hip-hop called Snap music, which helped to spawn many dances including the *Correction. Bankhead Bounce was around long before snap music was invented.* Bankhead Bounce, the A-town Stomp, the Laffy Taffy, Walkin' It Out and the Roosevelt. Atlanta is currently the most productive hip hop city with the biggest names being Outkast, Bubba Sparxxx, Ludacris, Lil Jon, Young Jeezy,Ciara, Ying Yang Twins, Bonecrusher, Field Mob, Dem Franchise Boyz, Unk, Usher, Young Bloodz, D4L, Crime Mob,Gucci Mane, Yung Joc, Killer Mike, Jermaine Dupri, and T.I.
[edit] Houston
Houston first came on to the national scene in the late 1980s with the violent and disturbing stories told by the Geto Boys, with member Scarface going successfully solo in the mid 90s. In the early 2000s Houston, also known as the "3rd coast", exploded into the forefront of Southern hip hop, with commercially successful acts like Mike Jones, Slim Thug, Lil Flip, Chamillionaire and Paul Wall. UGK now calls Houston home although they are originally from Port Arthur, Texas. UGK which consists of Bun B and Pimp C (deceased) are considered to be Texas underground legends. They have been an enormously influential entity on southern hip hop since the 1980s.
Houston has produced hip hop artists such as Mike Jones, Slim Thug, Lil Flip, Chamillionaire, Magnificent, Paul Wall, Bun B and Pimp C of UGK, Brooke Valentine, Trae, Z-Ro, Big Hawk, Big Pokey, Chingo Bling, Devin the Dude, DJ Screw, Fat Pat, Lil' Keke, Scarface, and the Geto Boys.
[edit] Memphis
Memphis is the home of Crunk. Starting in the early 1990s many artists put FunkyTown on the map in the South. Three 6 Mafia, Playa Fly, Gangsta Blac, Kingpin Skinny pimp, 8Ball and MJG, Gangsta Pat, Indo G and Lil Blunt, Al Kapone, Tommy Wright III, DJ Squeeky, DJ Zirk and 2Thick Family.
[edit] Nashville
Nashville is home to artists like Young Buck, Allstar Cashville Prince, Stix Izza, jellyroll, and GRITS. They are so far the only known rappers out of many more from another major city in Tennessee, coming from Nashville. Jellyroll is from a suburb of Nashville known as Antioch. Nashville has a progressive hip-hop community which is steadily growing, producing an array of underground artists, many of whom could see mainstream success.
[edit] Florida
Miami is best-known for a bass-heavy form of hip hop called Miami bass. The first all Hip-Hop label from South Florida was the Broward County based Big Baller Records & Films. Founded by Mr. Frank "Cash" Murray. Big Baller was the first Hip-Hop label in South Florida to sign a major multi-million dollar deal with Sony Music. It was also the first label in Florida to produce and film a movie. Mr. Murray has repeatedly given credit for any so called success to Master P and Jermaine Dupri and his favorite, Luther "Uncle Luke" Campbell. Uncle Luke and his Luke Records had a brief brush with national fame in the late 1980s, aided by a censorship controversy surrounding 2 Live Crew. Trick Daddy and Trina are other well-known rappers, as well as Latino rapper Pitbull. Jin was also from Miami, but moved to New York City. Hip-Hop producers Cool and Dre also hail from Miami. 2006 has seen the reemergence of Miami's hip hop scene with the break out success of Rick Ross, new CDs from Luke, DJ Khaled, Trick Daddy & Pitbull and also newcomers Wrekonize, ¡Mayday!, Basic Vocab, Dirtbag, DeLa & Garcia. Singer T-Pain is from Florida's capital city of Tallahassee. Rapper Plies is from Fort Myers, FL. Tampa is home to the production team JUSTICE LEAGUE who won a Grammy in 2007 for working with Mary J. Blige. Orlando has been showing a lot of talent as of late with rappers such as Wes Fif who just signed to Slip-N-Slide Records.
