Hip-hop is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary this 12 months, however how did it grow to be what it’s as we speak? And moreover, how did it turn out to be the No. 1 most-consumed kind of music throughout the globe? The newest episode of Billboard Explains dives into the origins of the style.
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To get to the core of rap music, one ought to begin in New York Metropolis. Within the Nineteen Seventies, block events grew to become a staple for a number of communities all through town, and DJs began making widespread dance breaks in music tracks via a twin turntable system and mixer with a purpose to preserve events going. DJ Kool Herc formally established the style on Aug. 11, 1973, at his sister’s commencement occasion within the Bronx; whereas mixing tracks on the spot, Herc would supply spoken phrase over that tracks that later developed into what rap is as we speak.
Within the years following the start of the style, a golden age of hip-hop began to emerge — old-school greats like Grandmaster Flash and the Livid 5, LL Cool J and Run-DMC dominated the Nineteen Eighties, in addition to Public Enemy, Salt-N-Pepa and Boogie Down Productions. The Nineteen Nineties noticed the rise of gangsta rap, with 2Pac representing the West Coast and The Infamous B.I.G. the East Coast. All through the 2000s to as we speak, artists have used their affect to department out into entrepreneurial endeavors, self-releases and extra.
After the video, make amends for extra Billboard Explains movies and study how Beyoncé arrived at Renaissance, the evolution of girl groups, BBMAs, NFTs, SXSW, the magic of boy bands, American Music Awards, the Billboard Latin Music Awards, the Hot 100 chart, how R&B/hip-hop became the biggest genre in the U.S., how festivals book their lineups, Billie Eilish’s formula for success, the history of rap battles, nonbinary awareness in music, the Billboard Music Awards, the Free Britney movement, rise of K-pop in the U.S., why Taylor Swift is re-recording her first six albums, the boom of hit all-female collaborations, how Grammy nominees and winners are chosen, why songwriters are selling their publishing catalogs, how the Super Bowl halftime show is booked and why Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drivers License” was able to shoot to No. 1 on the Sizzling 100.
