The Geography of Hip-Hop

“Rap has different feels and different vibes in different parts of the country. For example, people in New York city don’t drive very often, so New York used to be about walking around with your radio. But that doesn’t really exist anymore. It became unfashionable because some people were losing their lives over them, and also people don’t want to carry them, so now it’s more like “Hey, I’ve got my Walkman.” For that reason, there’s a treble type of thing going on; they’re not getting much of the bass. So rap music in New York City is a headphone type of thing, whereas in Long Island or Philadelphia... it’s more of a bass type thing.” - Chuck D

Hip-hop according to the Oxford Language is “a style of popular music of United States Black and Hispanic origin, featuring rap with an electronic backing” but it is so much more than that. Hip-hop is not just a musical genre, but a way of life, a vibe - an essence. Though this culture was pioneered in the South Bronx, New York, it wasn’t until 6 years later with the release of “Rapper’s Delight” that the culture ventured beyond the five burrows of New York. As the musical style moved across the country, many cities started to develop their own way.

The East Coast

The pioneering sound, that eventually becomes what we know as hip-hop, came from the quick-mixing style found in Jamaican dancehall music. This technique allowed disc jockeys to isolate & prolong the break section of a track between two record players, as they spoke rhymes over the track. The earliest form of East Coast rap could be considered somewhat of a disco-hip hop fusion. This can be heard best in the song “Rapper’s Delight” by The Sugar Hill Gang. There is just something about that alternating bass and snare that just makes you move and groove. Throughout the years, hip-hop has grown and aged, just like its listeners, allowing for more artists to develop their own interpretations and styles of the legendary genre.

When it comes to East Coast Rap these are the key elements:

• The Rhyme

• The Sample

The greatest thing to consider that make up the East Coast and every other region’s sound, whether Old School or New school is the environment these artists grow in. For example, many New York rappers aren’t making songs to bump while you’re driving in your car because that wasn’t their experience growing up. Some of the best backpack rap* artists come from the East Coast like Black Moon and Mos Def.

Now don’t get me wrong, there are many examples of East Coast rappers moving to other rap regions, and gaining a huge following (2Pac being a great example), but just like the ink on your birth certificate - you can’t change where you were born. If you were to look at the 325 songs (not including remixes) released by Tupac Shakur, you would see that 2Pac sampled 518 songs. Although, he’s credited heavily as a West Coast rapper, in an interview with Sway he credits not just the West Coast but also the East Coast for shaping and molding him into the person he grew to be.

(Also, I know I’ve not mentioned other East Coast hip-hop fusions (like A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul), Latin Rap and Trap artists (like Bad Bunny or even Cardi B), and even the Rock Rappers (like the Beastie Boys), but for this intro we’re going to be focused mostly on boom bap*.)

The West Coast

The fastest growing style of hip-hop to branch off the originators was the West Coast style of rap, pioneered by Alonzo Williams. Unlike its East Coast counterpart, early West Coast hip-hop focused more on the DJ than the rhyme. In the 80’s this changed with the introduction of harmonized rap (later to be defined as gangsta rap) by such artists like Mixmaster Spade. For those that thought the musicians of the East Coast held back, then the early West Coast musicians were right up their alley. Alonzo “Lonzo” Williams was once quoted saying, “The lyrics came from the heart and from the streets. That is why “PARENTAL ADVISORY” had to be put on albums and CDs. Then came the beat. The West Coast had beats that were crazy , but people were loving it !”

When it comes to West Coast Rap these are the key elements:

• The “Gangsta”

• The “Flow”

When I use the word flow in regards to West Coast Rap I don’t mean the rhyme, as most people would think. I’m talking about the actual wave like pattern of each cadence. Similar to the way that a person’s voice pitches upwards when asking a question and resolves downwards when responding; West Coast Rap has a similar internal question and answer. A really great example of this can be found in the song “Streiht Up Menace” by Compton’s Most Wanted.

