A Lyrical Blueprint: A Look at Hip Hop then and now by Terris A. Eddington

A Lyrical Blueprint: A Look at Hip Hop then and now
By Terris A. Eddington

Empire State of Mind
Hip Hop. It originated at block parties in the streets of the Bronx in the early 1970’s. Hip Hop was rapping, deejaying, break dancing (or better known as b-boying), graffiti, Gazelle frames, etc., defined a culture that took the music industry by storm. It started out as a deejay mixing or looping on two turntables, later bringing in braggadocio artists, otherwise known as rappers, who “flowed” along with the deejays skills; sometimes accompanied by a “beatboxer” or a “hypeman.”

Clive “Kool Herc” Campbell is considered the “Father” of hip hop. DJ Kool Herc and a host of other deejays would have block parties at the now historical 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx. Any given weekend; any given block party; party goers could see 3 things: a set of speakers, a turntable and a microphone. Imagine seeing, then unknowns, Grandmaster Flash, Kurtis Blow, The Sugar Hill Gang, The Furious 5, and many more, who are now deemed as “The Pioneers” of Hip Hop today. You can still hear their legacies today in many of today’s artist; paying homage to those who laid the groundwork for them to be where they are today. Many of these Pioneers may never receive a Grammy Award, MTV Music Video Award…including not having Kanye would jump on stage, no video vixens gyrating in the background; no bottles of Nuvo being poured into Jacuzzi’s…what you got was Hip Hop at its purest and finest…a Blueprint for the lyrical prowess of this genre of music.

The Takeover
In the early 80’s, a new presence took place…the Female Rapper. What started out with the Real Roxanne battling Roxanne Shante; became the avenue to open doors for the MC Lyte’s, Queen Latifah’s, Lil Kim’s, Monie Love’s of today. Once considered a male dominated industry; females came through the door proving that “we” could hold our own. The female rapper became the thoroughbred of the hip hop world. Even today; you can find the ladies in the cipher; having audiences going wild. It was hard for females to prove their lyrical strength in the music industry. Not much promotion was put behind them; but through out hip hop history the female rapper left her mark; never to be doubted of her prowess again.

Young Forever
20 years ago, hip hop fans were told that Hip Hop would be “extinct”; that it wouldn’t last. Well fast forward and Hip Hop is still here…bigger and larger than ever. Hip Hop has transcended across cultures, genders, economic backgrounds, and has found its way into mainstream America. Turn on your television and you can find hamburger commercials simulating hip hop music just to market a product. And just to think, what started out with 2 turntables and microphone is now considered a musical phenomenon. For those that paved the way, in the words of Jay-Z’s song track 2; “Thank you Thank you Thank you…you’re far to kind.”