This week, I will be exploring the genre of music that is the perfect culmination of music and dance: Hip-Hop. Not only is hip-hop of genre of music, but it has also evolved into a style of dance because of the way Hip-Hop music makes you feel, which we are going to further discuss this week.
Early hip-hop music was originally rooted in the 1970s in the New York City borough of the Bronx. It started as a collaboration among various groups of Black, Latinx, and Caribbean American youth at block parties, which are community gatherings that featured DJs playing soul and funk music. While hip-hop and rap have similar origins because there are many similarities between these genres, hip-hop focuses more on the diverse culture that was combined together during these block parties to form the melting pot genre of hip-hop. In Black, Latinx, and Caribbean American cultures, dance is an integral part of expressing one’s cultural identity and deep rooted traditions. Therefore, when these cultures came together to celebrate at block parties, the music genre that formed was one that pushed the importance of dancing to express oneself, which later made hip-hop a vital dance genre as well.
Hip-hop music makes me feel like dancing; the emotions I feel are carefree and confident. Hip-hop is made using tools like a turntable, sampler, drum machine, keyboard, and computer. These instruments and musical tools are known for creating catchy beats and repetitive tunes that allow room for creativity and self expression, hence why they motivate dancing. When I listen to hip-hop music I am influenced to allow natural movement to come through and to be confident and enthusiastic about the movement that the music is influencing.
Some hip-hop songs that I recommend are Rocc Climbing (feat. Lil Yachty) by Remble, American Boy (feat. Kanye West) by Estelle, and One Dance by Drake, Wizkid, and Kyla. All three of these songs have excellent background music that really emphasizes the beat to dance to. A lot of times with hip-hop songs like these examples, the component of the piece that the song becomes famous for is the background beat rather than the lyrics or the musicality of the singer. I actually became familiar with all three of these pieces through dance as I used to dance various genres in my hometown dance studio (including hip-hop) where we were able to choreograph hip-hop styled dances to these pieces. I hope hip-hop becomes a genre that can be a self-expressing outlet for you, as that is how it is for me!
Hip-Hop Music Recommendations Playlist by @ Michael Lai on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5B46dEOFzUu8z3uPC9lBLt?si=ab702104c5ed4795
History of Hip-Hop Source: https://www.masterclass.com/articles/hip-hop-guide#what-is-hiphop-music
Thanks for explaining the difference between hip-hop and rap. I always just associated them as the same thing. I didn’t know hip-hop was so culturally meaningful to a diverse set of groups. This may be one of the only genres of music that can’t be traced back to just one culture!