[edit] New Orleans
Before Atlanta's takeover around 2001, the most popular scene in the South was New Orleans, led by Master P's No Limit Records featuring his 504 Boyz, Romeo, Silkk the Shocker, Mystikal, and C-Murder. Cash Money Records and Cash Money Millionaires, consisting of the who are Baby and Mannie Fresh, the Hot Boyz, which were Lil Wayne, Juvenile, B.G. and Turk, had a 1999 hit, "Bling Bling", which created a national catchphrase called Bling. They formed in 1991 by Baby and his brother Slim and made many hit records throughout the late 90s and 2000s. The future of New Orleans rap is in jeopardy due to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which has directly affected many local rap personalities.
[edit] Mississippi
David Banner is from Mississippi.
[edit] Oklahoma
Litefoot, the most prominent Native American rapper, is based in Tulsa, and operates the record label Red Vinyl.
[edit] Alabama
Although Alabama has many underground artists such as, The Last Mr. Bigg, B.A. Boys, Attitude snd Birmingham J to name a few Rich Boy, from Mobile, Alabama is the most successful rapper to come out of the state.
[edit] West
[edit] Los Angeles
In the early 1980s, recorded hip hop from Los Angeles began. There were two styles. One was hardcore hip hop vocalists, like Ice-T, King Tee and Toddy Tee, while the others performed a kind of electronic dance music called electro hop; these included the Arabian Prince, Egyptian Lover, and World Class Wreckin' Cru.
Though there was no major acclaim until the very end of the 1980s, West Coast artists grew in stature by the middle of the decade. These hits included Ice-T's "6'n da Mornin'" (1986), one of the first gangsta rap songs, and Toddy Tee's "Batterram." Ice-T's Rhyme Pays (1987) brought critical acclaim for the West Coast. With the success of N.W.A and N.W.A. and the Posse soon after, West Coast hip hop moved quickly towards the mainstream. N.W.A.'s Straight Outta Compton completed the transition of West Coast hip hop to the forefront of American popular hip hop, but it was 1992's The Chronic by Dr. Dre that established the style's permanence. Death Row Records was the prominent West Coast record label. Founded by Suge Knight the label included Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and 2Pac. Another notable west coast group from the time was Latin group Cypress Hill who, like Ice-T, also dabbled in the alternative rock scene and gangsta rap. Other prominent Los Angeles artists of the 80' & 90's are Ice Cube, Eazy-E, Low Profile, Kid Frost, Above the Law, MC Eiht and his group C.M.W., DJ Quik, WC and the Maad Circle, Freestyle Fellowship, Snoop Dogg, The Pharcyde, Tha Alkaholiks, Coolio, Warren G, Tha Dogg Pound, Mack 10, Ras Kass, Xzibit, WC, Psycho Realm, Jurassic 5, and Dilated Peoples.
The Chronic was the beginning of what was known as G-funk, and included such stars as Snoop Doggy Dogg and Warren G. Its release came at a pivotal period, simultaneous with the release of Nirvana's Nevermind, and American music went through a watershed moment. There was a backlash against the late 1980s heavy metal bands, which were seen as cheap and formulaic. Nirvana and Dr. Dre shared an anti-establishment attitude which resonated with the country's youth.
West Coast rap has relented much of its command in hip-hop music with the exception of elder statesmen Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg as well as Xzibit.
[edit] Long Beach
Though technically a part of L.A.'s hip hop sense, its huge population and successful hip-hop scene has led to some seeing Long Beach in its own light. It is the home of stars such as Snoop Dogg, Warren G, Nate Dogg, Tha Dogg Pound and Tha Eastsidaz who have all had spans of major success.
