Rap Music: From Obscurity to Prominence
By: Dan Prupis, Brian Wright, and Mike Rogers

Thesis Statement:

     Music has evolved as a form of pop-culture, from the beginning of its roots, and rap music is no different. Within the last

twenty-five years the American public has witnessed, first hand, the dominance of a new genre of music...rap. Rap music has

emerged from popular ghetto music culture, to the most explosive and dominating form of music of the new millennium.

     Even if you are not into rap music, hip-hop culture is all around you. It can be seen in the movies you watch the books

that you read, and the fashion that you wear. Before the topic of hip-hop music is discussed any further, it is necessary to

define what exactly Rap and hip-hop are. First off rap is a form of rhythmic speaking in rhyme; Hip-Hop refers to the culture

of rap. These two terms are nearly, but not completely interchangeable.

Hip-Hop represents a realignment of America’s cultural aesthetics. Rap songs deliver the message again and again to “keep

it real”. "Rap is the music of necessity, of finding poetry in the colloquial, beauty in anger and lyricism in violence." Hip hop

can be compared to other music forms such as blues and jazz in that it has caused young people of all races to search for

excitement, artistic fulfillment, and even a sense of identity by exploring the black underclass.

     The year was 1978, American music, at least on the radio, was flat. The dull thud of disco dominated the airwaves.

Popularized by groups like the Village People, and the Bee Gees, disco sounded as if robots or computers constructed it,

not PEOPLE. The soulful sixties had given way to a much more impersonal music. The quality of disco was measured not by

lyrics, melody, or artistic performance but rather by the number of mechanically produced beats per minute that it contained.

Furthermore, beyond the dance floor, disco had no bearing in reality.

     The rejection of disco by inner city youth was what ultimately led emergence of rap culture. Bored with the artificial thud

they heard on the radio, black kids began rummaging through their parents' record collections in search of a beat to party to.

Two Bronx Deejays, DJ Hollywood and DJ Kool Herc, who would eventually be hailed as the founding fathers of rap,

agreed that there was something missing from the music being played in the clubs. Jamaican born Herc immigrated to New

York City in 1969 when he was twelve years old. By that age, he had already been influenced by the style of Jamaican

'toasters,' which represented a style similar to modern day rap music.

     Herc became notorious for incorporating the most obscure records into his mixes. Anything was fair game for inclusion in

a mix: a James Brown scream, a Wilson Prickett grunt, a funky bass line, a guitar riff, and even tidbits of jingles and theme

songs from popular TV shows and movies. Soon partygoers were showing up at halls and clubs just to check out what the

deejays were "dropping" on the mic and turntable.
    
     In the summer of 1979, rap broke out big time. A trio of unknowns who called themselves the Sugar Hill Gang unleashed

"Rappers Delight" on an unsuspecting America. Until "Rapper's Delight," a nonstop fourteen-minute rhyme over the rhythm

and melody of "Good Times," a huge dance hit by the group Chic, rap was primarily an art form of the moment. Deejays and

MCs became ghetto celebrities by selling cheaply made cassette recordings of their mixes and live shows. However,

nobody's raps had been preserved until "Delight" kicked open the doors of opportunity. "Rappers Delight" eventually sold

500,000 copies and hit number one on the pop chart, kicking down the door for the rappers of their era.

     From the influence of DJ Herc, and the Sugar Hill Gang emerged the most pivotal force in the early days of rap-Afrika

Bambaataa and his Zulu Nation. Bambaataa was a Bronx street deejay who spun records at block parties and in the park,

but unlike other deejays, Bambaataa incorporated a strong element of cultural awareness into his music. A former gang

member, Bambaataa schooled himself in the philosophies of black nationalist leaders like Marcus Garvey and Malcolm X.

He saw music as a way to unify ghetto youth. Bambaataa was accepted as a unifying force in an area that was plagued by

turf wars between youth gangs. His presentations were a cultural patchwork. He pushed the limits of cultural and musical

association, by mixing the shotgun horns or drums beats of a James Brown or Junior Walker tune with the Andy Griffith

theme song, which would eventually expose the talent of black rappers to the white community.

     As rap approached the late and mid 80's there was no turning back. The development of Def Jam recordings, which

ultimately brought rap to the forefront of music culture, allowed rap artists such as LL Cool J, The Beastie Boys, Run DMC,

and Public Enemy to emerge. The Beastie Boys' first album Licensed to Ill, was the first rap album to reach number one,

setting the stage for many other artists.

     Rap music did not only become popular in the 80's; artists began to send a cultural message as well. The lyrics of rap

music began to consist of the struggles of the ghetto, the problems of race and police, and a life of urban poverty. Probably

the most recognized, and pungent message was sent by the release of an album by a group called NWA (Niggaz With

Attitudes). The group revealed, in great detail, the struggle in the California slums, and the unfairness they received with local

police authorities. The controversial song, "Fuck the Police," proved to have a significant role as rap introduced urban street

culture.

     Perhaps the emergence in the late 90's of hip-hop and rap music into mainstream American culture can be best summed

up in a simple line by the rapper Nas off of his multi-platinum selling LP I Am, "Hip-hop took it to millions, I knew we

would." This line is referring to the phenomenon that many music experts thought would never occur.

     When rap music first became popular in the mid to late 80's, music critics thought it was only a trend or a fad in urban

areas that would die out within a short period of time. For years, rap music's central audience were minority's who were

inhabitants of the inner city. They saw rap music and the subjects that rappers focused on as something they could relate to

and identify with. However, in the 90's with the rise of radio stations whose central focus became rap music and airplay of

rap music videos on television channels such as MTV and BET, rap music was able to extend out to a new audience.

Instead of relying primarily on inner-city youths to purchase and market rap music, suburban white youths now started to

listen to this musical art form. Despite the fact that this new audience couldn't directly relate to many of the issues and

subjects that were stressed in many of the songs, it still appealed to them because of its anti-establishment message. Many

record company executives saw this as an obstacle that was holding rap music back from controlling the music charts. Even

though many members of this new audience enjoyed listening to songs that focused on the problems that plagued the

inner-city like violence, drugs, and the exploitation of women, these record companies realized that rap music's audience

could expand if the subject of the music expanded. This lead to what is referred to by many as "commercial rap." Rather

then focusing exclusively on the previously mentioned urban conditions, rappers made songs discussing their material

possessions like how much money they had, the price of their car, and how much jewelry they possessed. Also, the format

of their songs changed to songs that were easy to dance to and contained numerous samples of past pop songs. This new

form of commercial rap did what it was intended to do; expand rap music's audience by making it "easier" for the average

person to listen to. Rapper and CEO of record company Bad Boy Records, Sean "Puffy" Combs was one of the firsts to

use this trend. Combs created a stable of rappers (that included the late Notorious B.I.G.) under Bad Boy Records and

created songs that consisted of hooks that were primarily sampled. Combs' rappers received a great deal of airplay from

radio stations and MTV, which lead to unseen record sales by rap albums. Combs' Bad Boy Records put together a string

of multi-platinum selling records whose primary audience were people who hadn't previously listened to rap records. The

ironic part about this new trend of commercial rap was that in some ways it was not new. The first rap album to go platinum

was Vanilla Ice's 1990 release, which followed a very similar format of sampling and subject material that was easy to listen

to and dance to. With Combs' success of venturing into commercial rap, many other record companies got involved with this

new trend. Percy "Master P" Miller owner of the record label No Limit Records ventured into commercial rap. Not only

was his record label successful, but also they replaced Bad Boy as the top selling record label. However, Miller did not stop

there as he expanded No Limit enterprise into its own clothing line and its own sports agency for professional athletes.

Perhaps the most compelling evidence that rap music was now the most popular form of music in America is the fact that

both Miller and Combs both appeared in the top 10 of the Forbes 500 in both 1998 and 1999, with each grossing over 50

million dollars in profit.

