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Julie Goodwin
Professor Patterson
ENC2135 SEC. 11
17 September 2015
Rap: Old School vs. New School
Out of the late 1970s emerged a new genre of music. It had a distinct style, beat, and
content. With lyrics often being compared to poetry, it was no surprise that this genre blew up
and is a dominant part of music and culture to this day. The musical genre of rap, which is a
subculture of hip hop, can be further broken down into two subgenres: new school and old
school rap. As I break down these two subgenres from their evolution, artists, and content, it will
be clear that although they may be the same type of music, rap has drastically changed, and it
may not be for the best.
In the late nineteen-seventies and early eighties emerged a new musical basis that did
not always aim to please the audience, but aimed to confront listeners, fellow artists, and all
forms of authority head on. With the founders of this art form consisting of Grandmaster Flash,
KRS ONE, The Wizard, Africa Bambaataa, and Run DMC, the intended audience were ones
that were predominantly African American who were just an additional generation of their family
who lived in poverty, involved in drugs, and had run-ins with the law speaking of their inability
to leave this vicious cycle (Barnes). In the early days of hip-hop rappers primarily speak of the
struggles in their life. (Barnes). As this music spread, whether being heard in clubs, on street

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corners, or the occasional air time on the radio, it was found that more and more people could
relate to this music. The music industry was about to be revolutionized and the impact that would
be made could have never been foreseen. These pioneers had a certain essence about them that
allowed you to empathize with them. They laid down the law in raw poetry set to beats extracted
from funk and disco music. As this phenomenon spread across the country it would soon appear
on T.V. and radio. With all the new found popularity, new rappers emerged. Groups such as
N.W.A. (big names including Eazy E, Dr. Dre, and Ice Cube), Wu-Tang Clan, World Class
Wreckin Cru, and Public Enemy charged the scene as rap became a big money industry.
These groups not only started showing the profit of this industry, but they did not cower
in the face of authority. With N.W.A.s (Niggas With Attitude) burst onto the scene, their songs
were anything but subtle. Song titles including F*** tha Police and the ever-so-popular
Straight Outta Compton gave this group a large fan base and a constant battle with the law.
Upon the groups split in the early nineteen nineties, with the groups individual careers, the
world of rap was going to become monumental for decades to come. Rolling Stone Magazines
biography and breakdown of NWA reminds us that despite the breakup, with many of the
members starting solo careers or forming new bands they would continue in the music industry
for a little longer, with albums topping the billboard charts such as Dres The Chronic (Simon).
Dr. Dre would make the biggest impression on the industry by being a co-founder of Death Row
Records with Suge Knight. This record label would sign a plethora of new school essential
artists such as Snoop Dogg, and most importantly, Tupac. Hits such as California Love and 2
of Amerikas Most Wanted would include these two artists working together.

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Though the emerging artists of the nineties were deemed new school because they
were graced with the still-evolving technologies, upon deeper listening even the untrained ear
could detect a difference in the music of new school and these newer artists of Snoop Dogg,
Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, Notorious B.I.G., and Tupac. There is one name in that list that stands
out from the rest: Tupac. Maybe he was cursed with being a few years late of being considered
old school, but when you listen to his music and break down his rhymes, though often more
than controversial, he speaks of real issues. Tupac spoke of what life was like in neighborhoods
ridden with drugs, welfare, and crime. He searched and spoke to fight and take steps toward
change, not only for the poor or own gain, but spoke out for womens rights in songs such as
Keep Ya Head Up. Who said that what formed old school was strictly timing? When a rapper
as such brings rap back to its roots while keeping the progression of issues and the industry,
confronting problems while the industry and technology evolved, Tupac was not old school nor
new school, but perhaps timeless.
Upon being fed up with all the drama and constant crime that seemed to always
accompany Suge Knight (and still does to this day) Dre left Death Row Records to establish his
own record company Aftermath Entertainment. Leaving behind his protg, Tupac as part of the
deal to escape the crime ridden Death Row Records, Dre soon faced backlash from Tupac after
he and Snoop recorded To Live and Die in LA with Tupac stating at the end of the song
LA, California Love part two, without gay-ass Dre. With a relaxed hip-hop beat and guns,
partying, money, and girls as the subject of raps the beats were beginning to shift to somewhat
laid backed and slower while still enjoyable. Many raps were sparked by and contained verses
that were directed to feuds among the rappers, the biggest being that between Tupac and Biggie.

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Often being compared to an election, the entire rap community was picking sides waiting for
someone to throw the next move, whether it be a verse or a bullet.
Dre shortly took a possible career-ending risk, signing a white Detroit rapper named
Eminem. Rolling Stone Magazine acknowledged Eminem as one of the best rappers and
summarized his appeal, stating in his biography on their website: The combination of Eminem's
unique delivery (many critics and artists, both black and white, hailed him as one of the best
MCs in the world), crossover appeal, and willingness to attack and offend anything in his way
without prejudice quickly established the young rapper as a seemingly unstoppable
phenomenon (Serpick). Eminem (and his alter ego Slim Shady) was relentless and would not
hesitate to fire shots in his lyrics at his wife, mother, or any other rapper. It truly threw the rap
spectrum for a loop when a predominantly African American culture and genre run by thugs
constantly looking for a fight, was taken over by a scrawny white guy who was more often the
victim of beatings, growing up in neighborhoods predominantly African American. Eminem
broke every expectation and stereotype there was within the rap industry.
With few notable influences following him, rap has changed once again. Could it be
possible there is a new new school in the industry? In the mid two thousands, as Eminem took
a dip out of the scene due to drug addiction, a new era of rappers emerged; Ones lacking
originality, meaning, and depth in their rhymes. What you hear is what you get with this group.
Previously you could listen to a song a hundred times constantly dissecting the lyrics and still
hear a new pun or insult being thrown at someone just as easily as you catch one the first time
you listen to a song. The mind games and peeling back the layers and meanings of the lyrics to
understand an insult thrown at another rapper was part of the fun. Nowadays these rappers

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think stringing together some curse words with different synonyms of the words money,
party, drinking, and girls is art, when it is a pathetic attempt at what rap was meant to be.
Artists and listeners have lost sight of what hip hop originally stood for diminishing the
sacred art of Hip Hop. (Barnes).

Works Cited
Barnes, Mike. "Thread: Old School vs New School(Hiphop)." Deep House Page Forums. N.p.,
11 Jan. 2011. Web. 17 Sept. 2015.
Serpick, Evan, and Simon & Schuster. "Eminem Biography." Rolling Stone. N.p., n.d. Web. 18
Sept. 2015.
Simon & Schuster, and Evan Serpick. "N.W.A. Biography." Rolling Stone. N.p., n.d. Web. 17
Sept. 2015.