MATURSKI RAD IZ ENGLESKOG JEZIKA

Tema : The evolution of hip-hop music in America

Učenik : Profesorica :
Harun Pekušić Elma Begović

Sarajevo, Mart, 2020.

 CONTENT

1. INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………...3
2. HIP-HOP MUSIC THROUGH THE 70s, 80s & 90s……………………………………..4
2.1 THE 1970s ……………………………………………………………………….4
2.2 OLD SCHOOL HIP-HOP - THE 80s……………………………………………..5
2.3 THE 90s…………………………………………………………………………...7
2.4 2PAC & THE NOTORIOUS B.I.G………………………………………….........9
3. HIP-HOP IN THE 21st CENTURY……………………………………………………..13
3.1 THE 2000s……………………………………………………………………….13
3.2 THE 2010s - HIP-HOP OF TODAY…………………………………………….15
3.3 MUMBLE (SOUNDCLOUD) RAP……………………………………………..18
4. CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………………………..22
5. LITERATURE…………………………………………………………………………...23
6. COMMENT……………………………………………………………………………...24

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 1. INTRODUCTION
Hip-hop music is well-respected and listened to in today’s world. The popularity of this genre
has increased enormously over the years. It’s very appreciated in the music industry today and
even some of the most acknowledged people in this business are producers or performers of this
type of music. However, this type of music isn’t the only product of the hip-hop culture &
community. It also consists of MCing (MC-master of ceremony), DJing (DJ-disc jockey), graffiti
and breakdancing. Those activities were mainly present among the black and Latino population
in the late 60s of the 20th century. The so-called birthplace of hip-hop is considered to be South
Bronx which is the black urban area in New York City. This is still one of the poorest parts of
the city, but it sure is significant because it influenced the forming of hip-hop itself. The main
goal of my assignment is to show how hip-hop music developed and changed throughout history.
The reason I’ve chosen this subject is the fact that I listen to hip-hop music the most of all music
genres, because I find it truly inspiring and real, unlike many others which often represent a
personal story or experience that sometimes may not be as legitimate as some artists represent it.
Some of the greatest musicians ever lyrically represented their lives through rap (which is short
for “rhythm and poetry”) and managed to attract a large number of loyal fans and people who
seemed to relate to the contents of some songs hip-hop artists provided them with. In a rather
large number of their musical creations they rapped about social problems, poverty and racism
and all of those were present in places where hip-hop was born. Many songs are even about
crime, drugs and alcohol and the everyday life of gang members who later became rappers and
got a chance to express their feelings about the life that was or, in some cases, was not behind
them. What I admire the most about this type of music is the fact that it can be entertaining and
at the same time very powerful and emotional. The lyrics can send important messages to all of
us, because not everyone in this world is happy and satisfied with the life they lead and it is
important to hear out those who have problems. Not all people can do it through a conversation,
so they turn to hip-hop in order to speak in a specific, rebellious way and leave their marks in the
music industry and, of course, tell their life stories in a creative manner.

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 2. HIP-HOP MUSIC THROUGH THE 70s, 80s & 90s
2.1 THE 1970s
During the second half of the 20th century, a lot of things started to change. So did music. Hip-
hop as a music genre formed in the late 1970s in the earlier mentioned area of South Bronx,
particularly among the African American youth who were often unemployed and liked to
organize block parties where DJs were present. A specific DJ was the first one to introduce this
type of party was DJ Clive “Kool Herc” Campbell at the high-rise apartment at 1520 Sedgwick
Avenue. He is considered to be highly influential in the pioneering stage of hip-hop music. Herc
created the blueprint for hip hop music and culture by building upon the Jamaican tradition of
impromptu toasting, boastful poetry and speech over music. This became Emceeing - the
rhythmic spoken delivery of rhymes and wordplay, delivered over a beat1 or without
accompaniment. Rapping derived from the griots (folk poets) of West Africa, and Jamaican-style
toasting. The basic elements of hip-hop - boasting raps, rival poses, uptown throwdowns, and
political commentary - were all present in Trinidadian music as long ago as the 1800's, though
they did not reach the form of commercial recordings until the 1920's and 30's. Calypso music
-like other forms of music - continued to evolve through the '50's and '60's.Herc also developed
upon break-beat deejaying, where the breaks of funk songs - the part most suited to dance,
usually percussion-based - were isolated and repeated for the purpose of all-night dance parties.
This form of music playback, using hard funk, rock, formed the basis of hip-hop music.
Campbell's announcements and exhortations to dancers would lead to the syncopated, rhymed
spoken accompaniment now known as rapping. He dubbed his dancers break-boys and break-
girls, or simply b-boys and b-girls. According to Herc, "breaking" was also street slang for
"getting excited" and "acting energetically". This soon started spreading through the entire
neighborhood until it became something regular. The DJs started making variations of popular
songs on turntables and DJ mixers. This led to the creation of rapping as a vocal style in which
the artist speaks along with instrumental or synthesized beats. The first hip hop record is widely
regarded to be The Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight", from 1979. Rapping became more
popular so more DJ & MC duos needed to be formed. Rappers developed their performance by
adding more complex rhymes and enhancing the “flow”, while DJs made some changes with the
1
beats (noun): the breakbeat rhythms that MCs rap to in hip hop music

