The roots of Hip Hop are found in
African-American and West African music. The
griots of West Africa are a group of traveling
singers and poets, whose musical style is
reminiscent of hip hop. Within New York City,
griot-like performances of poetry and music by
artists such as The Last Poets and Jalal Mansur
Nuriddin had a great impact on the post-civil
rights era culture of the 1960s and 1970s.
Hip hop arose during the 1970s
when block parties became common in New York City,
especially the Bronx. Block parties were usually
accompanied by music, especially funk and soul
music. The early DJs at block parties began
isolating the percussion breaks to hit songs,
realizing that these were the most dance-able and
entertaining parts; this technique was then common
in Jamaica and had spread via the substantial
Jamaican immigrant community in New York City,
especially the "godfather" of hip hop,
DJ Kool Herc (below right). 
Dub had arisen in Jamaica due to the influence
of American sailors and radio stations playing
R&B. Large sound systems were set up to
accommodate poor Jamaicans, who couldn't afford to
buy records, and dub developed at the sound
systems (refers to both the system and the parties
that evolved around them). Herc was one of the
most popular DJs in early 70s New York, and he
quickly switched from using reggae records to
funk, rock and, later, disco, since the New York
audience did not particularly like reggae.
Because the percussive breaks were generally
short, Herc and other DJs began extending them
using an audio mixer and two records. Mixing and
scratching techniques eventually developed along
with the breaks. (The same techniques contributed
to the popularization of remixes.) Such looping,
sampling and remixing of another's music, usually
without the original artist's knowledge or
consent, can be seen as an evolution of Jamaican
Dub music, and would become a hallmark of the
hiphop style.
 Later
DJs such as Grandmaster Flash (left) refined and
developed the use of breakbeats, including
cutting. As in dub, performers began speaking
while the music played; these were originally
called MCs; Herc focused primarily on DJing, and
began working with two MCs, Coke La Rock and Clark
Kent—this was the first MC crew, Kool Herc &
the Herculoids.
Originally, these early rappers focused on
introducing themselves and others in the audience
(the origin of the still common practice of
"shouting out" on hip hop records).
These early performers often MCed for hours at a
time, with some improvisation and a simple
four-count beat, along with a basic chorus to
allow the performer to gather his thoughts (such
as "one, two, three, y'all, to the beat,
y'all").
Later, the MCs grew more varied in their vocal
and rhythmic approach, incorporating brief rhymes,
often with a sexual or scatological theme, in an
effort at differentiating themselves and
entertaining the audience. These early raps
incorporated similar rhyming lyrics from African
American culture, such as the dozens.
While Kool Herc & the Herculoids were the
first hip hoppers to gain major fame in New York,
more MC teams quickly sprouted up. Frequently,
these were collaborations between former gang
members, such as Afrikaa Bambaataa's Universal
Zulu Nation (now a large, international
organization). Melle Mel, a rapper/lyricist with
The Furious Five is often credited with being the
first rap lyricist to call himself an
"MC."
During the early 1970s, breakdancing arose
during block parties, as b-boys and b-girls got in
front of the audience to dance in a distinctive,
frenetic style. The style was documented for
release to a world wide audience for the first
time in Beat Street.
Although there were many early MCs that
recorded solo projects of note, such as DJ
Hollywood, Kurtis Blow, and Spoonie Gee, real
notoriety didn't appear until later with the rise
of soloists with big stage presence and drama,
such as LL Cool J. Most early hip hop was
dominated by groups where collaboration among the
members was integral to the show.
Coinage of the term hip hop is often credited
to Keith Cowboy, a rapper with Grandmaster Flash
& the Furious Five. Though Lovebug Starski,
Keith Cowboy, and DJ Hollywood used the term when
the music was still known as disco rap, it is
believed that Cowboy created the term while
teasing a friend who had just joined the U.S.
Army, by scat singing the words
"hip/hop/hip/hop" in a way that mimicked
the rhythmic cadence of marching soldiers.
Cowboy later worked the "hip hop"
cadence into a part of his stage performance,
which was quickly copied by other artists; for
example the opening of the song "Rapper's
Delight" by The Sugarhill Gang.
Former Black Spades gang member Afrika
Bambaataa is credited with first using the term to
describe the subculture that hip hop music belongs
to, although it is also suggested that the term
was originally derisively used against the new
type of music.
Why Did It Start?
