Shrestha 1

Suyog Shrestha
Professor Erin Rogers
Writing 1010
8 October 2015
Evolution of Hip-Hop/Rap
In fifth grade I first listened to Dear Mama by Tupac Shakur. It was the first song I had
ever listened to that made me feel the emotions the artist was trying to portray. Tupac was a
gateway artist for me to explore and find other artists that I enjoyed listening to; many of the
songs and artists I listened to were old songs from the 90s. While listening to these songs, I
noticed many differences in music from back then to music today. Hip-Hop/Rap has evolved a
lot from when it started off being humble and bringing people together to now days, where artists
mainly care about money and fame; although there are some artists who are exceptions.
For me, hip-hop began there in fifth grade with, Tupac, and The Notorious B.I.G, also
known as Biggie, but hip-hop actually began in the early 70s (Corner). It all started in the
Bronx, New York with one of the founding fathers of hip-hop, DJ Kool Herc (Dye). In August
11, 1973, DJ Kool Herc and his sister first began throwing their back to school parties in the
recreational rooms in their building (Mize). During these parties, hip-hop as we know it today
first began.
DJ Kool Herc and DJ Hollywood, the two founding fathers of hip-hop/rap, changed the
face of music forever. They collected records and spun them for their parties and soon enough a
new style of spinning records was invented. Usually DJs would only spin one record using one
turntable, but DJ Kool Herc and DJ Hollywood started to use two turntables at the same time
(Wood). This technique, called merry go round, allowed the DJ to extend any section of the song

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for as long as he wished. This revolutionized making music forever, its used by record producers
even to this day (Mize).
When I listen to hip-hop my favorite part is the lyrics that the rappers spit, but when hiphop first started there was no rapper. There were emcees who were mainly there to promote their
DJs. Music today focuses mainly on the MCs, the lyrics and flow of the MC is just as or even
more important than the beat. DJ Kool Herc noticed that speaking and rhyming to the beat was
just was important as DJing. In the beginning DJ Kool Herc used to interact with his audience
himself by acknowledging the people. Hed say things like Yo this is Kool Herc in the joint-ski
saying my mellow-ski Marky D is in the House (Corner). Later on he asked his friend Coke La
Rock to be the MC for his parties, where Coke La Rock became the first rapper in history
(Mize).
Rapping soon became popular and started to appear in every single block party. Although
it was very trendy in the streets and parties, record companies still did not acknowledge rap as
true music; it was still considered as a fad. However, in 1979 The Sugarhill Gang released their
Rappers Delight which went on to the top 40 billboard spot in 1980 and later on in that year
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five released Superrappin which went on to be a stepping
stone for hip-hop itself (Dye). Soon enough, Run DMC, Salt N Pepa, N.W.A., Tupac Shakur, and
Notorious B.I.G began their career and changed Hip-Hop forever.
Hip-Hop has changed a lot throughout history and my taste in it has changed along with
it. After I first got introduced to Tupac and Biggie, I started to listen to more recent music. When
I was in fifth and sixth grade rappers such as Eminem, Nas, Jay-Z, T.I., The Game, Kid Cudi, 50
Cent, T-Pain, and Snoop Dog. I remember listening to Nass album It Was Written every chance I
had; my favorite song on that album was I Gave You Power, which was from the perspective

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of a gun. I loved the different perspective idea, listening to this song was like listening to a story.
Although I respected the rap music that was coming out then and there were some songs that I
liked, I still like the old stuff better. When I got to high school, my friends got me listening to
Odd Future and some underground rap. I especially enjoyed listening to underground rap more
than mainstream rap. To me underground rap sounded more like old school rap and it actually
had a message. At that time my favorite underground rapper was Immortal Technique, I liked his
lyrics and his flow made it sound like he was telling a story. Finally, when I came to AMES my
friends got me listening to some recent stuff as well as some old songs. I listened to artists like
Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, Drake, The Underachievers, Vince Staples, and Jay Rock.
Most of the songs I listen to are recommended to me by my friends.
Hip-Hop today is completely different from how it was when it first started. Its
beginning was a humble type of music thats main focus was to bring families together and to
raise others mood when down, this era of music was called the old school hip-hop (Corner).
Artists in this era were The Sugarhill Gang and Grandmaster and the Furious Five. It then
evolved into a way for artists to tell stories about their hard life in the streets, which came to be
known as the gangster rap (Wood). There were many groups and artists who were part of this era
like N.W.A., Tupac, Biggie, Nas, and many more. Finally, it has developed into hip-hop as we
know it today. People say that todays music is not as good as it has been before, that today
music is mainly about money and fame. Although this is true for many artists, there are artists
today who share stories and mention real world problems in their songs; these are the artists who
make music for more than money and fame. For example, in Kendrick Lamars album To Pimp
A Butterfly, there is a song called The Blacker the Berry which discusses the big issue of
racism in our society. In that song Kendrick says So why did I weep when Trayvon Martin was

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in the street (Lamar). Throughout this song, Kendrick deals with the issue of racism and how
blacks are not respected as much as they should be in society. I personally like this song very
much because the lyrics are very heartfelt and when I listen to this song I can tell how much
Kendrick cares about this issue. However, Kendrick is not the only one who cares about the
problems in society. In J. Coles album 2014 Forest Hills Drive the song Note to Self mentions
the protests that were going on in Ferguson (Cole). Despite there being many mainstream artists
who only make music for money and fame, there are some artists who are exceptions, like
Kendrick, J. Cole, and many underground rappers.
Although it has only been 40 years since hip-hop first started, it has changed
tremendously from when it first started to how it is now. Many people believe that todays hiphop/rap is not as good as before and has shifted its meaning to stand for money and fame instead
of its humble beginning. Although this is true for many artists, there are many exceptions. Artists
such as Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, and many other underground rappers use their music to express
the issues in society. Even though hip-hop/rap has changed a lot from when it began, the basis of
heart and soul still remains

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Works Cited
Cole, J. "13. J. Cole - Note To Self [2014 Forest Hills Drive]." YouTube. YouTube, 14 Dec. 2014.
Web. 10 Oct. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNLJGGQRVB8>.
Corner, Dave Davey D. "The History of Hip Hop Pg. 3.", 1985. Web. 04 Oct. 2015.
<http://www.daveyd.com/raphist1.html>
Dye, David. "The Birth of Rap: A Look Back.", 22 Feb. 2007. Web. 04 Oct. 2015.
<http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7550286>
Lamar, Kendrick. "The Blacker The Berry." YouTube. YouTube, 21 Feb. 2015. Web. 10 Oct.
2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMxNYQ71LOk>.
Mize, Cole. "History of Rap - The True Origins of Rap Music." ColeMizeStudios, 22 Sept.
2014. Web. 03 Oct. 2015. < http://colemizestudios.com/how-did-rap-start/>
Wood, Joann. "Rap Music.", Apr. 2004. Web. 04 Oct. 2015.
<http://novaonline.nvcc.edu/eli/evans/his135/events/rap79/rapmusic.html>