Hip hop Music as a Universal Genre with Positive Influence to its Adherents

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Hip hop Music as a Universal Genre with Positive Influence
Music is a form through which artists communicate to society. It serves not only as an entertainment tool but also as a mirror through which society can evaluate itself. Hip-hop music is a global genre that began as a culture-specific genre but has transformed to become a global concept that utilizes different cultural forms as evident in its lyrical transformation. Rather than a genre that pits one culture upon another, the music style has become part of a subcultural exchange of values, which results in a form of hybridity that represents people’s interactions. People from different cultures and races have performed the genre in their different ways to pass across a specific message that suits the listeners. Therefore, contrary to the belief that hip-hop is a music genre specifically associated with the black culture, it is a universal style that can be adapted to suit any given culture and mainly helped in the positive growth of its adherents.
The rise of this music style as a global entertainment force has been gradual but steady. Since its birth as an underground culture, it has proceeded to flourish beyond imagination, influencing people from different societies and cultures, and serving as an inspiration to its lovers. This genre comprises several characteristics that render it a hybridization of different cultures. While it is associated with the African American culture as its place of origin, it has proven to fit in just any culture and hence cannot be tied to a specific ethnic or racial group. It has transformed from the use of violent language to a more motivating approach. The singers use it to express their encounters and also encourage other people on how to overcome those obstacles.
Hip-hop commenced in the 1970s in New York City in the United States by the African Americans. Other cultural groups that also played an essential role in its development include the Puerto Ricans and the Jamaicans. The genre comprises conventional rhythmic songs that is often complemented by rapping, a rhyming speech that is recited. It is mainly characterized by four features of creative expression: rapping deejaying, breakdancing, and bombing. The music also features other fundamentals including sampling beats or bass lines from registers and periodic beatboxing. While the culture is mostly associated with rapping, it also denotes the practice of the entire subculture. The term hip hop is sometimes often used synonymously with the term rap music, although rapping is not a mandatory feature of hip hop music.
As the hip hop music continued to spread, it interacted with other genres that influenced its evolution. Among the notable artists who broke the rule for hip hop by exploring other techniques is J-Dilla (Dilla), who connected the genre to jazz. Dilla’s approach in establishing his beats juxtaposes what came before him as he decided to play the beats in “real time”, which enabled him to color his creations with a signature rhythmic sway (Knox 6). According to Russonello, this technique was a new paradigm for the swing rhythm that began in West Africa and grew up with Jazz. Currently, the hip hop artists and producers are utilizing the live studio instruments and synthetic horns associated with the big bands of jazz. The manner in which these records are orchestrated plays a significant role in identifying the styles that have influenced it. “Fallin” employs a synthesizer to create several sonorities and as the song proceeds, the artist includes other live non-pitched percussions, such as the trumpet, saxophone, and base among others.
Many artists are finding ways to incorporate the different music genres to come up with a unique piece that does not only appeal more to its target audience, but also delivers the intended message. Among such artists is the American hip hop group called A Tribe Called Quest, which, through their song called “Excursions,” obtained from the Low End Theory album, show the interaction between jazz and hip hop. The performance begins with a four-measure bass introduction, which is recited without the drums. This beginning provides an acoustic timbre that draws the music back to its roots of jazz and the folk songs. The artists adopt a laid back vibe not only on this song but also in other songs in the album, which are mainly characterized by slow tempos. The songs are also characterized by trumpets and pianos, which accompany the classic hip hop drums to maintain the tempo. This ability of the artists to juxtapose the laid back sounds of the jazz instruments with the snappy and rigid hip hop drums renders the songs quite enjoyable.
Hip hop’s evolution can also be noted in its interaction with gospel music. The two genres intermingled in a similar way that hip hop also interacted with jazz. Gospel, like jazz, has some African-American roots and artists seem to be going back to their cultures to modernize the genre. This interaction can be explained by the fact that many millennials were raised in church but interacted more with rap. Consequently, it is natural for them to mingle their personal lives, which is based on rap music, and their spiritual development, which is facilitated by the gospel music. A closer analysis of the gospel music shows that the orchestration and compositional approaches utilizing the structure of modern gospel music also contribute to hip hop music. Gospel utilizes a harmonic language comprising seventh chords, walking bass lines, and secondary chords that result in passing tones to oscillate between chords on strong beats. Its orchestration comprises a notable presence of vocals that are supported by piano, organ, and drum set, which in hip hop, is represented by an electronic beat. In some instances, the artists incorporate a big band style horn selection.
2Pac is one of the famous artists to combine rap and gospel. His songs do not only show how gospel and hip hop interact, but also informs the listener about being a good person and doing right. The artist uses the song to communicate to his audience what he is going through and also encourages them to have faith in religion. In his song titled “Hail Mary,” he appears to recite the Holy Scriptures by repeating some of the words that are either said in the bible or in prayer. In the opening first lines of the song, he recites Jesus Christ’s words, when he states, Eat my flesh, flesh of my flesh (0:22). As he recites these words, the music continues with the instruments playing, which reminisces the hip hop style of music that is often characterized by speaking amid the music.
Similarly, Kanye West, a renowned hip hop singer, often juggled his style with that of the gospel genre. In his entire career, he strived to harness the emotional power of the choir, making his band resemble a gospel performance. Like in gospel performance, he incorporated the Boys Choir of Harlem in “Two Words” and formed a 13-person choir in his production of “All of the Lights,” in which he layered the vocal performances by everyone from Elton John to Rihanna. Similarly, Kanye’s song, “All Mine” utilizes a simplistic drum-led style. It is worth noting that some of the notable instruments that were prominent in the use of drums, bass guitar, and the electric guitar. Therefore, Kanye’s use of the drum-led style reminisces the Black gospel music that was designed to transform African slaves to Christianity.
Hip hop has continued to spread across the world at an unprecedented rate. Morgan and Bennett (176) note that it is almost impossible to travel around the world without meeting instances of hip-hop music. Even in the United States, the genre has transcended the racial boundaries between the Africans and the Whites, with some of the leading choreographers, including Alexander Chung and Matt Steffanina, not being black. Consequently, the perc...