The reasons for the rise of hip hop are found
in the changing urban culture within the United
States during the 1970s. Perhaps most important
was the low cost involved in getting started: the
equipment was relatively inexpensive, and
virtually anyone could MC along with the popular
beats of the day.
Another reason for hip hop's rise was the
decline of disco, funk and rock in the mid- to
late 70s. Disco arose among black and gay male
clubs in America, and quickly spread to Europe,
where it grew increasingly sunny, bright and
poppy. Once disco broke into the mainstream in the
United States, and was thus appropriated, its
original fans and many other listeners rejected it
as pre-packaged and soulless.
If disco had anything redeemable for urban
audiences, however, it was the strong, eminently
danceable beats, and hip hop rose to take
advantage of the beats while providing a musical
outlet for the masses that hated disco.
 The
first hip hop recording was probably the New
Jersey-based Sugar Hill Gang's Rapper's Delight in
1979. By the 1980s, all the major elements and
techniques of the genre were in place. Though not
yet mainstream, hip hop was by now well known
among African Americans. Even outside of New
York City; it could be found in cities as diverse
as Los Angeles, Washington, DC, Baltimore, Dallas,
Kansas City, Miami, Seattle, St. Louis, New
Orleans, and Houston.
Despite the genre's spreading popularity,
Philadelphia was, for many years, the only city
whose contributions to hip hop were valued as
greatly as New York City's by fans and critics.
Hip hop music was popular there at least as far
back as the late 1970s (the first Philadelphia hip
hop record was "Rhythm Talk", by Jocko
Henderson in 1979), and the New York Times dubbed
Philadelphia the "Graffiti Capital of the
World" in 1971.
A Philadelphia-area radio DJ, Lady B, was the
first female solo hip hop artist to record music
("To the Beat Y'All", 1980). Later
Schoolly D, another Philadelphia-based artist,
helped invent what became known as gangsta rap.
1980s, The
Golden Age of Hip-Hop
The 1980s saw intense diversification of hip
hop, which developed into a more complex form. As
technology evolved so did the practice of looping
break into breakbeats; the emergence of samplers
and sequencers allowed the beats to be manipulated
with greater precision and granularity and
recombined in more complex new ways than was
possible with vinyl alone.
 In
1984, Marley Marl accidentally caught a drum
machine snare hit in the sampler; this innovation
was vital in the development of electro and other
later types of hip hop. In 1989, DJ Mark James
under the moniker "45 King", released
"The 900 Number", a breakbeat track
created by synchronizing samplers and vinyl.
The content evolved as well. The simple tales
of 1970s MCs were replaced by highly metaphoric
lyrics rapping over complex, multi-layered beats.
Some rappers even became mainstream pop
performers, including Kurtis Blow, whose
appearance in a Sprite commercial made him the
first hip hop musician to be considered mainstream
enough to represent a major product, but also the
first to be accused by the hip hop audience of
selling out.
Another popular performer among mainstream
audiences was LL Cool J, who was a success from
the release of his first LP, Radio.
Hip hop was almost entirely unknown outside of
the United States prior to the 1980s. During that
decade, it began its spread to every inhabited
continent and became a part of the music scene in
dozens of countries. In the early part of the
decade, breakdancing became the first aspect of
hip hop culture to reach Germany, Japan and South
Africa, where the crew Black Noise established the
practice before beginning to rap later in the
decade.
Meanwhile, recorded hip hop was released in
France (Dee Nasty's 1984 Paname City Rappin') and
the Philippines (Dyords Javier's "Na Onseng
Delight" and Vincent Dafalong's "Nunal").
In Puerto Rico, Vico C became the first Spanish
rapper, and his recorded work was the beginning of
what became known as reggaeton.
Popularization
The mid-1980s saw a flourishing of the first
hip hop artists to achieve mainstream success,
such as Kurtis Blow (Kurtis Blow), LL Cool J
(Radio) and especially Run-D.M.C. (Raising Hell),
as well as influences in mainstream music, such as
Blondie's Debbie Harry rapping in the first
non-black hit to feature rapping,
"Rapture".
LL Cool J's Radio spawned a number of singles
that entered the dance charts, peaking with
"I Can Give You More" (#21). 1986 saw
two hip hop acts in the Billboard Top Ten; Run-D.M.C.'s
"Walk This Way" collaboration with
Aerosmith, and the Beastie Boys "(You Gotta)
Fight for Your Right (To Party!)".
The pop success of both singles was unheard of
for the time; "Walk This Way" has proved
especially memorable for its early mixture of hip
hop and rock (though it was not the first such
mixture), and it peaked at an unheard of #4 on the
pop charts.
