One of the greatest things about
Hip Hop is that it is one of the most versatile genres of music today. Hip Hop
music is constantly evolving which, in my opinion, is the reason why Hip Hop
has such a wide range of listeners. In the late 1970’s the use of sampling
started to become more present in music. As we discussed in class, Sampling is
when an artist takes a section or beat from one song and uses it in their own
song. Sampling music has received much criticism on whether or not it is
effective; However, Sampling has been taken to a whole new level. Instead of
sampling a certain section of a song, entire songs are being re-used and
“adapted” to appeal to a different audience. The best example of these song
adaptions are the re-makes of Jay-Z’s song “Encore” which are the songs from
the homework.
The original version of “Encore” by
Jay-Z is a Hip Hop song with an “Old School” Vibe to it and the song includes
various instruments like trumpets, drums, and the piano.
This same exact song was later mixed with Lincoln Parks song
“Numb”, completely changing the style of the song. What was previously seen as
an oldies-like Hip Hop song was turned into a more modern Hip Hop/Rock song.
The Mixing of the two songs received much praise and the new song “Numb/Encore”
won a Grammy Award. Re-making songs can expose the original song to a new
audience and in some cases, like “Encore”, enhance the original song.
Another example of a way that
Adaptations to songs are used today is when people do Covers on songs on
YouTube. Covers are when a person or group of people rerecords a song (that has
already been previously made) into their own style. YouTube is filled with
amateur singers/rappers that create covers of popular songs. A pretty popular
person on YouTube that is known for her adaptations to numerous Hip Hop songs
is Karmin. Karmin is a female that redoes songs from female and male artists
whether it is Hip Hop or any other genre of music.
An Example of one of Karmins Covers is the Cover she did of Nicki Minaj’s “Super Bass”. The original song has a lot of bass and the remake done by Karmin includes a guitar and other various instruments which gives the song a different tone.
I believe that doing adaptations of
songs can have two results; it could either really work complementing the
original lyrics/beat or it could completely ruin a song. However, when it does
work, I think that it is a clever way of expanding the Hip Hop audience. It
allows the listeners of different genres of music to be exposed to Hip Hop
(lyrically not musically) in a way that they enjoy.
People are always quick to jump to the conclusion about how
hip-hop and rappers depict women in a negative light by using them as sex symbols
in music videos and calling them bitches and hoes. But all the blame can’t be
placed on the guys because if you look at female rappers that are present today
they are fully aware of the fact that sex sells, and if they got it they flaunt
it. So it is almost like what came first the chicken or the egg, or in this
case the guys sexualizing women or the women wanting to sell records?
When Hip Hop and Rap first caught wind in New York in the
80’s the expectations for a female rapper were basically the same as it was for
guys. Women were respected on their flow, lyrics, and style. That’s why when
people listen to female rappers like MC Lyte or Queen Latifah they always mention
how talented they are compared to today’s female rappers.
MC Lyte:
Queen Latifah:
In both of these videos they both express a idea of being
independent by using lines like “In
one ear and right out the other/I heard his mumbo jumbo (eeeish) lover/I don't
pay attention/I don't concentrate” (Mc Lyte) or “Every time I hear a brother call a girl a
bitch or a hoe/Trying to make a sister feel low /You know all of that gots to
go” (Queen Latifa). Also these videos
aren’t centered on them dancing it is mainly focused on their rapping and the
story line that goes with it. The way they dress in the video is based off of
the time period but still even then they weren’t half naked and sold enough records for Queen Latifah to get a Grammy!
I think that in the early 2000’s is when rap as a whole began
to change, it became focused on making money. During the time both MC Lyte
and Queen Latifah were rapping was the “golden age” of hip-hop people often reminisce
on. Even guy rappers have changed like going from Tupac’s “Keep Ya Head Up” to
Trinidad James’ “All Gold Everything.” Rap now has become manly focused on what
sells and makes money and sadly what sell is sex and a good beat.
Trina:
Iggy Azalea:
I think that both Trina and Iggy Azalea are caught in this gray
area where they truly want to show this independent, empowered, I didn’t on my
own lifestyle but then often their lyrics and video contrast that. In Trina’s
song Don’t trip she says “Cause
I’m gonna make my on ends/That’s What’s up/Ladies lets say you want a man/But
don’t know how to do it/Dirty dance with em/Put a little back into it/Go catch
a wall shorty/End up at the mall sporty” (Trina). She basically starts of the
verse by saying she can take care of her self and than the rest of the lines
are about how to get a guy to take care of and spoil her. This image is also portrayed
in the video where she pretty much pimps out her friends at the party. Iggy Azalea has this same mentality as Trina
and their videos, in a sense are very a like. Iggy Azalea seduces a guy at one
point to steal his car and the whole chorus of the song is her saying “work” which was
made that way pretty much just so that during the video it’s her dancing.
