Is Hip-Hop dead?

[vchimpanzee]

I finally watched last week's episode of "Black-ish". Diane was doing an assignment for school in which she was arguing Hip-Hop was dead. Her father was shocked, because his job relied on his knowing all the latest artists and being able to appeal to young African-Americans. And yet when he did a presentation in the episode, the music was Herb Alpert's "Rise". Which got a laugh. Since he and Charlie were talking about Biggie, who died "On this day in history" about 25 years ago, according to a recent column, I assume that's who was rapping along with Herb.

So Dre started studying today's artists and finally had to admit some of the music was good, but he could never admit what was old wasn't better. Like "The Humpty Dance". I agree. That's one of the great ones.

By the end of the episode, Diane had to admit she was wrong.

 

[oldradiotapes]

Hip-hop died in the mid-90s when all that "gangster rap" rubbish started to proliferate. Sorry, mumbling incoherently with metallic razzy noises behind you (like they do today) is not rap, nor is it hip-hop. It's garbage. The only reason people like it is peer pressure, social conformity or because they were drunk or stoned the first time they heard it. Mfffffhh blaah bluhbluh blupp vlahp, blub blah muh blap blap. The late 70s/80s/early 90s were the peak period for the genre/form. Just ask shango066.

But what do I know, I mostly program smooth jazz and soft rock, and maybe an upbeat dance/EDM library once every couple years or so.

 

[ksradiogeek]

Simply put: No. It’s evolved over the years, yes. Different styles have come and gone (new jack swing, gangster, crunk, trap, etc.) over the last 4ish decades, but that’s part of any genre.

(Of course, I’m being a bit biased here, as I love hip hop. And no, I wasn’t stoned or drunk when I first started listening to it heavily. It wasn’t even peer pressure or social conformity; no, it was because everyone around me listened to country and it never resonated with me, so I found something that fit my style.)

 

[Kelly A]

Answer: If you ask an older white male: Yes. In reality: No.

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

I don't know if any format is dead but I understand that the music labels and concert promoters for some time have been dealing with the issues over how to attract a younger median demo such as Gen Z. Also it's venues too do you go to OTA radio, Youtube or the music apps to attract the audience in question as a ploy to lower the demos.

 

[semoochie]

Hip-hop died in the mid-90s when all that "gangster rap" rubbish started to proliferate. Sorry, mumbling incoherently with metallic razzy noises behind you (like they do today) is not rap, nor is it hip-hop. It's garbage. The only reason people like it is peer pressure, social conformity or because they were drunk or stoned the first time they heard it. Mfffffhh blaah bluhbluh blupp vlahp, blub blah muh blap blap. The late 70s/80s/early 90s were the peak period for the genre/form. Just ask shango066.

But what do I know, I mostly program smooth jazz and soft rock, and maybe an upbeat dance/EDM library once every couple years or so.

It didn't exist until 1979, so I don't know about the late 70's being part of a peak period! Incidentally, David seems to be perfectly OK with this genre and he's certainly an "older white male"!

Side point: Why isn't "Little Girl" by the Syndicate of Sound, Rap? There are no notes in the vocal and it clearly is not a narrative such as "Old Rivers" or the like.

 

[vchimpanzee]

It didn't exist until 1979, so I don't know about the late 70's being part of a peak period!

I checked Wikipedia. People say rock and roll didn't exist until 1955. Same with hip hop. 1979 is when it became "mainstream".

 

[semoochie]

I checked Wikipedia. People say rock and roll didn't exist until 1955. Same with hip hop. 1979 is when it became "mainstream".

Apparently, there were no recordings before 1979 but it was popular in the clubs. R&B was popular throughout the 1940s and evolved to Rock, becoming mainstream in 1955, when "Rock Around the Clock" was used in the movie, "Blackboard Jungle".

 

[CTListener]

It didn't exist until 1979, so I don't know about the late 70's being part of a peak period! Incidentally, David seems to be perfectly OK with this genre and he's certainly an "older white male"!

Side point: Why isn't "Little Girl" by the Syndicate of Sound, Rap? There are no notes in the vocal and it clearly is not a narrative such as "Old Rivers" or the like.

A better example would be the Hombres' "Let It Out (Let It All Hang Out)," a weird bit of '60s garage rock that has no musicality at all in the vocals. Hopefully, this video will show up here, as apparently Google/YouTube is giving users the ability to prevent sharing of videos with other sites now.

 

[davideduardo]

Apparently, there were no recordings before 1979 but it was popular in the clubs. R&B was popular throughout the 1940s and evolved to Rock, becoming mainstream in 1955, when "Rock Around the Clock" was used in the movie, "Blackboard Jungle".

R&B was just a name for what was the ancestor of the Urban format today, called, unfortunately, "race music" in the 40's and 50's when radio stations targeting all Black audiences started to appear.

As we have seen, some operators and DJs on Black targeted radio stations want to stop using the term "urban" and return to "R&B" as the format name for current hit-based formats targeting people of color.