Also, the mid-1980s saw the rise of the first
major black female group, Salt-N-Pepa, who hit the
charts with singles like "The Show Stoppa"
in 1985. Ice-T's seminal "6n' Da Mornin'"
(1986) is one of the first nationally successful
West Coast hip hop singles, and is often said to
be the beginning of gangsta rap (along with
Schoolly D, LL Cool J and N.W.A.).
Turntablism
While early hip hop arose through the decline
of funk and disco while still employing their
musicianship, there was the rise of artists who
employed the use of the turntable as an instrument
in itself. Hip Hop Turntablist DJs use turntable
techniques such as beat mixing/matching,
scratching, and beat juggling to create a base
that can be rapped over.
Turntablism is generally focused more on
turntable technique and less on mixing. Each
scratch of the turntable is considered unique due
to the complex waveforms produced and employing
digital sampling is considered an affront to a
true Turntablist.
Rise of Gangsta Rap
The first gangsta rap album to become a
mainstream pop hit, selling more than 2.5 million
copies, was N.W.A.'s Straight Outta Compton
(1988). N.W.A.'s controversial subject matter,
including drugs, violence and sex, helped
popularize what became known as gangsta rap (said
to have begun with Ice-T's "6N' Da
Morning").
Specifically, the song "Fuck Tha
Police" earned the foursome the enmity of law
enforcement, resulting in a strongly-worded letter
of discontent from the FBI. N.W.A.'s most lasting
impact, however, was placing the West Coast on the
hip hop map.
The first groups to mix hip hop and heavy metal
included 1984's "Rock Box" (Run-D.M.C.)
and "Rock Hard" (Beastie Boys). Later in
the decade, Ice-T and Anthrax were among the most
innovative mixers of thrash metal and hiphop.
These fusions helped move hip hop into new
audiences, and introduced it to legions of new
fans in the States and abroad.
In Puerto Rico, Vico C became the first
mainstream Spanish language rapper, and his
recorded work was the beginning of what became
known as reggaeton. Hip hop had always had a
significant connection to the Latino community in
New York City including the first Latin DJ DJ
Disco Wiz, and hip hop soon spread amongst
Latinos.
Nationalization
By the end of the 1970s, hip hop was known in
most every major city in the country, and had
developed into numerous regional styles and
variations. Outside of New York City, New Jersey
and Philadelphia, where hip hop had long been
well-established, the 1980s saw intense regional
diversification.
The first Chicago hip hop record was the
"Groovy Ghost Show" by Casper, released
in 1980 and a distinctively Chicago sound began by
1982, with Caution and Plee Fresh. Chicago also
saw the development of house music (a form of
electronic dance music) in the early 1980s and
this soon mixed with hip hop and began featuring
rappers; this is called hip house, and gained some
national popularity in the late 1980s and early
90s, though similar fusions from South Africa,
Belgium and elsewhere became just as well-known
into the 90s.
Los Angeles hardcore rappers (Ice-T) and
electro hop artists (Egyptian Lover) began
recording by 1983, though the first recorded West
Coast rap was Disco Daddy and Captain Rapp's
"Gigolo Rapp" in 1981.
In Miami, audiences listened to Miami bass, a
form of sultry and sexually explicit dance music
with a heavy bass sound, which arose from Los
Angeles electro; it frequently included rapping.
In Washington D.C. a hip hop-influenced form of
dance music called go go emerged and incorporated
rapping and DJing.
In the 1990s, gangsta rap became mainstream,
beginning in about 1992, with the release of Dr.
Dre's The Chronic. This album established a style
called G Funk, which soon came to dominate West
Coast hiphop. Later in the decade, record labels
based out of Atlanta, St. Louis and New Orleans
gained fame for their local scenes. By the end of
the decade, especially with the success of Eminem,
hip hop was an integral part of popular music, and
many American pop songs had a major hiphop
component.
In the 90s and into the following decade,
elements of hip hop continued to be assimilated
into other genres of popular music; nu soul, for
example, combined hip hop and soul music and
produced some major stars in the middle of the
decade, while in the Dominican Republic, a
recording by Santi Y Sus Duendes and Lisa M became
the first single of merenrap, a fusion of hiphop
and merengue.
New York City experienced a heavy Jamaican hip
hop influence during the 90s. This influence was
brought on by cultural shifts particularly due to
the heightened immigration of Jamaicans to New
York City, and the American-born Jamaican youth
who were coming of age during the 90s. Hip hop
artists such as De La Soul and Black Star have
both produced albums influenced by Jamaican roots.