I think it might be a while before rap in general goes back to
the way it was by mainly focusing on skill, passion, and the message rather
then having a “good image.” In order for that to ever take place they need to
have rappers that go against the mold and challenge the industry. As far as
female rappers go, there are few that even make it in the big time so there is
less of a chance anyone would challenge it. However, someone that doesn’t look
like she is conforming to the system anytime soon is Rapsody.
Rapsody:
Rapsody,
in her song “The Drums” she says “That’s
real life rap, money power, there’s nothing else/ A lot of sex, drug uses and
rapping about wealth/ Ain’t no balance in the system no more we ain’t well/
Ain’t a rapper on the radio with stories to tell/ Hip-hop never died, yo, the
radio failed/ Now the power’s with the people wonder if they could tell.” The fact that
Rapsody gets a lot of her inspiration form MC Lyte might be enough to
eventually bring the rap game full circle and back to the importance of skill
and lyrics.
Ever since female rappers took their hiatus from the rap scene in the mid 2000’s they have had trouble coming back. With exception of rap mogul Nicki Minaj, female rappers are just not getting the spotlight they deserve. It’s not that they aren’t making music it’s that they either don’t have the “look” for a certain label or they don’t have the sound. According to HardKnockRadio.com “Female hip hop artists must be beautiful and sexy first. Voice and talent are secondary priorities.” But it hasn't always been that way. Over the years the female rap genre has gone through as many changes as Hip-Hop in general, and there has been numerous femcees who have broken the barriers and gone above and beyond the expectations of their peers as well as their fans. In this post I'm going to highlight some of the female rappers that I believe have left their mark in Hip-Hop.
BACK IN THE DAY:
In the late 80’s/early 90’s female rappers began emerging on to the scene. M.C. Lyte, Salt N Pepa, and Queen Latifah all laid the foundation for female rappers today.
Mc Lyte is often called the "pioneer" of female hip-hop, although she was not the first female rapper she was the first to release a full solo album. Her debut album, Lyte As A Rock, was released in 1988 and featured her first single, “I Cram to Understand U (Sam)", The song is about a woman who is in a relationship with a man who she thinks is cheating, her friends try to warn her about him but she doesn't listen. In the end she finds out he's addicted to crack cocaine.
MC Lyte's lyrical skill and adaptaion of masculinity allowed her to break the barriers that were placed upon women in the Hip-Hop indsutry at that time and open doors for rapper such as Missy Elliot and Queen Latifah.
Queen Latifah's first album All Hail to the Queen, was released in 1989, when she was just 19 years old. She is known for her socially, and politically conscious lyrics. Her songs mainly talked about gender equality, and empowering women. She also, the first, if not only, female rapper to go on to be a model, comedienne, and actress. Her most successful song/anthem of female empowerment to date would have to be: "U.N.I.T.Y" The song was released in the mid 90’s and it promoted empowerment for women, and spoke out against domestic violence as well as the use of disrespectful slurs against women in Hip-Hop.
WELCOME TO THE 90'S
The 90's was a great era for women in Hip-Hop as well as Hip-Hop in general. There were rappers emerging everywhere from Philadelphia, to Miami, and Hip-Hop/Rap was not just a New York thing. The 90's brought up a new breed of female rappers and they were not afraid to show off their ASSests.
Lil Kim brought in a new type of female rapper. She was bold, sexy, and not afraid to show off her skills. Lil Kim was the first female rapper to take the word “bitch” and turn it into something used as a greeting to another female. To her the double-standard did not exist and she was just as entitled to rapping about her pussy just as much as a male was to rapping about his dick, and she never let anybody forget it.
Lil Kim challenges the way rap songs are typically set up in her song“How Many Licks” by having a male, Sisqo, on the chorus, whereas females usually sing the chorus of a song and males rap the main hooks. “Having a man sing reinforces Lil’ Kim’s masculinity and emphasizes her power over men.”
In Lil Kim’s song “Suck My Dick", she raps about getting oral sex from a man and as she did in "How Many Licks", makes herself dominant over the man, who is in this case is giving the oral sex, not receiving.
Lil Kim’s sexual lyrics and overly sexualized appearance forever changed the image of female rappers. And by the end of the 90's every new female rapper was following in her footsteps.
THE NEW MILLENNIUM
The early 2000's offered a bright future for the female rappers and it showcased female rappers at their prime. Below are some of the most successful female rappers of that time.
