New York
City is a place that’s considered the epicenter of the United States and
possibly even the world. The city is widely recognized as the mecca for
fashion, basketball, and even the tasty dish of pizza. New York City is also
the birthplace and Holy Grail for the cultural phenomenon of Hip Hop. Hip Hop
has had a mass affect nationally and internationally for all people no matter
the gender or ethnicity. Since the late 20th Century until the
present times, this enriched culture has been a part of our everyday lives as
human beings. The origination of Hip Hop was brought forth to the world in New
York City, and any listener of the culture’s music should be conscious of this.
Every Hip Hop element of graffiti, emceeing, deejaying, breaking, and
beat-boxing was created in the New York City borough of The Bronx in the mid 1970s.
From The Bronx this sudden movement made a massive spread into the other four
New York City boroughs of Queens, Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Staten Island along
with the Tri-State area. In a metropolitan area filled with allure and
reverence, Hip Hop is another notch under the belt for New Yorkers to take
pride in since that’s where the culture was created. The brand of Hip Hop the
New York way with its culture and music especially have went through its ups
and downs within the last 35 plus years.
The Late 1970s-1980s
Hip Hop as a
musical genre was ushered into the mainstream with the 1979 hit record by The
Sugar Hill Gang entitled “Rapper’s Delight.” This song was the first Top 40
mainstream hit that took over the radio airwaves just in time for the arrival
of the 1980s. Although The Sugar Hill Gang is from Englewood, New Jersey, it
was known that this new art form they demonstrated derived from “The Big
Apple.” By the early 1980s people throughout the United States in various
locales looked to New York City for a full representation of all the major
elements and techniques of the Hip Hop genre. Every place from Houston to Los
Angeles imitated the art form that was introduced from New York City. This
effect from such a large place conveyed that the culture was to be in use
nationwide and even globally with time.
Throughout
the 1980s, there was a plethora of Hip Hop artists who were New York City
natives that became star and superstar figures for a new generation of music
listeners. In the early 1980s Harlem native Kurtis Blow became the first solo
emcee to receive a major label record deal. Although he signed with the
successful Mercury Records in 1979 at the age of 20, he released the first hit
record by a solo artist in 1980 entitled “The Breaks.” This pivotal rap song was
the first single to be certified gold by a rap artist. The record also reached
the #4 spot on the U.S. Billboard R&B Chart in the same year. Kurtis Blow
as an entertainer was the first emcee to go on a national and international
tour, and to ink the first endorsement deal by signing with Sprite. All of
these acts by Kurtis Blow proved that an emcee can have mainstream
marketability. Even though Kurtis Blow was the epitome of Old School Rap with
his simple rapping technique, he influenced rappers who came out directly after
him. As a rapper he also represented the exuberance of the art form still in
its youth through popular party music. Other popular rappers in the early 1980s
like The Treacherous Three, Spoonie Gee and The Fearless Four just to name a
few, released fun party music that was played at every dance function in Hip
Hop’s earlier stages.
At this time
also different styles of rap emerged from New York City to help the genre grow
and become versatile. Legendary rap group Grandmaster Flash And The Furious Five
released the game changing single “The Message” in 1982. This particular song
featured the bunch speaking on relevant social topics like crime and poverty in
the inner-city. The record showed that rap music can go beyond the party scene,
and speak on social issues with sophisticated commentary. This was the
introduction of conscious rap to the listening masses, which has influenced the
variety of content that rappers have even today.
Transitioning
into the mid 1980s brought in another style of rap that connected with a huge
body of listeners. Rap rock was a cross-genre that blended conventional rap
lyrics with hard rock arrangements musically. Queens natives like LL Cool J and
Run-D.M.C. along with Brooklyn bred Beastie Boys implemented this style into
their music to appeal to a white audience. In 1985 Run-D.M.C. released their
second album King of Rock showcasing
this specific musical blend. Doing such a thing assisted in breaking down the
barriers between rock & roll and rap. This type of assistance was even more
evident on Run-D.M.C.’s third album Raising
Hell released in 1986. This body of work featured the ground breaking cover
single of Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way.” The song was even a collaboration
between Aerosmith band members Steven Tyler and Joe Perry. The song peaked at
#4 on the Billboard Hot 100 becoming the first Top 5 rap record on the pop
charts. With the success of “Walk This Way,” Run-D.M.C. became the first act to
have a platinum and multi-platinum album along with having the first rap LP in
the Top Ten on the Billboard pop charts with Raising Hell. Run-D.M.C. was also the first rap act to receive
airplay on MTV in the mid 1980s helping to arguably solidify them as rap’s
first superstar artists. Even the first popular white rap act the Beastie Boys,
which was formerly a hardcore punk rock group, fused the rap rock sound on
their successful debut album License To
Ill in the same year. This LP which was also a multi-platinum success
showed that rap music was an entity that was going to be active on the pop charts
from here on.