Similarly to East Coast Rap, the means of transportation can be heard in West Coast Rap music. In the song “Boyz-N-The-Hood” by Eazy-E, there’s a major key in the first line, “Cruisin’ down the street in my ‘64…” That key being the word cruisin’. The act of cruising is one major experience that distinguishes an East Coast rapper from a West Coast rapper. Whether you’re driving down the street in a coupe or a single-speed Schwinn, the one thing for sure is that you’re cruising - or at least thinking about it.

The Midwest

As broad as the accents are amongst the people of the Midwest, so are the influences of rap. Taking a look at 4 different cities that some of the most popular Midwest rappers have come out of (Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis, and Cleveland), each of these have a very distinct sound to them, even though they are all from the same region. Though hip-hop didn’t originate in the Midwest, rappers from the Midwest have definitely become the favored region amongst The Recording Academy. Since 1996, the year the first Grammy for Best Rap Album was rewarded, the recipient has been a Midwestern rapper 12 times of the 25 (50% of that being Eminem alone).

When it comes to Midwestern Rap these are the key elements:

• Coded Language

• More White Artists

Though rap is mostly spoken in the African-American Vernacular, each region uses coded language* Similarly to how in the East Coast and Southwest region you’ll find more Latin Rap, in the Midwestern region you’ll find more white rappers. With that though, you’ll also find more rappers that go against the “traditional” ideas of what hip-hop/ rap culture means. On one side of the spectrum you’ll find rappers like Eminem whom challenge the bounds of rap and rhyme, and on the other end you’ll find rappers like Lil Dicky whom equally challenge bounds of rap, but through the lens of a white male acknowledging their white privilege.

The South

I was born in the South but raised in the Midwest, so I’m not as hip to Southern rappers, but there’s a reason for that! Prior to the 90’s, most Southern rap stayed popular in the South and didn’t move to these other regions. It wasn’t until the late 90’s that Southern rap become a mainstream sound and that is greatly due to Master P. He was the first Southern rap artists to really gain national recognition with No Limit label that extended beyond music and ventured into merchandise. I speak heavily of New Orleans’s influence in Southern rap, but don’t get it twisted Atlanta definitely developed and popularized the genre of *trap music with artists like Outkast and T.I. which allowed for New School artists like Waka Flocka Flame and The Migos to develop the Southern Trap sound that we know so well now. (so many triplets…)

When it comes to Southern Rap these are the key elements:

• The Twang

• [Either] The Bounce or The Groove

As Lil Troy said, "It’s a laid-back vibe that we like down here. That way you can understand what people sayin’ real slow and stuff. When you’re smoking that weed everyday and drinking that codeine syrup, your brain is slow already so you on time with it.” Similar to the West Coast flow, some Southern rappers have a laid-back groove in their rap style. You can hear an example of this in the song “Wanna Be A Baller” by Lil Troy. The extended synth notes at a fairly slow 92 beats per minute, help keep the energy in this song at a casual walking pace. If the groove is the head’s side of the coin, then the bounce is definitely the tail. Southern bounce music just sounds hot & sweaty (temperature-wise). To quote Big Freedia, “If ya booty ain’t movin’, you ain’t doin’ it right. The more twerkin’ the betta.” A popular Bounce example comes from New Orleans-native Choppa with the song “Choppa Style”.

Dictionary

*Backpack rap refers to music that is listened to by backpackers. Backpackers: People who only listen to underground or conscious rap"

*Boom bap is an onomatopoeia that represents the sounds used for the bass (kick) drum and snare drum, respectively.

*Coded language describes phrases that are targeted so often at a specific group of people or idea that eventually the circumstances of a phrase's use are blended into the phrase's meaning.

*Trap music is a subgenre of hip hop music that originated in the Southern United States during the early 1990s. The genre gets its name from the Atlanta slang word "trap," which refers to a place in which drugs are sold illegally.

Here are all the songs mentioned for your listening pleasure

I would like to thank Katya Deve for providing me with a collection of literature by hip-hop scholars. You were a tremendous help.

