Where to start. Well, let’s get this train of thought cracking. Over the years, I’ve heard of and witnessed a lot of people confuse rap with hip hop. A lot of people say rap and hip hop are the same thing. There is no difference between the two. Both of them are music about nothing but sex, money, hoes, and clothes. And that is what they believe because that is what they are shown when being exposed to the media, whether it be the tv, the radio, commercials, movies, etc. So as a result, hip hop, REAL HIP HOP, has now become tainted and labeled rap to the majority of the people. And all you hip hop lovers can thank the media and all of these whack, one hit wonder, rappers for this. But you see, I believe the difference between the two still exists. KRS-One said it best when he said “rap is something you do, hip hop is something you live.”
Hip hop started off as a subculture that included 4 elements: Breakin’, MC’ing, DJ’ing, and Graffiti. And a quick note, rap today includes none of these elements. Peopleccame out to block parties in Brooklyn where DJ’s juggle breaks from soul and funk records to make beats the people could dance too. Then, people began dancing and breaking to this music, which became known as breakdancing and the dancers were labeled b-boys and b-girls. While the Dj was doing his thing, an MC emerged and began adding clever rhymes to the beats, which is how MC’ing over popularized DJ’ing in the hip hop culture. Graffiti also became a part of the hip hop culture, but many people argue it has nothing to do with hip hop. I think graffiti has everything to do with hip hop. Over the years since it started, it became a music artform that captured a lot of people’s attention. People loved hip hop because of the stories told, the impressive rhyming styles MC’s had, and the creative/unique beats that were made. Eventually, people began refering to hip hop as a lifestyle, something that people lived not just did. Artists such as A Tribe Called Quest, Public Enemy, Wu Tang Clan,Nas, The Notorious BIG, De La Soul, and many, many many more to list all contributed to the rise of this lifestyle and culture. During these times, the media was broadcasting this hip hop all over the nation. It is no wonder why so much of the nation fell in love and became a part of the hip hop nation. During these times, hip hop was pure and fulfilling to the people.
Eventually, hip hop rose to fame all over the nation and business people and whack record labels noticed. So what happened then? Whack rappers began appearing all over the place. These whack rappers began coming out with watered down hip hop that I like to call rap. Everything these rappers did was nonsense, pretty funny and stupid. Just like real hip hop, it rose to fame thanks to media because it was being broadcasted everywhere and young ones were being exposed to it. So it became the cool thing to do. This was rap, not hip hop. I dont even consider it a subculture of hip hop. Now, it has none of the 4 elements of hip hop. There is nothing being rhymed about worth while. I understand that people like it and all, but why do they have to call it hip hop? Why oh why?
Take a minute or two to watch these two videos. One hip hop, one rap. How could you possibly confuse the two?
Souls of Mischief- 93 til Inifity
Money to Blow
