May
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Digital Scavenger Hunt
May 2, 2018 | Leave a Comment
1985 -Nelson George wrote a book Fresh Hip Hop don’t stop.
Quotes:
“Hip hop-a rhythmic term that echoes the rebellious post World War II jazz form bebop, has become the catchall description of this culture that has ripened outside the proscribed perimeters of mass media, and grown wild in Harlem and the South Bronx.”
“A true hip-hop spirit doesn’t need-or want-a designer label on his jeans.”
1984- “Hip-Hop to Freshness” in The Washington Post
Quotes:
“If a single word could epitomize the hip-hop movement, it would be “fresh.”
“There’s no formula to the fresh sound; that would almost be a contradiction in terms. Instead, what keeps the best of these performers fresh is their ability to find innovative ways of being themselves, thereby maintaining both novelty and a consistent identity.”
1988- “Latin Hip-Hop Elbows its Way to the Top” in The New York Times from ProQuest.
Quotes:
“A new generation of American pop is emerging from Hispanic New York. Variously called Latin hip-hop, be-bop and other imprecise tags…” The popularity of this genre “launch[ed] the careers of a number of singers and producer/songwriters—most of whom neither read music or play an instrument.”
“In a post-Madonna world of starlets without surnames, Latin performers could completely hide their ethnic origins to speed success in the predominantly white milieu of pop radio.”
When I typed in hip hop into Google Books Ngram Viewer, the graph was plateau from around 1800-1980, but then there was a steep incline after 1980. In all three sources, hip-hop is described as way to re-invent yourself. It allows people to be creative in expressing themselves. I never really thought about latin hip hop as form of the hip hop genre. Latin artists used “Latin hip hop” to redefine and differentiate themselves from the status quo in American pop music. The articles gave me sense that hip-hop describes music that was pushing the boundaries. Latin hip hop seems to go against the idea behind hip hop since artists felt that they had to hide who they were to achieve success. Hip hop was supposed to be a way to be unique and show who you are no matter the consequences.
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