Old-school hip hop

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Old-school hip hop
Stylistic origins
Cultural originsLate 1970s, The Bronx, New York City, U.S
Other topics

Old-school hip hop (also spelled old skool) (also known as disco-rap) is the earliest commercially recorded hip hop music and the original style of the genre. It typically refers to the music created around 1979 to 1983,[1] as well as any hip hop that does not adhere to contemporary styles.[2]

The image, styles and sounds of old-school hip hop were exemplified by figures like

Funky Four Plus One, Kurtis Blow, The Sugarhill Gang, Melle Mel, Super-Wolf,[3] West Street Mob,[4] Spoonie Gee, Kool Moe Dee,[5] Busy Bee Starski, Lovebug Starski, The Cold Crush Brothers, Warp 9, T-Ski Valley, Grandmaster Caz, Doug E. Fresh, The Sequence, Jazzy Jay, Crash Crew, Rock Steady Crew, and Fab Five Freddy.[6]

It is characterized by the more straightforward

Public Enemy and N.W.A to create an identity based on socially conscious themes in later years.[7] Old-school rappers are widely respected by current hip hop artists and fans, with many claiming they have contributed to the evolution of hip hop.[8]

Musical characteristics and themes

Old-school hip hop is noted for its relatively simple rapping techniques, compared to later hip hop music.[6] Artists such as Melle Mel would use few syllables per bar of music,[9] with simple rhythms[6][9] and a moderate tempo.[10]

Much of the subject matter of old-school hip-hop centers around partying and having a good time.

songs on a plantation... that's the party songs that we used to have".[11]

Beef, KRS-One also credits this as creating a shift in rapping.[14]

Sci-fi/Afrofuturism was another theme introduced into hip hop. The release of Planet Rock in 1982 was a game-changer, like "a light being switched on."[15] The combination of electronic percussive propulsion and Afrika Bambaataa's rap sounded like "an orchestra being rocketed into outer space."[16] "Light Years Away", by Warp 9 (1983), produced and written by Lotti Golden and Richard Scher, explored social commentary from a sci-fi perspective.[17] A "cornerstone of early 80's beatbox afrofuturism", "Light Years Away" is characterized as "a brilliantly spare and sparse piece of electro hip-hop traversing inner and outer space."[18]

Freestyle rap during hip hop's old-school era was defined differently than today. Kool Moe Dee refers to this earlier definition in his book There's a God on the Mic: "There are two types of freestyle. There's an old-school freestyle that's basically rhymes that you've written that may not have anything to do with any subject or that goes all over the place. Then there's freestyle where you come off the top of the head".[19] This is in contrast to the more recent definition which usually defines freestyle rap as "improvisational rap like a jazz solo".[20] In old-school hip hop, Kool Moe Dee says that improvisational rapping was instead called "coming off the top of the head".[21]

Roland TR-808 rhythm
TR-808 drum machine
rhythm with accent trigger used in hip-hop musical context
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Old-school hip hop often sampled

Grand Wizard Theodore in 1975, and the technique was further developed by other prominent DJs, such as Grandmaster Flash. One example is "Adventures on the Wheels of Steel", which was composed entirely by Flash on the turntables
.

Quincy Jones was an influential figure in hip-hop as a record producer for Mercury Records, and eventually became its vice president, which made him popular in hip-hop culture. He went on to publish Vibe magazine, which became a cornerstone in hip-hop history.

History

Old-school hip-hop typically refers to music created around 1980; however, the term may also be applied to music before this with hip-hop styles. "Here Comes the Judge" (1968) by Pigmeat Markham is often referred to as "old-school hip hop".[22]

See also

References

  1. ^ Toop, David (2000), Rap Attack (3rd. ed.), Serpent's Tail, p. Back matter, Old school rap, the music of 1979 to 1983...
  2. ISBN 9781317372523
    .
  3. ^ "Super Wolf". AllMusic.
  4. ^ "Break Dance Electric Boogie", Sugarhill Records
  5. ^ Soul hit "Wild Wild West", 1988
  6. ^ a b c d e https://www.allmusic.com/explore/style/d2926
  7. ^ Gross, Terry. "The History of Hip-Hop | Rapper Melle Mel: Delivering 'The Message'". NPR.
  8. ^ "10 Important Old School Hip Hop Songs". hiphopgoldenage.com.
  9. ^ a b Edwards, Paul (2009). How to Rap: The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC. Chicago Review Press., p. 126.
  10. JSTOR 41699313
    .
  11. ^ Edwards 2009, p. 19.
  12. ^ Edwards 2009, p. 26.
  13. ^ a b "Blow Average". Archived from the original on 7 February 2012.
  14. ^ Beef documentary, 2003, Peter Spirer, Aslan Productions.
  15. ISBN 1-85242-627-6
    .
  16. ISBN 1-85242-627-6
    .
  17. ^ Fitzpatrick, Rob, "The 101 strangest records on Spotify: Warp 9 - It's A Beat Wave", May 14, 2014 [1]
  18. ^ Fitzpatrick, Rob (14 May 2014). "The 101 strangest records on Spotify: Warp 9 - It's A Beat Wave". the Guardian. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  19. ISBN 978-1-56025-533-8
    ., p. 101.
  20. ^ Edwards 2009, p. 182.
  21. ^ Kool Moe Dee 2003, p. 22, 23, 201, 292, 306.
  22. ^ "Did Pigmeat Release First Hip-Hop Song?". XXL. 14 April 2011.
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