[edit] San Diego
Rapper/Actor Nick Cannon is from San Diego, with singles like, "Gigolo", "Your Pops Don't Like Me", and "Dime Piece", he has enjoyed moderate success with music before moving on as an entertainer. Mexican rapper Lil Rob is another rapper from San Diego to become mainstream, with his recent hits "Summer Nights" and "Bring Out the Freak in You". Jayo Felony is a rap veteran who as been rapping gangsta rap since the late 90's. Other rappers include Mitchy Slick, Jimmy Powers and Entra-P of which the latter two form the underground collective Clay Pigeons.
[edit] Northern California
Northern California is perhaps best known for its hardcore gangster Sacramento acts such as X-Raided, Hollow Tip, C-Bo and Brotha Lynch Hung. Brotha Lynch has worked with a diverse selection of artists, from popular underground acts such as Tech N9ne to mainstream rapper Snoop Dogg. Other rappers include Zigg Zagg, Marvalous, North Highland's P-Folks, Phonk Beta, Tallcann G, Jack Paper, Ballin A$$ Dame, and Brotha Lynch's brothers C.O.S and Sicx. Producers and M.C. brothers Madlib and Oh No who are major players in underground Hip Hop through the independent label Stones Throw.
[edit] The Bay Area
The Bay Area's reputation is largely based on alternative acts such as Souls of Mischief, Blackalicious, The Coup, Doseone, Zion I, and Del tha Funkee Homosapien. The Bay Area (specifically Oakland) is also the adopted hometown of the late 2Pac, who started with the famous local act Digital Underground. It is also the hometown of the Luniz consisting of rappers Yukmouth and Numskull as well as other rappers such as Too Short, Spice 1, MC Hammer,Andre Nickatina and Mac Dre. In current times, the Bay Area is home to the "Hyphy" Movement, featuring uptempo club songs from artists like E-40, Keak da Sneak, Mistah F.A.B., The Federation, Hoodstarz, Ya Boy, San Quinn, Turf Talk, Messy Marv, Nump, JT the Bigga Figga, and The Team (rap).
[edit] The Pacific Northwest
Seattle's rap scene is similar to Oakland's more intellectual style. Seattle's old School consisted of The Silver Chain Gang, The Emerald Street Boys, The Funk Brigade, Boss Cross and Gary Jam, The Gangster Girls, and The Chill Hill 3. It briefly gained national prominence in 1988 to 1991 with Sir Mix-A-Lot's novelty hits "Posse On Broadway" (selected as one of Source Magazine's 100 Best Singles of all time), and "Baby Got Back". Later, major regional acts included Source of Labor, and most recently the Oldominion collective, J.Bre, and Blue Scholars. Underground Hip Hop acts the Boom Bap Project, Grayskul have been signed to the major underground label Rhymesayers Entertainment. Thirstin Howl III (though he denies it) also hail from Seattle. The Guinness Book record holder for Fastest Rap MC is the Seattle-based No Clue (Ricky Brown), breaking the record previously held by Chicago rapper Rebel XD who broke another Chicago native, mainstream rapper Twista's record back in 1993. Brown rapped 723 syllables in 51.27 seconds on his track "No Clue" at B&G Studios, Seattle, on January 15, 2005.
In Oregon, hip-hop culture is also alive and well, thriving in the population centers of Portland and Eugene. The most recognizable figures in Portland hip-hop are Bosco "Bosko" Kante's and Terrance "Cool Nutz" Scott's Jus Family Records, the nationally recognized turntabilist DJ Wicked, and the Sandpeople group, which is loosely affiliated with Seattle's Oldominion.
[edit] References
- ^ David Dye (2007-02-22). "The Birth of Rap: A Look Back". NPR. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7550286.
[edit] See also
- Mexican hip hop
- Brazilian hip hop
- British hip hop
- Canadian hip hop
- Chinese hip hop
- Cuban hip hop
- Filipino hip hop
- Japanese hip hop
- Korean hip hop
- Spanish hip hop
- Native American hip hop
- SmokingSection.net, American Hip Hop website
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