Rock 'n roll was a derivative of R&B and other forms of music which evolved quickly in the period of the earlier 50's and was, well after the music itself existed, named by a DJ in Cleveland, WJW's Alan Freed.

"Rock around the Clock" was a benchmark, but was not the first real rock 'n roll song, as Freed had begun playing rhythm music for a white audience in Cleveland in 1951 and began rock 'n rolling well before Bill Haley and his Comets came on the scene.

 

[davideduardo]

I checked Wikipedia. People say rock and roll didn't exist until 1955. Same with hip hop. 1979 is when it became "mainstream".

Using Wikipedia as a source for definitive information without second-sourcing the facts is highly dangerous.

Example: more that 75% of radio station history articles are significantly wrong in many of the details.

 

[vchimpanzee]

Using Wikipedia as a source for definitive information without second-sourcing the facts is highly dangerous.

The History of Hip Hop Music

Hip hop music, also referred to as rap music, is a music genre typically consisting of a rhythmic vocal style called rap which is accompanied with backing beats.

web.archive.org

Example: more that 75% of radio station history articles are significantly wrong in many of the details.

Didn't quite work, but I was trying to show that the statement in Wikipedia had a source.

I've written a bunch of those articles about radio stations, or at least corrected them.

 

[semoochie]

A better example would be the Hombres' "Let It Out (Let It All Hang Out)," a weird bit of '60s garage rock that has no musicality at all in the vocals. Hopefully, this video will show up here, as apparently Google/YouTube is giving users the ability to prevent sharing of videos with other sites now.

It's similar but nearly a narrative, compared to "Little Girl", which I didn't notice didn't have any notes for about 50 years! The Hombres' song is also a novelty where the other one clearly is not.

 

[Kelly A]

Just the fact that this thread has devolved into a debate about the history of rock and roll, is indicative of the local interest and knowledge of the original topic. Older white males.

 

[CTListener]

Just the fact that this thread has devolved into a debate about the history of rock and roll, is indicative of the local interest and knowledge of the original topic. Older white males.

Rap's origins, like early rock 'n' roll's, are unquestionably African and African American. Talking blues is the genre's primary influence. When rock 'n' roll got "respectable" and became just "rock," the origins became nearly unrecognizable. You'd need an electron microscope to glimpse anything remotely African in the pretentious pseudo-classical noodlings of Emerson, Lake and Palmer, for instance. I have a feeling that many of the older white males who deny rap's legitimacy and staying power are those same art-rock enthusiasts.

 

[Zooz]

Sorry, mumbling incoherently with metallic razzy noises behind you (like they do today) is not rap, nor is it hip-hop. It's garbage. The only reason people like it is peer pressure, social conformity or because they were drunk or stoned the first time they heard it. Mfffffhh blaah bluhbluh blupp vlahp, blub blah muh blap blap

Tears of laughter are rolling down my face...what a perfect definition!

 

[Kelly A]

Rap's origins, like early rock 'n' roll's, are unquestionably African and African American.

Bzzzt, incorrect. Hip Hop came from The Bronx: Hip Hop History: From the Streets to the Mainstream | Icon Collective

 

[landtuna]

R&B was just a name for what was the ancestor of the Urban format today, called, unfortunately, "race music" in the 40's and 50's when radio stations targeting all Black audiences started to appear.

In the late 50's/early 60's "R&B" was popular among the youngsters in colleges. They called it "Jazz" and played it in SF clubs like the Hungry i.

As we have seen, some operators and DJs on Black targeted radio stations want to stop using the term "urban" and return to "R&B" as the format name for current hit-based formats targeting people of color.

"Urban" seems to be a marketing term whereas "R&B" describes the music.

Rock 'n roll was a derivative of R&B and other forms of music which evolved quickly in the period of the earlier 50's and was, well after the music itself existed, named by a DJ in Cleveland, WJW's Alan Freed.

The term "Rock and Roll" was used as early as the twenties, mainly by Black musicians, as a nickname for the sex act (when, obviously, it could not be used explicitly in a song. When "Black" music became popular with White kids in the 50's the term was carried forward.

 

[landtuna]

It's similar but nearly a narrative, compared to "Little Girl", which I didn't notice didn't have any notes for about 50 years!

"Hey Little Girl" was being performed publicly by the Syndicate of Sound as early as the mid-60's. I know for I attended a high school graduation party in May of '66 in Marin County where the Sound were the headliners. BTW, "Girl" was performed virtually identically - notes and lyrics.

The major differences in these two 'songs' were the instrumentation. Both were spoken vocal but "Girl" had a selection of genuine instrumentation in addition to the drums.

 

[semoochie]

In the late 50's/early 60's "R&B" was popular among the youngsters in colleges. They called it "Jazz" and played it in SF clubs like the Hungry i.



"Urban" seems to be a marketing term whereas "R&B" describes the music.



The term "Rock and Roll" was used as early as the twenties, mainly by Black musicians, as a nickname for the sex act (when, obviously, it could not be used explicitly in a song. When "Black" music became popular with White kids in the 50's the term was carried forward.

I don't believe that I've heard anyone use the term, "youngsters" since Ed Sullivan!