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short drum breaks and “scratching”. Also an important thing connected to DJing and MCing is
breakdancing. Contests developed in which the best dancers created it, a style with a repertoire
of acrobatic and occasionally airborne moves, including gravity-defying headspins and
backspins.

Figure 1. DJ Kool Herc Figure 2. Breakdancing

2.2 OLD SCHOOL HIP-HOP - THE 80s

During the mid-80s some social topics were introduced and artists started implementing them in
music. During this time a rather important diversification in hip hop was made. Also, the New
York duo Run DMC added the sounds of an electric guitar and made a specific genre called rap
rock. Their 1986 album Raising Hell was the first hip hop album ever to be in the top 10 at the
time. Def Jam featured three important innovators: LL Cool J, rap’s first romantic superstar;
The Beastie Boys, a white trio who broadened rap’s audience and popularized digital sampling
(composing with music and sounds electronically extracted from other recordings); and Public
Enemy, who invested rap with radical black political ideology, building on the social
consciousness of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five’s “The Message” (1982). Rap’s
classical period (1979–93) also included significant contributions from De La Soul—whose
debut album on Tommy Boy, 3 Feet High and Rising (1989), pointed in a new and more playful
direction—and female rappers such as Queen Latifah and Salt-n-Pepa, who offered an alternative
to rap’s predominantly male, often misogynistic viewpoint. The most significant response to
New York hip-hop, though, came from Los Angeles, beginning in 1989 with N.W.A. 's dynamic
album “Straight Outta Compton”. “N.W.A. (Niggaz With Attitudez)” and former members of
that group - Ice Cube, Eazy E, and Dr. Dre - led the way as West Coast rap grew in prominence

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in the early 1990s. "Golden Age” is a period of creativity, diversity, and maturation in hip-hop
history, contributing to its emergence as a commercially profitable and artistically autonomous
realm of popular music. The 1989 establishment of a hip-hop-specific Grammy award (Best Rap
Performance) and Billboard chart (Hot Rap Songs) exemplifies the greater autonomy this music
attained during the Golden Age. In addition, the hip-hop magazine The Source began publication
in 1988, and the notorious, short-lived Source Awards commenced in 1991. The Golden Age
also saw the emergence of regional hip-hop scenes (among them Los Angeles, Chicago,
Houston, and Atlanta) throughout the United States, meaning this music was no longer limited to
the New York City area. Championed by their own artists, these local scenes fed two important
narratives of the Golden Age: hip-hop was becoming ubiquitous across America and its regional
idiosyncrasies reflected its diversity as a musical genre. The drive for originality and creativity in
hip-hop music assumed a more geographic tack, as East- and West-coast record labels battled for
dominance in the music industry. By the late 80s, many hip-hop beats were being made in a
studio with drum machines, synthesizers and samples from old funk and disco records.

Figure 4. Public Enemy Figure

„Bring 5. RUN DMC logo
Figure 3. LL Cool J The Noise“ cover

Figure 6. Salt-n-Pepa

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2.3 THE 90s

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In the early 90s, producers began using audio editing software
and digital effects to create new styles of alternative hip hop
such as jazz rap in which groups like De La Soul and A Tribe
Called Quest added jazz and R&B samples to their beats. The
Fugees used elements of reggae and soul to create their own
new style, and all-girl group Salt-N-Pepa created a fun new
style of hip hop pop. The most successful styles of the 90s
were the hardcore rap of New York and the gangsta rap and
G-Funk of Los Angeles. New York's Wu-Tang Clan created
one of the first hardcore styles when they rapped about
gangster life over swinging hip-hop beats with samples from martial-arts movies. By the late
1990s hip-hop was artistically dominated by them, who originated from New York City’s Staten
Island, whose combination of street credibility, neo-Islamic mysticism, and kung fu lore made
them one of the most complex groups in the history of rap. In 1994 a young rapper named Nas
released his first album Illmatic. Its loose mid-tempo beats, jazzy samples and Nas' poetic
rapping made Illmatic one of hip hop's greatest albums. Other popular hardcore rappers include
Puff Daddy, The Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z and 50 Cent.Los Angeles' gangsta rap2 developed from
the rap music of artists like Ice-T and NWA. Ice-T began by sampling funk rhythms and rapping
about the dangers of drugs, crime and dropping out of school in tracks like 1990s “You Played
Yourself”. The members of NWA were from Compton, one of LA's poorest and most violent
districts, and they rapped about the injustice and police violence in their neighborhood. Their
angry raps included a lot of explicit language, and the media attention this created helped their
albums reach the top of the charts. Former NWA member Ice Cube released his classic gangsta
album “Death Certificate” in 1991, and Tupac Shakur, or 2Pac, released his own classic album
“All Eyez on Me” before being killed in 1996. When Dr. Dre, another former N.W.A member,
released his album “The Chronic” in 1991, G-Funk2 was heard for the first time. G-Funk
producers often sampled funk grooves by George Clinton's P-Funk groups Parliament and
Funkadelic and slowed them down to create relaxed beats with funky bass lines, electronic
effects and female backing vocals. G-Funk rappers also rapped about gangsta-rap topics, but they
focused on partying, drugs and sex more than violence, crime and guns. 3
2
gangsta rap (noun): hardcore-style rap from Los Angeles
3
G-Funk (noun): funk-based subgenre of gangsta rap

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Classic G-Funk albums include DJ Quik's Quik “Is the Name” and Snoop Dog's “Doggystyle”.
Hardcore, gangsta and G-Funk rappers often adopted gangster images and their explicit language
and the way they rapped about women upset many people. But many others, especially teenage
boys, loved these styles and helped them become the sound of mainstream hip hop. Although
long believed to be popular primarily with urban African American males, hip-hop became the
best-selling genre of popular music in the United States in the late
1990s (at least partly by feeding the appetite of some white suburbanites for vicarious thrills). Its
impact was global, with formidable audiences and artist pools in cities such as Paris, Tokyo,
Sydney, Cape Town, London, and Bristol, England (where the spin-off trip-hop originated). It
also generated huge sales of products in the fashion, liquor, electronics, and automobile
industries that were popularized by hip-hop artists on cable Figure 7 . Snoop Dogg
television stations such as MTV and The Box and in hip-hop-
oriented magazines such as The Source and Vibe. A canny blend of entrepreneurship and
aesthetics, hip-hop was the wellspring of several staple techniques of modern pop music,
including digital drumming and sampling (which introduced rap listeners to the music of a
previous generation of performers, including Chic, Parliament-Funkadelic, and James Brown,
while at the same time creating copyright controversies).

Figure 8 . Dr.Dre – The Chronic Figure 9 . N.W.A members

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 Figure 11. Nas & Jay-Z Figure 12 . Wu-Tang Clan

2.4 2PAC & THE NOTORIOUS B.I.G

Tupac Shakur, in full Tupac Amaru Shakur, original name Lesane Parish Crooks, bynames 2Pac
and Makaveli, (born June 16, 1971, Brooklyn, New York, U.S. - died September 13, 1996, Las
Vegas, Nevada), was an American rapper and actor who was one of the leading names in 1990s
gangsta rap and hip-hop culture in general. Lesane Crooks was born to Afeni Shakur, a member
of the Black Panther Party, and she renamed him Tupac Amaru Shakur - after Peruvian
revolutionary Túpac Amaru II - when he was a year old. In 1986 settled in Baltimore, Maryland,
where Shakur attended the elite Baltimore School for the Arts. He distinguished himself as a
student, both creatively and academically, but his family relocated to Marin City, California,
before he could graduate. There Shakur went to the streets, selling drugs and becoming involved
in the gang culture that would one day provide material and serve as an inspiration for his rap
lyrics. In 1990 he joined Digital Underground, an Oakland-based rap group. Shakur performed
on two Digital Underground albums in 1991, This Is an EP Release and Sons of the P, before his
solo debut, “2Pacalypse Now”, later that year. “2Pacalypse Now” was a radical break from the
dance party sound of Digital Underground, and its tone and content were much closer to the
works of Public Enemy and West Coast gangsta rappers N.W.A. Shakur left an enduring legacy
within the hip-hop community. His popularity was undiminished after his death, and a long
succession of

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posthumous releases ensured that “new” 2Pac albums continued to appear well into the 21st
century.

Figure 13. Tupac Amaru

Shakur

American hip-hop star Biggie Smalls was born as Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21,
1972. Brooklyn, New York, - March 9, 1997, Los Angeles). Biggie, or "The Notorious B.I.G," as
he'd later become known, experienced a rough childhood—at an early age, he was surrounded by
drug addicts and dealers. As a result, by his early teens, Biggie had joined the life that was all
around him. "Hustlers were my heroes," he once said. "Everything happened on the strip I grew
up in. It didn't matter where you went, it was all in your face.” At the age of 17, Biggie was
arrested for selling crack cocaine, and spent nine months in a North Carolina prison before
making bail. As he navigated his young, uncertain life, Biggie started making music. He hooked
on with a crew called the "Old Gold Brothers," and began experimenting on his own. Around his
neighborhood, Biggie Smalls, as he called himself then, began building a reputation as a
musician. After a tape of his landed in the hands of Mister Cee, a well-known DJ, Smalls was
featured in the hip-hop publication, The Source. The article was enough to catch the attention of
Sean "Puffy" Combs, a young producer at Uptown Entertainment, a New York-based label
specializing in hip-hop and rhythm and blues. When Combs split off from Uptown to start his
own label, “Bad Boy Entertainment”, he brought Smalls with him. In 1994, The Notorious B.I.G.
released his debut album, “Ready to Die”, which told the story of his life, from drug dealer to
rapper. Backed with hits like "Juicy" and "Big Poppa," the record went platinum and the young
hip-hop artist became a full-fledged star. That same year, The Source named the rapper "Best
New Artist ", "Best Live Performer" and "Lyricist of the Year ". As his star power increased,

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Biggie did his best to share his prestige. He backed the work of several rappers that he'd
originally performed with while starting out in Brooklyn, and took to the studio in support of
other artists on Sean "Puffy" Combs's label. He also teamed up with such stars as Michael
Jackson and R. Kelly. By the close of 1995, Biggie Smalls was one of music's best-selling
performers. Biggie's death came just as the rapper was about to put out his second album, Life
After Death. In the wake of Biggie's killing, the record was a giant hit, selling nearly 700,000
copies in its first week. Two years later, Born Again, an album of unreleased material from
Biggie, was released. A third album of extra material, Duets: The Final Chapter, was released in
2005. Today, Biggie is still one of the music industry's most admired hip-hop artists. Several
musicians have paid tribute to Biggie by mentioning him in their songs, and his musical style has
been emulated by countless up-and-coming artists. Undoubtedly, Biggie's talent as a writer and
rapper will continue to be acknowledged for decades to come.

Figure 14 . The Notorious B.I.G

Figure 15 . Tupac and Biggie performing together in

Tupac and Biggie first met on the set of Poetic Justice in 1993. Biggie told Vibe magazine in
1996 that Tupac had been repeatedly playing his single "Party and Bullsh*t" on set. Biggie, who
was just getting started in the music industry, was clearly flattered and later met up with Tupac at
his LA home. "I always thought it to be like a Gemini thing," Biggie said, referring to the fact
that he was born on May 21, 1972, and Tupac on June 16, 1971, making them both Geminis.
"We just clicked off the top and were cool ever since." It is considered that Tupac had a type of
mentor role in Biggie’s career. Tupac devoted special attention to Biggie, grooming him and
letting him perform at his concerts. Biggie even told him he'd like to be a part of another of his

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affiliated groups, called Thug Life. "I trained the ni**a, he used to be under me like my
lieutenant," Tupac said. Tupac claimed to have directly influenced Biggie's style.