In Europe, Africa and Asia, hip hop began to
move from an underground phenomenon to reach
mainstream audiences. In South Africa, Germany,
France, Italy and many other countries, hiphop
stars rose to prominence and gradually began to
incorporate influences from their own country,
resulting in fusions like Tanzanian Bongo Flava.
West Coast
After N.W.A. broke up, Dr. Dre (a former
member) released The Chronic (1992), which peaked
at #1 on the R&B/hip hop chart and #3 on the
pop chart and spawned a #2 pop single in "Nothin'
But a 'G' Thang".. The Chronic took West
Coast rap in a new direction, influenced strongly
by P funk artists, melding the psychedelic funky
beats with slowly drawled lyrics—this came to be
known as G funk, and dominated mainstream hip hop
for several years through a roster of artists on
Death Row Records.
Also in the 1990s, rapcore (a fusion of hip hop
and heavy metal) became popular among mainstream
audiences. Rage Against the Machine, Linkin Park
and Limp Bizkit were among the most popular
rapcore bands.
Though Caucasian rappers like the Beastie Boys
(Paul's Boutique), Vanilla Ice (To the Extreme)
and 3rd Bass (The Cactus Album) had had some
popular success and/or critical acceptance from
the hip hop community,
Detroit-native Eminem's success, beginning in
1999 with the triple platinum The Slim Shady LP,
came as a surprise to many. Like most successful
hip hop artists of the time, Eminem came to be
criticized for alleged glorification of violence,
misogyny, and drug abuse, as well as homophobia
and albums laced with constant profanity.
Alternative Hiphop
Though mainstream acceptance has become fairly
limited to so-called commercial acts, some
alternative rap artists, with a socially aware or
positive or optimistic tone, have achieved
moderate mainstream success. De La Soul's Three
Feet High and Rising, Gang Starr's No More Mr.
Nice Guy and the Jungle Brothers' Straight Out the
Jungle are usually considered the first albums in
this genre, with jazz-based samples and lyrics
(see jazz rap) strongly influenced by the
Afrocentric messages of Bambaataa's Zulu Nation
collective.
Later alternative artists like A Tribe Called
Quest, Mos Def, and The Roots, also achieved some
mainstream success, though the influence of jazz
had grown less pronounced (with some exceptions,
such as Guru's Jazzmatazz project).
Jazz rap went on to influence the development
of trip hop in the United Kingdom, which fuses hip
hop, jazz and electronic music; it is said[who?]
to have been started by Massive Attack's Blue
Lines (1991). Arrested Development also released
their album 3 Years, 5 Months & 2 Days in the
Life Of... in 1992, which included the hit single,
"Tennessee." At the time, it was one of
the best selling and most popular alternative rap
albums. The success of Dr. Dre's The Chronic later
that year, however, showed gangsta rap to be a
more commercially viable form of hip hop.
In the year 2000, The Marshall Mathers LP by
Eminem sold over nine million copies in the United
States, and Nelly's debut LP, Country Grammar,
sold over six million copies. The United States
also saw the rise of alternative hip hop in the
form of moderately popular performers like The
Roots, Dilated Peoples and Mos Def, who achieved
unheard-of success for their field.
As the decade progressed, hip hop has
transformed from the more or less "old
school" rhythmic rap to a more melodic hip
hop that has the elements of jazz, classical, pop,
reggae, and many other genres. Hip hop also gave
birth to subgenres such as snap music and crunk.
Hip hop influences also found their way into
mainstream pop during this period as well.
Some countries, like Tanzania, maintained
popular acts of their own in the early 2000s,
though many others produced few homegrown stars,
instead following American trends. Scandinavian,
especially Danish and Swedish, performers became
well known outside of their country, while hip hop
continued its spread into new lands, including
Russia, Japan, Philippines, Canada and China.
Primarily in Germany, gangsta rap has become
popular among youths who like the violent and
aggressive lyrics. Some rappers openly or
comically flirt with nazism, Bushido (born Anis
Mohamed Youssef Ferchichi) raps "Salutiert,
steht stramm, Ich bin der Leader wie A"
(Salute, stand to attention, I am the leader like
'A') and Fler had a hit with the record Neue
Deutsche Welle (New German Wave) complete with the
title written in Third Reich style gothic print
and advertised with an Adolf Hitler quote.
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