Evolving
into the late 1980s presented a new batch of New York rappers poised to take
over the rap game. This new crop of rhyme writers added to the sound created by
the forefathers from the late 1970s and early 1980s. Rappers like Rakim, Big
Daddy Kane, Kool G. Rap, and Slick Rick brought forth a more advanced lyrical
technique and rhythmic flow during this time that is still in use today from
modern emcees. Even rap groups like Boogie Down Productions and Public Enemy
were an extension of conscious rap that was birthed by “The Message” record.
Groups like the Jungle Brothers and De La Soul gave listeners the style of
alternative rap, which didn’t conform to the stereotypes from sub-genres like
hardcore and gangsta rap at the time. All of these rappers and styles conveyed
New York shining bright going into the 1990s.
The 1990s
Even though New York Hip Hop was dominant from the late 1970s
and throughout the 1980s, at the start of the 1990s decade there was a shift in
the paradigm. West Coast Hip Hop began to take over as a force to be reckoned
with in the mainstream. The music produced on the “Left Side” contained gritty
and street content combined with funky grooves you could party to with the
sub-genres of gangsta rap and gangsta-funk. Critical LPs like Dr. Dre’s The Chronic and Snoop Dogg’s Doggystyle took over the pop charts taking
the mainstream focus away from “Gotham City” in the early 1990s. Although New
York City had a galore of artists like A Tribe Called Quest, Digable Planets,
and Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth who made their mark on the game, New York Hip
Hop overall took a dip in total sales compared to their West Coast brethren.
During
the mid 1990s in the midst of a West Coast reign on the rap world, New York was
awarded a new Hip Hop superstar. The Notorious B.I.G. became the torch carrier
with his debut LP Ready To Die in
1994. This album turned The Notorious B.I.G. into a rap sensation especially
with huge Top Ten pop hits like “Big Poppa” and “One More Chance.” Ready To Die went on to sell over 3
million copies solidifying The Notorious B.I.G. as New York’s first major star
since the huge rise of West Coast Hip Hop. The commercial success of The
Notorious B.I.G. opened the door for other New York rappers like Wu-Tang Clan, Busta
Rhymes, Nas, and Jay-Z to have the same kind of prosperity.
Going into
the late 1990s, Hip Hop lost two of its biggest superstars. West Coast
ambassador 2Pac and The Notorious B.I.G., who before his death was considered
The King of New York, became the first martyrs of the art form. In the
aftermath of these tragedies New York received some new blood to fill the void
of the sadness. Def Jam, a legendary Hip Hop record label even with New York
Hip Hop, released its three headed monster to keep up the momentum. Def Jam’s
three rappers Jay-Z, Ja Rule, and DMX ruled the clubs and the airwaves. Their success
from this time period resulted in one of Hip Hop’s most lucrative national
tours The Hard Knock Life Tour in 1999. Even The Bronx native Big Pun, the
first Latin solo rapper to go platinum, achieved mass popularity to make New
Yorkers feel proud going into the new millennium.
The 2000s
Ushering in
the 21st Century meant another change in the paradigm of which
region would run Hip Hop. With the East and West Coasts respectively having
their share of the pie, one could say it was destined for the South to be in
the driver’s seat now. Although New York artists like Nas, Jay-Z, DMX, Cam’ron,
and Fabolous made their presence known, their chart topping doesn’t compare to
the amount rappers below the Mason-Dixon Line that rose to prominence.