They were two of the most talented hip-hop rappers on the scene. And they were both dedicated
to exposing the truth of the tribulations of life on the streets, social injustice and the racial divide.
But the biggest difference between Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls: They represented different
coasts. What exploded into arguably the biggest rivalry in music history, ended up in the death of
both artists, just as their careers were skyrocketing. Tupac (also known as 2Pac) was gunned
down on September 7, 1996, and died six days later, while Biggie (also known as the Notorious
B.I.G.) was shot and killed six months later on March 9, 1997. Neither murder has ever been
solved. While there were some smaller misunderstandings between Tupac and Biggie, the first
big fallout happened when they were scheduled to work on a project together for another rapper,
Little Shawn. Tupac arrived at Times Square’s Quad Recording Studios on November 30, 1994,
and was getting ready to head upstairs to where Biggie and Combs were. But instead, Tupac was
gunned down in the lobby and shot five times, according to the New York Times. He survived
the attack but believed Biggie might have something to do with it, even though they did make it
upstairs to see them right after the incident. Tupac said the crew looked surprised and guilty, but
Puffy claimed they showed him ‘nothing but love and concern,’” according to the Vice excerpt.
While Tupac was incarcerated for another incident, he came to believe Biggie knew about the
attack ahead of time. The west coast rapper reached out to Suge Knight, who offered him a place
on his Death Row Records roster. Tupac accepted, cementing the rivalry between Knight's label
and Combs’ Bad Boy Records. “Any artist out there that wanna be an artist, stay a star, and
won’t have to worry about the executive producer trying to be all in the videos, all on the
records, dancing—come to Death Row!” Knight proclaimed at that 1995 Source awards show.
There was never proof that Biggie or Combs knew about the incident. But a couple of months
later, Biggie’s B-side single was a track called “Who Shot Ya?” which led to Tupac’s response
with the song, “Hit ‘Em Up.” In it, Tupac claimed he slept with Biggie’s wife, Faith Evans.
According to Vibe, Evans denied the claim, saying, “That ain’t how I do business.” The punches
continued to be thrown throughout their short lives, each side blaming the other for the deaths
(while other theorists believe they may still be alive and hiding). But after Tupac’s death, Biggie
wanted to put an end to the coast-to-coast fighting. “We two individual people, we waged a

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coastal beef...one man against one man made a whole West Coast hate a whole East Coast. And
vice versa. And that really bugged me out,” he said in an interview. “I've got to be the one to try
to flip it... because Pac can't be the one to try to squash it because he's gone”.

Figure 16. Tupac Shakur, Snoop Dogg,

Suge Knight, and MC Hammer

3. HIP-HOP IN THE 21st CENTURY

3.1 THE 2000s
As the century turned, the music industry entered into a crisis, brought on by the advent of digital
downloading. Hip-hop suffered at least as severely as or worse than other genres, with sales
tumbling throughout the decade. Simultaneously, though, it solidified its standing as the
dominant influence on global youth culture. Even the massively popular “boy bands,” such as the
Backstreet Boys and NSYNC, drew heavily on hip-hop sounds and styles, and rhythm and blues
and even gospel had adapted so fully to the newer approach that stars such as Mary J. Blige, R.
Kelly, and Kirk Franklin straddled both worlds.

In the early 2000s, hip-hop’s creative centre moved to the American South. Following the
success of the increasingly experimental OutKast and the stable of New Orleans-based artists
that emerged from two record companies - Cash Money and No Limit Records (which was both
founded and anchored by Master P) - the chant-based party anthems of such rappers as Juvenile,
8Ball & MJG, and Three 6 Mafia brought the sounds of the “Dirty South” to the mainstream.
Hip hop became a major genre of popular music in the 21st century, with hip hop singles and
albums topping the charts worldwide. Local hip hop scenes developed in many countries and

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produced successful artists like the UK's Dizzee Rascal and Canada's Drake. Many female
rappers also became successful, including Missy Elliott, Lil' Kim, Lauren Hill and Nicki Minaj.
Hip-hop has had a strong influence on 21st-century pop music, with many pop songs including
elements of hip-hop. Pop singers and rappers often collaborate to produce tracks with catchy pop
choruses and rapped verses like the single “See You Again”, a collaboration between pop singer
Charlie Puth and rapper Wiz Khalifa that topped the charts in 96 countries in 2015.

In the 1990s, most major artists were from New York or Los Angeles, but artists from the South
became popular after 2000. They included the duo Outkast who combined Southern-soul grooves
and riffs with clever, entertaining raps. Other popular artists from the South include Usher, T.I.,
Ludacris and B.o.B. from Atlanta, Three 6 Mafia from Memphis, Bun B from Texas, and Lil
Wayne from New Orleans. More recently, Southern artists like Future and Young Thug have
been creating exciting new styles of alternative hip hop. Midwestern artists also became popular
at this time.

Dr. Dre remained a crucial figure. His

protégé Eminem became perhaps the world’s
biggest star when 8 Mile (2002) was
released, (Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” won
the Academy Award for best song).

Figure 17 . Dr.Dre, 50 Cent & Eminem

With Eminem, Dr.
Dre then supported New York City- born 50 Cent, who achieved
multiplatinum status with 2003’s “Get Rich or Die Tryin” album.
However, Dr. Dre remained mostly silent for the remainder of the
decade, working on technology for a new brand of headphones but
Figure 18. „8 Mile“ movie never releasing an album after 1999. Eminem, whose outlaw status
poster
was challenged by his Hollywood success, seemed adrift for a

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time, and the Los Angeles style exemplified by Dr. Dre in the 1990s lost much of its power.
Marshall Mathers, better known as Eminem, was surrounded by hip hop culture in the poor
Detroit neighbourhood in which he grew up. As a teenager he won local rapping competitions,
one of the first white rappers to do so. His natural flow and the honesty and humour of his raps
won over the crowds, but because he wasn't a gangsta rapper he couldn't get a record contract.
After struggling for many years, he finally got a record deal. Nearly all of his albums have
topped the charts worldwide and he's now one of the best-selling artists of all-time.

Another major artist from the Midwest is Chicago's Kanye

Figure 19. Kanye West
styles he's helped to create like the electronic rap of “Black Skinhead “and the gospel-influenced
hip-hop of “Jesus Walks”.
West. In 2004 he released “The College Dropout”, the first of
a series of chart-topping alternative hip-hop albums that
helped change the direction of hip hop music. Kanye and
Eminem proved that rappers didn't have to make gangsta rap
records to succeed, and alternative hip-hop soon replaced
gangsta rap as the genre's most popular style. While most hip
hop artists are either producers or rappers, Kanye is regarded
as a master of both. His sample-heavy tracks have used
elements of classical music, gospel, jazz and soul as well as
rock and R&B, and he uses many rapping styles, from slow
and relaxed to fast and aggressive. He's often called the most
influential hip hop artist of the 21st century because of his role
in changing hip hop's direction and because of the number of

3.2 THE 2010s - HIP-HOP OF TODAY

Even those unfamiliar with the genre can recognize that rap and hip-hop are not what they used
to be. A pre-2005 hip-hop or rap hit can be easily distinguished from a track released in the past
decade, and artists who have gotten into the game within the last ten years bear little similarity to
what was the norm for ‘90s-era rappers. Just a decade later, some of the most successful rap hits

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relay messages formerly unheard of in the genre while the artists themselves come from a variety
of backgrounds. Rappers such as Macklemore have hits about formerly taboo subjects like
homosexuality, and artists such as Drake, a former
Canadian child actor, prove that being a “thug” is no longer
a pre-requisite to success. In fact, in an interview with
ABC, Drake confessed that he was once described as “the
furthest thing from hood.”

Kendrick Lamar raps with a 90s vibe. His songs contain

great tempo, rhythm, and style. Kendrick Lamar is a
storyteller rapper. Kendrick Lamar is described as Tupac’s
reincarnation. He even described himself as “The offspring
of the legacy”. Kendrick Lamar was even invited to the
president’s house and rapped for Malia Obama on her
birthday. He is one of the top Inspiring rappers today. He
mostly raps about wanting change and most of the songs he
raps about do not contain him talking about his ego.
Other popular artists of modern hip-hop are A$AP Rocky, Tyler the Creator, Nicki Minaj, Cardi
B, Travis Scott, Lil Nas X, Machine Gun Kelly, G – Eazy Figure 20. Kendrick Lamar
etc.

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Houston-born hip-hop artist and producer affiliated with Kanye West's GOOD Music and T.I.'s
Grand Hustle, Travis Scott (born Jacques Webster) became known during the early 2010s for his
heavily Auto-Tuned half-sung/half-rapped vocal style. Within seven years of his mainstream
arrival via West's Cruel Summer compilation (2012), on which he served as co-producer and
featured artist, Scott attained numerous platinum singles as a lead artist, including a streak of
four that began with "Antidote," a single off his number three hit debut album Rodeo (2015).
Scott followed with a pair of number one full-lengths, Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight (2016)
and Astroworld (2018), all the while assisting in platinum singles headlined by the likes of
Rihanna ("Bitch Better Have My Money"), SZA ("Love Galore"), and Drake ("Portland").
Whether leading or supporting, Scott's presence was unmistakable, almost always colored with
an array of adlib trills including but not limited to "It's lit," "Yeah, yeah," and "Straight up”.
Scott extended his commercial presence with featured spots on Wiz Khalifa's "Bake Sale,"
Rihanna's "Woo," and Kanye West's "FML," as well as a collaboration with Young Thug and
Quavo, "Pick Up the Phone," a mid-year hit issued as the lead single of Young Thug's
“JEFFERY”.

Figure 23. Astroworld album cover

Figure 24. Wiz Khalifa and Travis Scott

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Figure 25. Drake

Indeed, everything
from the definition of
mainstream hip-hop to Figure 26. J Cole
the function of record
labels to the personas
of the artists
themselves has

19
evolved over the past decade. While some aspects of this evolution are obvious, it is in the
subtleties of these changes that the inextricable link between social and musical development is
revealed. The hip-hop/rap genre, despite having garnered a reputation of violence and misogyny,
is a uniquely genuine voice amidst the development of our culture. In the years following the
release of Kanye’s first album, more and more rappers moved away from “gangsta rap” and
towards developing their individuality as artists. Today’s most successful hip-hop artists rap
about everything from thrift shopping to the sheer excess of their lifestyles. Even as sexuality
increasingly perpetuates mainstream hip-hop, artists are less afraid to present a softer side to
relationships as well. In J Cole’s 2013 hit “Power Trip,” the sole reference to drug usage was the
line “love is a drug, like the strongest stuff ever” and Drake, whose album “Take Care” topped
the Hip-Hop/Rap Charts in 2012, confessed in “Shot for Me” that he “never cheated, for the
record.” Indeed, contrary to the themes of aggression and illegality that perpetuated earlier hip-
hop, many of today’s biggest artists have taken a gentler approach towards romance even amidst
the genre’s misogynistic reputation.

3.3 MUMBLE (SOUNDCLOUD) RAP

Mumble rap is a microgenre of rap that is often referred to as a rap style where the delivery of
lyrics are often slurred, and almost unintelligible. However, since the microgenre is constantly
evolving and developing, this definition and associated characteristics are subject to change.

Figure 27. Soundcloud logo

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Soundcloud is an audio distribution platform and music sharing website that allows its used to
upload, promote, and share audio for free. Started in 2007, Soundcloud has become one of the
largest music streaming services bringing in 175 million monthly users worldwide. On the rap
scene, Soundcloud has become the primary method for new rappers to distribute their music.
Since Soundcloud requires no previous experience and is free, it allows new rappers to explore
the genre and create a lot of music. Almost all mumble rappers started with Soundcloud. There
are some key characteristics of mumble rap which include the constant use of autotune – a voice
modification system, mentioning of drugs, wealth and sex in songs, the focus on melody instead
of lyrics, face tattoos and the use of adlibs - defined as the second layer of words or sounds that
are added in post-productioon (ay, yuh). The origin of the modern mumble rap style can be
attributed to Future with his 2012 hit "Tony Montana." Future admits there are parts of the song
where you really cannot understand what he is saying, but regardless, it should be appreciated as
art. As Future became more popular, Young Thug (Thugger) decided to join the mumble game.
Thugger achieved mainstream success in 2014 with his singles "Stoner" and "Danny Glover.”
Another major player for the development of this genre was Lil Wayne. Although his music was
not originally mumble rap, he has been slowly transitioning into this genre. Older songs like his
2008 hit "Lollipop" to more recent songs like the 2018 "Problems" exemplify the mumbling
characteristics in mumble rap today.
Mumble rap also led to the creation of a new sub-genre called emo rap. Emo rap draws from a
heavy emo rock and trap influence. It departs from the traditional tones of mainstream hip hop
and focuses more on the emotional vulnerability of the artist. Although they still discuss topics of
drugs and money, the focus is more on drug and alcohol abuse and the inability to find love.
There is a large emphasis on depression, loneliness, and anxiety.

Kid Cudi is widely considered the father of this genre. He was one
of the first rappers to open up emotionally and describe his
ongoing pain and problems. His music was heavily influenced by
alternative rock with a lot of acoustic and drum sets to supplement
his beats. His 2015 album “Speedin' Bullet 2 Heaven” was

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criticized for its messy and uncoordinated style with nihilistic lyrics. Cudi tried to consolidate his
emotions within this album and ended with a difficult to understand album. Cudi indirectly
started a new movement of expressing emotion through the rap platform.

Although the late Lil Peep had a very limited

discography, the impact Peep had on the modern emo
scene was undeniable. Instead of just being a critically
acclaimed vehicle for the next wave of emo, Peep
touched upon the pain that came with exiting in today's
day and age. Peep is often referred to as the father of
modern emo-rap. After his death in 2017 due to an
overdose his music grew tremendously. Unlike Cudi who
acted as a guide, Peep served as an example of a young-
adult struggling to be found regardless of all the advice
he had learned. He had depression. He had struggled with
drugs. He had family problems. Peep was a role model
many could look up to and realize that their problems were Figure 29. Lil Peep
not personal and that others were going through similar
pain.
XXXTentacion (X) did not originally start off as an emo rapper. In fact, his breakout song "Look
At Me" was a screamo-rap song that emphasized adolescence and nihilism. However, his later
discography was mainly emo-esque with a large
discussion about heart-break and failed love. This late
rapper who died in 2018 due to an armed robbery, had
a large impact on the scene. Unlike Peep, X rapped
more about how his own failure and how his violence
led to break-ups. After his death, X's fame grew
exponentially. His song "F**k Love" topped the
charts multiple time posthumously. X also brought a
sense of reality to his music. X had been caught up in
sexual abuse charges earlier in his career, but was

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Figure 30. XXXTENTACION's mugshot

trying to make amends with it. Along with his “? “album and his recent charity work, he was
really trying to make himself a better person.

Juice Wrld was both heavily influenced by both X and Lil

Peep. After both of their deaths, Juice Wrld became the
face of the emo-rap scene. Juice was accredited for his
lyricism, his metaphors, and his ability to freestyle. Juice
admits in multiple interviews that all of his songs were
freestyles. This late rapper died in 2019 due to a Percocet
overdose and often spoke about his unhealthy habits in
his songs. Juice talked about his drug addiction and his
abuse to get over emotional pain. Juice influenced this
style by adding innovative lyricism and flexing. Many
times in his songs, Juice would preface a need for
temporary happiness and joy, and return back to his
eternal struggle to find love.

Figure 31. Juice WRLD

4. CONCLUSION
We can see that hip-hop music went through many changes during the last 4 decades of its
existence. Many new styles were created, dozens of artists became popular and left their marks
on this unique cultural movement, which is widely appreciated today and followed all around the
World. It all came from the streets and the voices of working-class people who expressed
themselves through lyrics and melody. In the end, it evolved in, inarguably, the most popular
music genre of the century. Hip-hop still attracts a significant number of young people who
pursue it not only through music, but through certain lifestyles and fashion as well. A vast
majority of rappers promote themselves using all sorts of products, mostly clothes and cosmetics.
Although today’s hip-hop music dramatically differs from the original form of it from the 1980s
and 1990s, it still can send an important message to the crowds worldwide. The powerful
feelings put in this kind of music will simply never die off.

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 5. LITERATURE

https://www.britannica.com/
https://genius.com/Bmxe-the-history-of-hip-hop-music-annotated
http://floodmagazine.com/71765/the-2010s-another-decade-of-hip-hop-dominance/
https://www.englishclub.com/
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/gqkqz3/tupac-biggie-friends-to-foes
https://www.thoughtco.com/hip-hop-culture-timeline-45164
http://www.hiphopscriptures.com/
http://www.vh1.com/
https://harvardpolitics.com/

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 6. COMMENT

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