     However, despite the fact that this commercial rap was quite successful in expanding rap music's audience, many rappers

felt that this new model was breaking away from the original hip-hop that formed in the late 70's and early 80's. This lead to

the emergence of what is referred to as underground rap. In this underground rap, the subject that is stressed is the concept

of originality. The amount of records sold is not the primary objective, but rather the quality of the album is. This division of

rap into commercial and underground is similar to the trends that occurred in jazz and blues when they started to gain

popularity with a mainstream American audience. With the rise of record companies like Def Jam Recordings, Loud

Records, and Rawkus Records, underground rappers have been able to achieve the same platinum and gold success as their

counterpart, commercial rap. This has allowed underground rappers to be successful without losing focus of their main goals

of following the format of true hip-hop.

     On a week to week basis rap albums continue to dominate the Billboards top 100 albums. Whenever any major rap

album is released, it can be expected to be number one on the charts. In 1999, 21 rap albums went platinum (over 1 million

copies sold) and 24 albums went gold (500,000 copies sold). Perhaps the most alarming fact about this is that the

overwhelming majority of the consumers of these albums were suburban white youths. This is what has lead many music

experts to affirm, that rap music has taken over pop music permanently.

     Hip-Hop is perhaps the only art form that openly celebrates commercialism as well as capitalism. As a result of this

Madison Avenue has openly embraced the participants of this emergence as a way of increasing profits. Such companies

have openly chosen to market their merchandise towards the people of this music genre. For example such companies as

Tommy Hilfiger have directed their selling approach towards the Hip-hop crowd. As a result of this strategy Hilfiger now

does over a billion dollars worth of sales of oversized shirts, baggy jeans and other accessories. According to Hilfiger “Hip

hop has created a style that is embraced by an array of people from all backgrounds and races”.

     The newer ad campaigns have followed right along with the evolution of rap music and the Hip-hop culture. These new

ads are becoming stealthier and streetier. Five years ago Sprite recast its ads to rely heavily on hip hop themes. Its newest

series of ads featured several up and coming rap stars, such as Common, Fat Joe, and Goodie Mob, in fast moving clips that

 are understandable to only those viewers who are down with rap and hip hop. This strategy seems to work being that Sprite

has acknowledged that the campaign has almost quadrupled its customer base.

     Hip-hop can also be found more and more in Hollywood. Such musical starts as Erykah Badu, Ice Cube and Queen

Latifah has been recently been involved in major movie roles. Other Stars such as Will Smith have been involved in

Hollywood productions for nearly the last decade. In fact Will Smith is now one of the most in demanded actors in the movie

business today. Where as in the past Hollywood wanted nothing to do with rap stars, today they are in great demand.

According to rapper Ice Cube this is so because “we (rappers) add a sense of realism where sometimes a trained actor

can’t deliver that reality the way that it needs to be done”.

     Finally, many people are wondering what WILL come of hip-hop in the next century. Since the 60's musical and cultural

trends have come and gone at an alarming rate. However one thing remains constant, Hip-Hop. Some feel that this is not

good for the social fabric of the nation, but is right for the pickings for the makers of edgy aggressive culture. The fact of the

matter is that hip-hop in its many forms has reflected our societies woes so well that it has grown from minority expression to

mainstream entertainment. Our country has changed because of hip hop, some of it good and some of it bad. Some of the

things that hip-hop has affected includes our clothes, our language our sexuality, and our role models. The allegiance of hip

hops true fans are deep and seem to be life long commiters. The mainstream, that majority of Americans of all colors for

who culture is a commodity and not a calling, seem far from tired by it.

     In closing, maybe some day long down the line all the hype that hip-hop has created will die out and seem as old and

outdated as big band music. May be the next generation will reject hip hop culture and historically they are supposed to, but

whether people like it or not hip hop music has shaped are communities immensely.