One city to
help re-take the momentum away again from New York was Atlanta, Georgia. In the
early to mid 2000s Atlanta residents like T.I., Young Jeezy, Lil Jon, and
Ludacris evolved into the front runners of the Southern Rap movement. The
South’s ability to make melodic records that are radio singles and club anthems
put New York at a disadvantage for radio and television airplay. New York’s
lack of developing a new and standout sound in the 21st Century left
their movement stuck at a standstill while the South continued to dominate the
charts. The only Hip Hop artist to emerge in the 2000s who became a mainstream
sensation was Queens native 50 Cent. 50 Cent’s first two LPs Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ and The Massacre that were released in 2003
and 2005 both were multi-platinum albums. His ability like most Southern
rappers to make records with catchy and melodic choruses resulted in him having
three #1 hits on the pop charts. Along with this type of chart placement he
also had four other Top Ten hits on the pop charts during his reign. Although
50 Cent was one of the most commercial successful rappers of the 2000s
especially from 2003-2005, his presence failed to help bring more New York
artists to the forefront in the decade to change the music pendulum. Younger
New York talent like Papoose, Saigon, and Stack Bundles (R.I.P.) garnered some
buzz locally, but couldn’t make their movements gain steam nationwide.
In the late
2000s New York Hip Hop continued to stay in the background while the South
operated as the train conductor. As 50 Cent’s mass popularity lessened in 2007,
another Southern sensation capitalized off the opening that was provided. New
Orleans, Louisiana bred Lil Wayne became the go to rapper all audiences
gravitated to. Even though Lil Wayne already had success with his older albums
and with the once popular Hot Boys, he didn’t become a Hip Hop superstar until
the release of his 6th album Tha
Carter III in 2008. Tha Carter III
spawned four Top 20 pop hits, and the body of work went on to sell over three
million copies domestically. This was a great achievement for Lil Wayne in an
era where a rapper would be fortunate to have his or her album sell 500,000
copies. Lil Wayne used this success to popularize his own record label Young
Money, and to continue his reign going into the 2010s. All of this Southern
success from a majority of artists from down yonder in the 2000s expressed to
New York that the South was a titan in the genre that wasn’t going away anytime
soon.
The 2010s
In the
current decade of mainstream Hip Hop there is a new breed of emcees who have
gained notoriety. Although the South is still the primary region getting the
most spins in the club and on the radio, there have been rappers from all over
the map making their mark on the game. Rappers like Wiz Khalifa, who is from
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Drake, who is from Canada, have made their
influence shine brightly. There have also been a few New York natives to get some
mainstream attention from young rap listeners. One of the premiere rappers on
Lil Wayne’s Young Money label is the animated and vivacious Nicki Minaj.
Hailing from the South Jamaica neighborhood in Queens similar to 50 Cent, she
has taken the pop world by storm within the last few years. Despite receiving
some critical backlash for her pop appeal, she has released two platinum albums
in the 2010s decade. Her bubbly personality, curvaceous figure, and rap alter
egos have resulted in her receiving a lot of endorsement deals. This popularity
has also given her the opportunity to be a judge on the well known singing
contest American Idol.
With the
South having an obvious influence on the rap game in recent times, it only
makes sense that some of New York’s new blood has that DNA in their music. One
rapper with a Southern sound in some of his material is the Harlem native A$AP
Rocky. As an artist he has implemented the Chopped & Screwed style on his
projects. This particular style originated in the city of Houston, Texas. Having
a different sound than most of his New York contemporaries has helped to make
his music more appealing nationally. This national recognition has given him a
platinum single with “F**kin’ Problems” that’s still tearing up the radio. His
debut album Long.Live.A$AP reached
the #1 position on the pop charts in the beginning of this year. Achieving such
a feat shows that this young emcee is a phenomenon that’s making major impact.
Another current
New Yorker who’s making his presence known who has worked with a plethora of Southern
rappers is French Montana. As a collaborator he has worked with the likes of
Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, Waka Flocka Flame, and Future, who are all Southerners
that rap listeners can hear on the radio every day. He also has a smash hit
record with “Pop That” that has peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip
Hop Chart. His anticipated debut album Excuse
My French is scheduled to be released on May 21st of this year.
His buzz which was generated through mixtapes and viral videos resulted in him
signing with the legendary Bad Boy Records former home of The Notorious B.I.G.
Both French Montana and A$AP Rocky as two of New York’s most celebrated acts
are currently on the latest cover of the popular Hip Hop magazine XXL for their
March/April issue.
All three of
these impactful New York rappers have given the city a new spark in the 2010s.
Although New York doesn’t dictate the majority of the Hip Hop sound like it did
in the 1970s-1980s, the city is still a very integral part to the importance of
the Hip Hop culture as a whole. No one knows exactly the future of New York Hip
Hop, but if their artists don’t reflect on the past days, and try to be as
original and universal as possible, then the city’s mark on the game will never
die out.