Da Brat
Her debut album, Funkdafied, sold one million copies, making her the first female rapper to have a platinum-selling album.
Trina
Trina first gained notoriety in 1998 with her appearance on Trick Daddy's second studio album www.thug.com, in the single "Nann Nigga". Since then she has released five moderately successful studio albums; XXL Magazine calls her "the most consistent female rapper of all time". She will forever be known as "The Baddest Bitch"
Eve
Eve's 1999 debut, Let There Be Eve...Ruff Ryders' First Lady, was an unprecedented success, making it the third album by a female rap artist to top the Billboard 200, behind Lauryn Hill's The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998) and Foxy Brown's Chyna Doll (1999).
Missy Elliot
Missy Elliot is the only female rapper to have six albums certified platinum by the RIAA, including one double platinum for her 2002 album Under Construction.
WHO'S RAPPIN' NOW?
As far as mainstream goes, the female Hip-Hop artists have been seriously lacking in that area. With Nicki Minaj being the only female rapper taking over the Billboard Charts, and collecting all of the "best female rapper" awards, but she better watch out because there are many upcoming underground artists such as Iggy Azalea, Azelia Banks, Angel Haze, and Lola Monroe.......
Throughout the
evolution of music, many talented musicians have graced our ears with the vivid
feelings and intricate stories conveyed in their creations. From the day the first Homo sapiens sat
around in a hut and tapped out the very first rhythm with sticks, all the way
to the latest electronic symphony created by a modern DJ; musicians have been
influencing fans and fellow musicians alike.
In the vast expanse of musical history which occurred between then and
now, there have been a countless number of these well appreciated and
influential artists; however, only a select few can say that they explicitly
altered the course of music history.
Beethoven is credited with solidifying the “Early Romantic” period in
classical music. Nirvana put an end to
the 80’s “hair metal” trend and synthesized the genre of grunge which would
eventually lead to the sweeping popularity of alternative rock. The Ramones created punk, just as The Beatles
pioneered psychedelic rock. And in the
late 90’s, Nas established hardcore hip hop as the official East Coast sound,
and induced the decline in the then popular alternative hip hop. For many of these artists, one iconic album
stood out among the rest as most influential.
For Nas, this album was indisputably Illmatic.
Today, Illmatic is
widely regarded as one of the most influential hip hop albums of all time. However, this was not always the case. As Adriana mentioned in her post last week, when
the album first dropped in 1994, it was relatively commercially unsuccessful,
having included five failed singles. The
reason for the commercial failure of this album most likely stems from the deviation
in style from the accepted sound of the time in which it is done. Illmatic’s iconic brand of lyricism and beats
did not prominently exist in the mainstream hip hop culture of the time, but
rather was over shadowed by the prevalence of alternative hip hop. At this point however, Nas was no stranger to
success and recognition in the underground rap scene. In fact, the reason Illmatic is a relatively
short album is not out of artistry, but rather out of necessity. Due to Nas’s popularity in the underground,
an unreasonable number of pre-release bootlegs copies began circulating, as
well as unsanctioned air play on the radio.
This influenced the decision to rush the album and release it as soon as
possible. Nas’s underground acclaim is
most likely the predominant factor in leading the hardcore style of Illmatic to
become the accepted East coast style when the album went gold in 1996. This solidified artists such as Eric B. &
Rakim, Kool G Rap and Big Daddy Kane as the lords of the East coast.
Illmatic perfectly
showcases the lyrical style typical of East coast hip hop at the time. Lines such as “straight up shit is real and
any day could be your last in the jungle, get murdered on the humble, guns'll
blast, niggas tumble, he corners is the hot spot, full of mad criminals who
don't care” and “Yo, they call me Nas, I'm not your legal type of fella, moet
drinking, marijuana smoking street dweller” from the track “Represent” address
the rough and hardened lives experienced by people living in East coast
projects, and are typical of the style.
In “Life’s A Bitch,” Nas says “I woke up early on my born day, I'm 20,
it's a blessing, the essence of adolescence leaves my body, now I'm fresh and my
physical frame is celebrated cause I made it, one quarter through life some
Godly-like thing created,” another classically East coast lyric illustrating
the effects of the violent environment he, and the people around him grew up
in.
Represent-Nas
Life's A Bitch-Nas
In the timeless debate
of which is truly the greatest rap album ever, Illmatic will always stand out
among all the rest, and for his work, Nas will forever be remembered as one of
the most influential rappers ever.