Happy Holidays

Happy Kwanzaa (or Boxing Day across the pond)!!

So this holiday season I did a lot of reflecting about life, and feeling hella grateful for a lot of things I have in life because one of my best friends got me this sweet Mindfulness Journal! One thing I realized though that I really appreciate is when people go out of their way to say “Happy Holidays” instead of just going for the “Merry Christmas”!

Yes, I celebrate Christmas, but I’m not really as pious as I was the first time I celebrated it, so nobody has to feel like they have to include me in anything. Give me a “Happy Holidays”! As long as you aren’t doing what I got growing up around a sea white people (“So…do you celebrate Kwanzaa?”) The answer is no; I don’t know anyone that does.

Anyway back to business, I recently learned that Western Christianity basically took over the festive season until the mid-20th century (that sucks!) and people weren’t having it anymore. I remember how big of a deal Chrismahanukwazakah commercial in 2004 was the first time I saw in on the TV, considering the federal administration we had at the time - heres a clip from 2005, just in case you don’t remember who was president in 2004…

So here’s a shoutout to all the holidays that tend to get overshadowed by “Merry Christmas”!

Let’s learn!!!!

Hanukkah

Y’all won’t believe how many people in the US celebrate this holiday, for everybody to only think about Christmas! According to a 2015 report by Wilmington, North Carolina’s Star News, the ratio of Americans who celebrate Hanukkah compared to Christmas is 1 to 14. 7% doesn’t seem like a huge margin, but when you look at it, it’s actually hella impressive consider that only 1.8% of the US population are practicing Jews!

Hanukkah, also called The Festival of Lights (not to be confused with Diwali) occurs from December 2-10th. This 8 day celebration commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem.

The celebration of Hanukkah revolves around the lighting of a nine-branched menorah. On each of the holiday’s eight nights, another candle is added to the menorah after sundown. The ninth candle, called the shamash, is used to light the others; during this, Jews typically recite blessings and display the menorah in a window as a reminder to others of the miracle that inspired the holiday.

Kwanzaa

For as new as Kwanzaa is it’s really impressive that 1 in 49 people in the US celebrates this holiday through December 26-31st. Kwanzaa was created in 1966 by Dr. Mualana Karenga to celebrate black identity, encourage unity, and preserve African culture. The name derives from matunda ya kwanza” which means “first fruits” in Swahili.

Similar to Hanukkah, Kwanzaa too has a candelabra of great importance called the Kinara which holds seven candles, each represent one of the seven principles , or Nguzo Saba, of Kwanzaa. These are:

1. Unity:Umoja (oo–MO–jah)
   To strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation, and race.

2. Self-determination: Kujichagulia (koo–gee–cha–goo–LEE–yah)
   To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves, and speak for ourselves.

3. Collective Work and Responsibility: Ujima (oo–GEE–mah)
   To build and maintain our community together and make our brother’s and sister’s problems our problems and to solve them together.

4. Cooperative Economics: Ujamaa (oo–JAH–mah)
   To build and maintain our own stores, shops, and other businesses and to profit from them together.

5. Purpose: Nia (nee–YAH)
   To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.

6. Creativity: Kuumba (koo–OOM–bah)
   To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.

7. Faith: Imani (ee–MAH–nee)
   To believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders, and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.

The celebration of Kwanzaa often includes songs & dances, African drums, storytelling, poetry reading, and concludes on the 31st with an African feast called the Karamu.

Boxing Day

Not a very popular holiday for people in the US, but if you ask any immigrant with UK-influence, they’ll be able to tell you this holiday is legit. Many may know it as St. Stephen’s day also, but Boxing day is the on the 26th of December, or the day after Christmas. The premise of this holiday is to give the gift of gratuity and celebrate the unsung heroes in the service industry: the post-men/women, the janitors, the sales associate at that 24-hour gas station (God bless you, you beautiful sheep!)

I would just like to give a shout out to History.com, y’all! I couldn’t have learned any of this if it wasn’t for them.