Cover Story
Black Ink
4/
definitely have a unique style of dress.
A fourth area of hip hop is the lan
guage used by those within the subcul
ture. Dancers and rappers in general
seem to have a brand of language that
only they can really understand. The av
erage person cannot understand rap
language, which is precisely why it is a
part of the hip hop subculture. It is a
language catered to the masses of black
people. And only those closest to the
masses can understand this language.
Margo Crawford said she couldn’t un
derstand the language, when she worked
in a housing project.
“I lived in the projects until I was
seventeen, but when I came back to
work among my people, I was totally
lost. I literally had to have an interpreter
so that I could understand the language
of people in the projects, nor could they
understand me. When I said something,
another person would have to explain
what I was trying to say.”
The rap language or street talk in
volves hundreds of different words,
which have meanings that most people
can’t understand. People in the hip hop
subculture have little trouble interpret
ing what the others are saying. Hip hop
artists speak to each other in a language
that is all their own.
The June 1990 Issue of Ebony pub
lished a guide to understanding hip hop
vocabulary. The guide was designed to
help parents communicate better with
their children about hip hop. There are
several fundamental words that every
person should know before attempting
to understand hip hop music.
def. good, excellent
defjams. good music
dis-. short for disrespect or to insult
someone
M.C.\ another word for rapper
stupid, means “good” in hip hop
sweat: hassle
word: affirmative or that’s right
With these few words, you can start
educating yourself about hip hop.
A final area of hip hop involves rap
ping, an art form that has a tremendous
influence upon the subculture. Rapping
involves talking in beat to the music
rather than actually singing, and most of
the time the words rhyme. Rapping has
evolved as one of the most important
aspects of hip hop because without it,
the world might still ignore this subcul
ture.
But how did rapping come about?
Did p>eople just get up one day and start
rapping to music?
Origins of Rao Music
Rap music has served as the aspect
of hip hop that has given artists their real
voice. Graffiti involves painting, which
is of course a form of expression. Fash
ion and dancing are also forms of ex
pression. But rap music has legitimately
given hip hop artists a voice in society—
a voice that people really listen to and
want to understand. It is an art form that
can appeal to everyone.
Harry Allen, a hip hop activist, said
rap has revolutionized black music. Mr.
Allen serves as public relations director
for the rap group Public Enemy. He is
one of only a handful of people who can
qualify as a rap scholar. He recently led
a panel discussion at UNC-CH on the hip
hop subculture.
“Hip-Hip is the New Bop; the best
thing to happen to music in the last 50
years; an African art form created by
African young people on their terms. If
Europeans had invented hip hop, it
would be given a lot more respect than
it is now.”
Most musical historians want to date
the beginning of rap during the late
1970s or at some other time in black
music history. However, it is obvious
that such an art form did not develop
over night. Rapping is an art form that
has existed as long as people of African
descent have lived in the world. When
you look at current rap artists, you
should not rule out that they are a direct
result of an African past.
Margo Crawford said rap is a part of
a cycle of culture that never begins and
ends. “A culture doesn’t come on the
scene. A culture endures and continues
to grow and prosper through the centu
ries. Everything black relates to some
thing else in our history. Black music has
moved from gospel to jazz to bee bop to
hip hop.”
Harry Allen also feels that music
scholars cannot deny a link to the Afri
can past in rap music. Allen feels that the
concept of “funky” music comes from
Africa. “The only way to get black people
interested in rap was to make it funky.
And only black people know how to
make songs funky, which is a dividing
line between people of African and non-
African descent. Elvis was loud, but he
was never funky.”
The link to Africa seen in rap music
is seen through the use of Africanisms,
which are elements which link African-
Americans to the Motherland. African
isms include a wide range of actions that
show the enduring connections that exist
among people of African descent. One
Africanism is the body languageused by
rappers. The dancing and rhythm seen
in rap artists can be traced to African
people. Margo Crawford believes MC
Hammer’s moves are indicative of a true
Africanism.
“MC Hammer just didn’t get up one
day and start dancing like that. He’s
using the same moves used in dances by
people in Nigeria hundreds of years
ago. Hammer also has 10 or more people
on the stage at once. He spends part of
the time with his dancers, and part of the
Ume dancing in the front of them, which
is no mistake. His moves resemble those
of our African ancestors.”
Another Africanism is the call and
responseused by many rappers to incite
the crowd. Call and response histori
cally has been a large part of African-
American culture. The “call” involves a
rapper who yells to the crowd, and then
the crowd “responds” to his call. The
call and response was prevalent espe
cially during the early stages of rap in
the nation.
Another Africanism used primarily
by disc jockeys who work with rappers
is scratching. Scratching occurs when a
DJ scratches a record to make a unique
sound that enhances the rap. Scratching
did not really become popular in black
music, until rap came to the forefront.
Andrei L Strobert, a musician and
scholar, linked scratching to Africa in an
article in Essence magazine. The article,
which appeared in the April 1989 edi
tion, was written by Harry Allen.
“The scratch you hear in hip hop is
similar to the African sekere" Strobert
said. “A sekere is a big gourd with beads
around it. If you think about scratching,
you see how it connects. The scratch is
shk-shk, while the sekere sound is basi
cally the same thing.”
Rap in the beginning
Although rap music can be traced
back to Africa, most music scholars still
insist that it came on the scene during
the late 1970s. During this time period,
rappers who had previously only per
formed on the streets, began to receive
airplay on radio stations across the
country.
Brian Austin agrees that 1979 is
about the time that rap came into its
own. “When people say rap came onto
the scene, what they really mean is that
it acquired a public face. No one paid
it any attention publicly before that
year. Rap hit people’s ears and raised
their consciousness as to the problems
faced by oppressed people.”
The year 1979 seemed to be one in
which rappers began to receive record
ing contracts. The first officially recorded
rap record was “King Tim III” released
by the Fatback Band in 1979. This
record has often been overlooked in hip
hop history because of records released
by other groups that year. The Sugarhill
Gang was also a pioneer rap group,
which released a single titled “Rappers
Delight” in 1979. Grandmaster Flash
and the Furious Five led by MC Melle-
Mel, recorded a hit single, “The Mes
sage” and released it in 1979- The
“Message” was a controversial song
because it talked about the realities of
ghetto life.
Kurtis Blow, who has been nick
named the “Godfather of Rap”, emerged
about the same time as those early
groups. Blow released “The Breaks” and
“Christmas Rappin’” in 1979- “The Breaks”
went platinum (1 million copies sold),
while he became the first rapper to sign
with a major recording company. Mer
cury. In 1989, Blow released his eighth
album, “Back by Popular Demand”,
which firmly established his place in rap
history.
Since the late 1970s, rap has moved
through several stages. Each stage shows
how the art form has changed within the
hip hop subculture. The Pioneer Phase
from 1979-1981, involved a process of
introducing rap into popular culture.
Pioneer rappers, such as Kurtis Blow,
brought the world a new type of music
that before had only been heard by those
in the cities. The Reinforcer Phase itom
1981-1984, involved artists who reaf
firmed rap as a music form. Reinforcers
picked up where the pioneers ended
and refused to allow rap to die out.
Rappers during this period include Run
DMC who made their debut with a self-
tided LP released in 1984, which sold
500,000 copies. Their second LP, “Rais
ing Heir went triple platinum. They are
the probably the most famous rappers
from that stage. The Solidification Phase
from 1984-present, involves rappers who
have solidified rap as an art form in the
nation. These artist have proven that rap
is no fluke because it is here to stay.
These rappers include anyone from Doug
E. Fresh and the Get Fresh Crew with his
release of “The Show” in 1985 to MC
Hammer today.