Essay Example on Talking About Rap and Its Origin

Rap is a type of music genre that began in America in the early 1960s in black society. More so, it was a slang word to express the conversation of someone. The rap music originated from the griot tradition from Africa who was captured and transported to America for slavery. Hence to cope with the pain and heartbreak, they would sing while in the fields working. The singing used a "call to answer" method where one would start singing, and the rest follow with the next line. In 1973, the first rap music was recorded in New York by DJ Kool Herc (Mize 12). Hence, he was the founder-father of rap music and the first rap D.J. Furthermore, his sibling Cindy began to host parties of back to school on their building.

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After a couple of parties, DJ Kool Herc discovered that speaking on the mic was essential to keep the party alive. Hence, he introduced his friend Coke La Rock as the first MC (master of ceremony) of the parties. Thus, Coke La Rock emerge to be the first rapper of Hip-Hop music. Eventually, D.J.'s and Rappers began to showcase their talents in every corner of the streets, but then rap music was considered to as trend, and recording companies did not invest in it. In 1979, rap music popularity grew across the state. Hence, "King Tim III," also known as Personality Jock, was the first rap song to be commercially released by Fatback Band (Mize 16). The song had a massive response from the audience and became the top 30 hits on the chart.

In the same year, another rap group known as Sugar Hill Gang emerged. The group comprised of Henry "Big Bank Hank" Jackson, Englewood, "Wonder Mike" Wright, and Guy "Master Gee" (Mize 19). Their first song as known as "Rappers Delight," which was the top 40 in the billboard in 1980. Afterward, rap music overgrew from its humble beginning. The purpose of the rap music back then was to uplift spirits and bring families together. Since then, there have been some changes in the rap genre, but the essence of its meaning remains.

In the 1980s, diversification of rap music as the genre evolved to more sophisticated styles. For instance, the track "Grandmaster Flash on the wheel of steel" shows the diversification process. Also, "Planet Rock" signifies the connection of hip hop with electro. Besides, "Beat Bop" entailed slow jam with dub influence with the essentials of echo and reverb as the sound effects. In the mid-1980s, rap music was influenced by rock music as albums such as Licensed to III and King of Rock were released. After the creation of rap music, its context was confined in the United States alone. However, in the 1980s, the music began to spread across a dozen countries (Mize 22).

Between the 1980s to 1990s, rap music had a "golden era" the period characterized to mainstream the hip hop genre. The period promoted diversity, innovation, quality, and influence of the music. The rap music incorporated active themes of political militancy and Afrocentricity. More so, the genre was jazz-oriented. The era led to the development of Gangsta rap, a subgenre of rap music. The Gangsta rap entails the reflection of the violent lifestyles among the youth of black society in the states (Mize 28). The subgenre was formed by rappers such as Schooly D and Ice T. Later, and the genre got popular through a group known as N.W.A. Since then, rap music has been released across the globe and has a significant influence in the world.

Rap music promotes political and social awareness among youths. Also, it educates teens on different perspectives and the existence of several social issues. Rap enhance teen to speak freely on their views concerning the social and political problems on society. Thus, enabling teenagers to be aware of the issues affecting them. Hence, rap music creates a channel for discussions on how to make a positive change to uplift lives in the inner city. For instance, the awareness of racial discrimination, the importance of believing in your dreams, and education are some of the issues hip hop has promoted (Wilson 14).

More so, rap music entails the reflection of the mind and soul. Thus, it expresses the struggles faced by the artists and listeners to originate from the same issues. Also, music usually enhances the togetherness of people. Furthermore, the youths can relate the difficulties and struggles rappers express in their music with real-life experiences. More so the rap music adopts the political tone, thus creating a platform of leaders to express their objectives to the youths. Hip hop music acts as a tool to fight against negative aspects in society like discrimination and violence (Wilson 12). Hence artists use messages in their music to promote peace and harmony in the community. Moreover, the artists use musical lyrics to create awareness for the rest of the world problems faced by youths in the inner city.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the creation of rap music has uplifted many lives, and people should note its existence. More so, through music, individuals can express their aspects concerning the problems they face. Thus, the government should implement policies to implement the issues. As the music brings people together, therefore each person should promote rap music to enhance peace and harmony in the communities.

Works Cited

Mize, Cole. History of Rap - The True Origins of Rap Music. 2014.Retrieved from https://colemizestudios.com/how-did-rap-start/

Wilson, Natalie. "Rap Music as a Positive Influence on Black Youth and American Politics." (2018). Retrieved from https://sch