Hip-Hop, an American Tradition
As of 2023, America’s favorite music genre is hip-hop, a musical class that got its start with Caribbean and African-American communities in 1970s New York City. Hip-hop was born at a block party in the Bronx, when one of the genre’s founding fathers, Jamaican musician DJ Kool Herc, mixed a song by “scratching” a record. With the additions of elements like rhythmic lyrics, or raps, and isolated percussion, hip-hop took off throughout America. Essential early hip hop artists include Africa Bambaataa, Grandmaster Flash, and Sugarhill Gang, all of which are considered pioneering musicians of the genre. Hip-hop took off on a national scale in the next few decades, with artists and groups like MC Hammer, Run DMC, and NWA dominating the 80s, and musicians such as Tupac Shakar, The Notorious B.I.G., and Snoop Dogg defining the 90s. Today, some of the biggest names in music are hip-hop artists, like Drake, Kendrick Lamar, and Nicki Minaj. Hip-hop is just one example of the immeasurable impact African-American musicians have had on American culture, but the roots of the genre have been part of American history for centuries.
A flyer for hip-hop's founding party (1973)
Musical Roots
African influence on modern-day American music can be traced back to the 1500s, at the beginning of the Atlantic Slave Trade. European powers like Spain and Portugal began to transport enslaved Africans in huge numbers to the newly “discovered” Americas, carrying nothing but cultural traditions like language and song. Music became an integral part of many enslaved communities, providing a way to keep their heritage alive and give a small sense of comfort to an unrelentingly cruel life. This traditional music told stories and evolved into spirituals, which were songs that detailed life as an enslaved person. These spirituals, in turn, evolved into blues, which is regarded as the first truly American music genre. Many pioneering blues singers were women, like Ma Rainey, Billie Holliday, and Nina Simone. From blues came jazz, a largely instrumental genre that encompasses some of the most famous African-American musicians like Louis Armstrong, Otis Redding, and BB King. Blues and jazz, along with soul, paved the way for modern hip-hop, rock, and R&B, essentially providing the foundation on which American music lies today.
“Queen of Blues” Ma Rainey with band in 1924
The Struggle for a Voice
While African-Americans have undoubtedly played an integral role in the history of American music, it hasn’t always been easy for the community to gain respect and opportunity in the industry. One issue that many Black artists face is a lack of recognition in genres like pop, country, and rock, genres that often get more exposure to audiences through radio. For artists like Tina Turner, American music moguls wouldn’t air her songs, pop in nature, on radios unless they were “Top 10 on the R&B charts” (Turner). Even in recent years, artists like Lil Nas X have been kept off country lists and radio stations, confined to the hip-hop genre solely due to race. A recent study shows that 86% of Black musicians have “faced barriers” in their music careers due to race, showing that even in an industry pioneered by African-Americans, racism is still at large (Savage). With that being said, like in many other industries, American music is owning up to past mistakes, and music enjoyers everywhere can appreciate the remarkable, African-American artists whose legacies influenced their favorite tunes.
Lil Nas X with Grammy awards (2020)
Sources
Chow, Andrew. “Ma Rainey Is Best Known as a Pioneer of the Blues. But She Broke More Than Musical Barriers.” Time. https://time.com/5923096/ma-rainey-true-story/.
Insanul, Ahmed. “Is Hip-Hop’s Dominance Slipping? ‘My Concern Is the Magic Is Gone.” Billboard. https://www.billboard.com/pro/hip-hop-music-most-popular-genre-dominance-slipping/.
Leight, Elias. “The Music Industry Was Built on Racism. Changing It Will Take More Than Donations.” Rolling Stone. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/music-industry-racism-1010001/.
PQ, Rory. “Hip Hop History: From the Streets to the Mainstream.” Icon Collective. https://iconcollective.edu/hip-hop-history/.
Turner, Christina. “How racism pushed Tina Turner and other Black women artists out of America.” PBS. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/how-racism-pushed-tina-turner-and-other-black-women-artists-out-of-america.
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