Hip-hop in the United States

The history of the Hip-hop to the the United States is similar to that of the hip-hop in general, since it is of this country that it comes. However, the hip-hop has its local history even in the United States.

The rap in New York

In 1993, the Rap entire was directed towards the California and its stories of gunfights (shootings) when New York enters on the scene with the excellent album Enter the Wu-Tang of the Wu-Tang Clan. This group, which makes party of a crew of new rappeurs taken along by the producer RZA, became famous by using an imagery resulting from films of Kung fu.

The following year, the young person Nas of Queensbridge records Illmatic , another album mythical which federates the best New-Yorkais producers of then: DJ First of Gangstarr Foundation, Q-Tip of Native Tongues ( crew peaceful bringing together disciples of Afrika Bambaataa), Broad Professor and Pete Rock'n'roll.

For some, Wu-Tang and Nas will be never with the height of the hopes raised with these albums. However, their business success is undeniable.

The rap and businesses

The Hip hop disappoints and dies, but the rap continues to sell. In the east as in the west, one discovers that one can become very rich while making dance. Thus Jay-Z made a fulgurating career. It is again the west which draws the attention with the return of old of NWA, Dr. DRE. After having left in 1992 the album The Chronic , accommodated very well, it propelled the careers of Snoop Dogg, Xzibit, Eminem or more recently 50 Hundred and The Game.

Note: attention not systematically not to identify the west and the gangsta rap, there is also a movement underground with for example Likwit Crew, but it is more discrete.

The rap and competitions

The most famous competition between rappeurs, and most tragic, is probably that having opposed the East Coast label Bad Boy to the West Coast of Death Row during the Années 1990.

The origin of this competition was probably the jealousy of the New York board, founders of the rap, in front of the success met by their counterparts California NS with the beginning of the year 1990, in particular that of Dr. DRE with The Chronic then of Snoop Doggy Dogg with Doggystyle . It comes out nevertheless from various sources, of which certain serious, that this artistico-geographical clash would have been maintained, in particular in its mediatized form, by the American administrative political services such FBI, enjoying to see there a potential source of divisions between the American Blacks. Maybe, this competition was symbolized by two rappeurs, Notorious B.I.G and 2Pac, but above all by two covetous producers, Puff Daddy and Suge Knight. At the beginning of their careers, “Biggie” and Tupac were appreciated mutually and been rather close, but the event release of their competition was the attempted murder of Tupac to the Quad studio of New York the November 30th 1994 where rumors circulated on the participation of Bad Boy . This enmity climbed after Suge Knight declared in August 1995 in front of a pleiad of singers: if you do not want that your manager is on your albums or in your clips, come to Death Row , reference to the omnipresence of Puff Daddy on the pieces of its protected. The situation degenerated then with the murder at the time of a festival, of a close relation of Suge Knight, this last showing Bad Boy to be responsible. Then in 1996 when Tupac recorded Hit 'EM Up where he states to have had sexual relationships with the wife of Biggie, Faith Evans. Biggie answered on the piece Brooklyn' S Finest of Jay-Z. In March 1996, with the Drunk person Awards Train of Miami, there be a confrontation between the respective entourages of Bad Servant boy and Death Row at the time which guns had left, and the formerly lyric battle derived little by little.

The September 7th 1996, Tupac Amaru Shakur accepted several balls at the time of a drive-by shooting with Las Vegas, dying five days later. The March 9th 1997, Biggie Smalls was assassinated with Los Angeles. The two murders remain unsolved, leading many fans to call into question their deaths.

The survival of the conscious rap

Vis-a-vis the majors , they are small structures, independent labels or crews , which also makes live the rap today.

The label more symbolic system of this resistance was Rawkus which joins together 1995 with 2000 of the mythical artists like Company Flow or Talib Kweli. After having filed for bankruptcy, Rawkus was always reinflated and exists, but is nothing any more but the shade of itself. But this label radiates still today since one owes him the discovery of Soulquarians (even if only one Soulquarian actually signed at Rawkus: Mos Def), a crew singers and rappeurs of which it is especially necessary to retain Questlove and its Roots as well as the couple Common - Erykah Badu.

De Rawkus is also resulting the label Definitive Jux, created by the outgoing members of Company Flow. This label is centered on the producer El-P and its compositions of avant-garde, disasters and synthetic (see Abstract hip-hop).

Today, these small structures also make live the rap and offer an alternative to the rap labellized “MTV”, too commercial for some - for example the labels Galapagos 4 of Chicago and Big Dada of London.

It should nevertheless be noted that many artists “of street” regard this alternate facet of the rap as being middle-class” and abstract aspect more the “of this music which draws originally its inspiration in the concrete reality of the hollows. What besides does not prevent politization nor the aspect conscious of this Article Of the groups like Dead Prez, The Coup, of the MC' S like Saigon, or in a French-speaking register, like the Rumor or Kalash of it are the alive and active evidence.

Random links: