The Origins of Hip Hop...

Hip Hop is a musical expression and artistic culture that came out in the 1970's from African American communites in Bronx, New York.  Notably the four key elements of Hip Hop are: emceeing, deejaying, breaking and graffiti( coined by Afrika Bambaataa).  It began as loop breaks on two turntables accompanied by rap.  It was a cultural movement for the minorities of the youth. Hip Hop arose from issues like; poverty, racism, educational issues and from the struggles of Human Rights.  In the Early 1970's artists would accompany a beat on a 12" record, through a rhytmic delivery that derives from folk poets out of West Africa and from Jamaican style toasting.  In the 1980's with the introduction of beat boxing, Hip Hop had encompassed social statements on life and social justices.  Early Hip Hop had helped reduce inner city violence because it gave people an outlet to express themselves through rap, breaking and artwork  By the 1990's Hip Hop included a sub-genre known as Gangsta rap, were previous themes of poverty, social injustice, and media ignorance shifted to themes of sex, drugs and violence.

Now this is where an explicit gap appears in the genre of Hip Hop> Mainstream vs. Underground.

Mainstream Hip Hop is the commericialized part, where you hear and see it everywhere; on the radio, in movies, shows, and advertisment.  The major division i believe between mainstream and underground is the lyrical content and overall message and style.  Some individuals view mainstream Hip Hop as a "devolution," that it is no longer authentic because its losing sight from what it had originally been created for.  Themes like money, cars, women and drugs are marketed to the youth as "the way of living."  If you dont have any of those things you aint in the 'game', so many young individuals feel like they have to be a rapper in order to live the good life.  I see some mainstream work as a degradation to our youths morality and knowledge.  Hip Hop was and still is a source of hope from everyday living dramas.  It was created to empower and up lift people from their situations through protest and freedom of expression.  However recent popular artists seem to counter produce and give Hip Hop a bad reputiation and image.

Underground Hip Hop on the other hand, is the lesser form known.  Underground artists tend to stay away from marketing and big labels in order to present their work "untainted."  They focus on raw experiences through use of metaphors with messages of self-awareness and for a purpose driven life!  Although through globalization, many underground artists have come up from under through internet distribution and of course by word of mouth.

Hip Hop has a clearly violatile division of artistic style.  Just remember Hip Hop is not just radio music of money and ho's.  You have to take a closer look and give credit to Hip Hop artists who have shaped American culture and American music by its influences and messages.

(Note: I cite all info from websites like wikipedia and google.  And for the most part, mainstream artists do have their own official artists)