Overview
Hip-hop is a combination of four artistic mediums: graffiti, breakdancing, DJing, and MCing. In this lesson, we focus on the music of hip-hop, including the role of the DJ and the MC. Hip-hop music developed in the 1970s as a combination of aesthetics from disco, funk, and other African American and Afro-Caribbean musics. DJs began mixing, juxtaposing, and manipulating records to create new and innovative sounds, and MCs would deliver spoken messages over these sounds. By the late 1970s and early 1980s, hip-hop began to be recorded and released commercially in the United States. Some of the most commercially successful hip-hop groups of the 1980s, such as the Beastie Boys and Run-DMC, blended rap with the sounds and styles of rock music. By the late 1980s, hip-hop had become a dominant commercial force in the American popular music scene.
Objectives
- Recall the Jamaican influences on hip-hop
- Recall the role of the DJ and the MC in early hip-hop
- Recall some of the earliest commercial hip-hop and hip-hop-influenced recordings
- Examine the role rock music played in the success of groups such as Run-DMC and the Beastie Boys
Hip-Hop Goes Mainstream
One of the first superstar groups of hip-hop was a trio of musicians called Run-DMC. Composed of rappers Joseph "Run" Simmons and Darryl "DMC" McDaniels and DJ Jason "Jam Master Jay" Mizzell, Run-DMC was first managed by Rush Management, which was the enterprise of Russell Simmons (Joseph Simmons's brother). Run-DMC released their first album, Run-DMC, in 1984. Their sound heavily incorporated sounds of hard rock, which was unusual for hip-hop groups of the time. Their single "Rock Box ♫" contained electric guitar riffs and solos performed by session musician Eddie Martinez that were combined with drum sounds that had been programmed by Jam Master Jay.
"Rock Box ♫" was also the first hip-hop video to be aired on MTV. The group's second album, King of Rock (1985), also included a rock-influenced sound. Three of the album's nine songs contain the word "rock" in their titles, and songs such as "King of Rock ♫" feature the instrumental sounds of rock music. Run-DMC's sound had a harder edge when compared to other hip-hop groups of the time. Their flow had the balanced phrases and couplet rhymes of earlier rappers, but Run and DMC frequently alternated their rapped lines, coming together on the final word or phrase for emphasis.
In 1986, Run-DMC released their third studio album, Raising Hell. The album was produced by Rick Rubin, who was Russell Simmons's business partner and an important producer in the 1980s. Raising Hell sold millions of copies and was the first hip-hop album to enter the top five of the Billboard Hot 100. The album featured the single "Walk This Way ♫," which is still regarded as one of the greatest hip-hop singles ever recorded. "Walk This Way ♫" is a hip-hop cover of the 1975 song by the American rock group Aerosmith, and Run-DMC's version featured Aerosmith's Steven Tyler on vocals and Joe Perry on guitars. Run and DMC rap the lyrics in the song's verses, and the choruses are sung by Tyler. Jam Master Jay also includes samples from Aerosmith's original recording. This cover of "Walk This Way ♫" was one of the earliest hip-hop songs to feature sung choruses. Run-DMC was one of the first rap groups to achieve crossover appeal with white audiences and rock listeners because they heavily incorporated sounds and styles of rock music into their songs.
In 1984, Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin founded Def Jam Recordings, which became an important label for many hip-hop groups and still signs many successful acts in the present day. Simmons handled the business, and Rubin managed A&R and production. (Rubin produced hip-hop groups who were not signed to Def Jam as well; Run-DMC was on the Arista label, for example.) The first artist signed by Def Jam was LL Cool J, a fifteen-year-old rapper whose nickname stood for "Ladies Love Cool James." Releases from LL Cool J such as the single "I Need a Beat ♫" (1984) and his first album, Radio (1985), put LL Cool J, Def Jam, and producer Rick Rubin on the map. Soon, Def Jam signed a distribution deal with Columbia Records, which meant that Columbia would press and distribute the recordings of Def Jam artists.
“If you see something is going wrong within politics and the world today, then some Hip Hop artist is gonna come along and get straight with it. If they think that there's a lot of racism going on then there's another Hip Hop artist who's gonna come out and speak their mind.”