1994was the year
when rapper, Nas, took the hip-hop game by storm with his debut album Illmatic. The basis of the album was
Nas’ life in Queensbridge, New York and the subject matter ranges from “gang
rivalries, desolation, and the ravages of urban poverty.” While Illmatic is arguably the greatest
hip-hop record of all time, it wasn’t always like that. In retrospect, it
debuted at number 12 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart and sales were lower than
expected with five failed singles. It wasn’t until 1996 that the album became
gold, and later platinum in 2001. So what’s all the buzz about? It was the
debut of a lyrical master who took his art seriously and crafted an album that
spoke of the struggles of his hood as he overcame them.
When you listen to “N.Y. State of Mind”, you can hear Nas
opening the track by saying, “Straight out the fucking dungeons of rap/Where
fake niggas don't make it back/I don't know how to start this shit, yo.” The
dungeons of rap symbolize the underground word of hip-hop and he was making a
statement to his breaking out into the mainstream and hopes of being a success.
“N.Y. State of Mind” was actually recorded in one take despite Nas openly
admitting that he had no idea what he was doing. Clever lines like “Bullet
holes left in my peepholes, I'm suited up in street clothes/Hand me a nine and
I'll defeat foes”, show the violence Nas faced and fought back against.
“Peepholes” served as a way to describe the violence outside on the streets and
is also considered a homophone for the “people” getting shot out. Nas’ stream
of consciousness on this song vividly describes shooting out the police to
defend himself and is later ended by his thoughts on the youth and their
misinterpretation and abuse of violence. Lines like “I never sleep, cause sleep
is the cousin of death/Beyond the walls of intelligence, life is defined/I
think of crime when I'm in a New York state of mind” and “The city never
sleeps, full of villains and creeps/That's where I learned to do my hustle had
to scuffle with freaks” go to show the lifestyle he lived growing up in New
York and how his past has made him the go-getter he is today.
In a 2012 interview with NPR Music, Nas explained his
inspiration for exploring this subject matter: "[W]hen my rap generation
started, it was about bringing you inside my apartment. It wasn't about being a
rap star; it was about anything other than. I want you to know who I am: what
the streets taste like, feel like, smell like. What the cops talk like, walk
like, think like. What crackheads do — I wanted you to smell it, feel it. It
was important to me that I told the story that way because I thought that it
wouldn't be told if I didn't tell it. I thought this was a great point in time
in the 1990s in [New York City] that needed to be documented and my life needed
to be told."
NPR Music Interview: http://www.npr.org/2012/07/22/157043285/nas-on-marvin-gayes-marriage-parenting-and-rap-genius
Even the album artwork speaks to the albums center theme of
the youth growing up in a life full of poverty and violence. It is a picture of
Nas at the age of 7, superimposed on a picture of the New York City projects.
Nas states, "That was the year I started to acknowledge everything [around
me]. That's the year everything set off. That's the year I started seeing the
future for myself and doing what was right. The ghetto makes you think. The
world is ours. I used to think I couldn't leave my projects. I used to think if
I left, if anything happened to me, I thought it would be no justice or I would
be just a dead slave or something. The projects used to be my world until I
educated myself to see there's more out there.” By the age of 10 years old, Nas
had already been writing.
“Memory Lane” is a perfect juxtaposition to “N.Y. State of
Mind”. Having only lived a quarter of his life, Nas raps about growing life experiences
in the past 20 years. The track opens up with, “I rap for listeners,
bluntheads, fly ladies and prisoners/Henessey-holders and old-school niggas”
representing the audience he believed he had at his early beginnings. The
infamous hook, "Now let me take a trip down memory lane"/"Coming
outta Queensbridge" are samples from Biz Markie and Craig G, respectively.
The second part is especially significant because the sampled song comes from
the exact time and place Nas raps about in his track (80s Queensbridge Housing
Projects).
As a whole, when you hear the seamlessness of content on Illmatic and take into consideration
Nas’ confident ability to speak of the life he lived in such an effortless
poeticism, it makes sense why people consider this to be the blueprint of
hip-hop. As controversial as it sounds, Nas was young and figuring the ropes
out but he had within him the confidence and the ego of the greatest rapper
alive and the combination lead to an album that sounded like it was from a
seasoned rapper with the notion that he was only 20 years old and struggling
present in the stories he rapped about. It offers 40 minutes of raw and
continuous rhymes with complete absence of female-sung hooks, no guest stars
and no single producer – this was Nas’ project. Prefix Magazine’s, Matthew
Gasteier writes, “In Illmatic, you find the meaning not just of hip-hop, but of
music itself: the struggle of youth to retain its freedom, which is ultimately
the struggle of man to retain his own essence.”
10 Facts You Didn’t Know About Illmatic: http://www.complex.com/music/2012/04/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-nas-illmatic/
