10.3. The Message

As rappers became more sought after, the need for DJs to accompany them began to dwindle. Record companies realised they only needed the rapping, which could go over any kind of music they wanted. For all its fame and influence, Rapper’s Delight used a house band instead of a DJ, allowing the rappers to take centre stage. This lead to members of the hip hop community to dismiss the track for not being truly representative of the culture on the streets, due to a lack of one of its crucial elements (Miyakawa, 2012)

The concept of rapping was steeped in African tradition and always existed in some form with an emphasis on the art of storytelling. Slaves and blues singers had their own message and so did rappers, all playing their role in the socio-political climate of the black community during the 70s and 80s. Gang warfare and gentrification was rife in black urban areas and continued to fuel the lyricism. The mid-to-late 80s saw a rise in “hardcore hip hop”, stripping away the funky breaks and replacing them with harsh lyrics and themes of sex, violence and drugs. It wasn’t until the turn of the decade that a powerful contrast reared its head with the Native Tongues collective, comprising primarily of groups A Tribe Called Quest, Jungle Brothers, De La Soul. Their afrocentric themes made them a close fit with the Zulu Nation. They also relied heavily on jazz sampling as opposed to the drum machines sounds and electro of the 80s

With every new genre comes an initial difficulty in comprehension, none more than hip hop. After rock music’s “victory” over disco, the emergence and growing success of this new musical movement was a sensation for anyone outside of New York. When Rapper’s Delight was released in 1979, Billboard reporter Jean Williams erroneously claimed the Sugarhill Gang were from Los Angeles instead of New Jersey, which compounded the disapproving look from hip hop insiders even further, as the group weren’t from hip hop’s designated birth place (Harrison and Arthur, 2011, p.315). Another error came when Kurtis Blow was mistakenly called a “Philadelphia-based rapper” when in fact, he hailed from New York (Harrison and Arthur, 2011, p.315). These two misattributions may have done little for the hip hop community within New York in the way of perceiving acceptance with their music. Harrison and Arthur later explained another article discussing hip hop’s appeal overseas and within the “cosmopolitan” areas of urban America, seemingly turning the genre from that of resistance to a fashion accessory for the affluent (Harrison and Arthur, 2011, pp.315-316). From what had started as the very people who were causing the oppression in the first place had transformed a movement away from the clutches of oppression and stifling conditions into a financial commodity