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Rap Music
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The instrumentation of rap is descended from disco, funk, and R&B, both in the sound systems and records sampled, and session musicians and their instrumentation, used. Disco or club DJs use of mixing originated from the need to have continuous music and ... smooth transitions between tracks, while in hip hop Kool DJ Herc originated the practice of isolating and extending only the break, basically short percussion solo interludes, by mixing between two copies of the same record, as this was, according to Afrika Bambaataa the "certain part of the record that everybody waits for -- they just let their inner self go and get wild." (Toop, 1991) James Brown, Bob James, and Parliament -- among many others -- have long been popular sources for breaks. Over this one could and did add instrumental parts from other records, frequently as horn punches (ibid). Thus the instrumentation of early sampled or sound system-based hip hop is the same as funk, disco, or rock: vocals, guitar, keyboards, bass, drums and percussion.
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From the themes and traditions of the blues, analysis of rap music videos, like analysis of the blues, reveals the effects of communities and the development of organic intellectuals. This study examines African American males who are hard core original gangsta (OG) rappers. These rappers are as follows: Public Enemy, NWA (Niggas with Attitudes), Ice-T, Ice Cube, 2 Pac, Intelligent Hoodlum and others. The researchers analyzed the videos both separately and together over several months in 1993.
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Every form of Black music from spirituals to rap has a melody, a rhythm, and a sound track. From the early blues with artists such as Robert Johnson selling his soul to the devil at the "Crossroads." Leading up to jazz and then soul with artists such as Areatha Franklin and James Brown who played major roles in the fight for social equality during this time. It was then in the mid 1970’s that rap music was served up by artists such as Kool Herc, Sugar Hill Gang, and Grandmaster Flash.
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While music-industry sales have plummeted, no genre has fallen harder than rap. According to the music trade publication Billboard, rap sales have dropped 44% since 2000 and declined from 13% of all music sales to 10%. Artists who were once the tent poles at rap labels are posting disappointing numbers. Jay-Z’s return album, Kingdom Come, for instance, sold a gaudy 680,000 units in its first week, according to Billboard. But by the second week, its sales had declined some 80%. This year rap sales are down 33% so far.
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One of the newest styles of music, rap music was created in the late 70s and 80s. "Rapper's Delight" by the Sugarhill Gang can still be recited from memory by many today. Surrounded by an entire culture and language of its own, rap is readily associated with graffiti, rhyming and the ghettos of New York City. However, since its birth, rap singers have transformed this once gangster-style music into something enjoyed by kids everywhere. Rap singers don't usually sing. In fact, they speak (rhyme) to the beat of an instrumental track played by a DJ.
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Rap music is now a rage all over the world. What began as tunes and lyrics of the west has today progressed into almost every country creating its own local rap artists. And so there is a place for almost any one with an inclination towards rapping to find a place in the rap music charts.
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Rap Music