145-409: William Jonathan Drayton Jr. (born March 16, 1959), known by his stage name Flavor Flav ( / ˈ f l eɪ v ər ˌ f l eɪ v / FLAY -vər FLAYV ), is an American hip hop artist. Known for his yells of " Yeah, boyeeeeee! " when performing, he is a founding member, alongside Chuck D , of Public Enemy , a rap group that has earned six Grammy Award nominations, and has been inducted into
290-465: A producer . They also incorporate synthesizers, drum machines, and live bands. Rappers may write, memorize, or improvise their lyrics and perform their works a cappella or to a beat. Hip hop music predates the introduction of rapping into hip hop culture, and rap vocals are absent from many hip hop tracks, such as " Hip Hop, Be Bop (Don't Stop) " by Man Parrish ; " Chinese Arithmetic " by Eric B. & Rakim ; "Al-Naafiysh (The Soul)" and "We're Rocking
435-566: A "voice" for the disenfranchised youth of low-income and marginalized economic areas, as the hip hop culture reflected the social, economic and political realities of their lives. Hip hop's early evolution occurred around the time that sampling technology and drum-machines became widely available to the general public at a cost that was affordable to the average consumer—not just professional studios. Drum-machines and samplers were combined in machines that came to be known as MPC 's or ' Music Production Centers ', early examples of which would include
580-464: A "wafer") allowed the record to move fluidly. The end result of that was the creation of what we today call the Slipmat. Another item that played a key role in the successful implementation of the quick mix theory is the needle/stylus. He realized that the stylus came in two classes: elliptical, which sounded better but would not stay in the groove, and spherical. The spherical needle, although making
725-638: A 1984 history of hip hop. Hip hop and rap music are often used interchangeably but the term "hip hop" has also been historically used to describe a culture of which music is a part. Historically hip hop is a cultural movement that emerged in the South Bronx in New York City during the 1970s which included MCing (or rapping), graffiti art (or aerosol art), break dancing, DJing and knowledge. Musical genres from which hip hop developed include funk , blues , jazz and rhythm and blues recordings from
870-416: A DJ mixer. Prior to 1979, recorded hip hop music consisted mainly of PA system soundboard recordings of live party shows and early hip hop mixtapes by DJs. Puerto Rican DJ Disco Wiz is credited as the first hip hop DJ to create a "mixed plate," or mixed dub recording, when, in 1977, he combined sound bites, special effects and paused beats to technically produce a sound recording. The first hip hop record
1015-563: A Roland 808. Later, samplers such as the E-mu SP-1200 allowed not only more memory but more flexibility for creative production. This allowed the filtration and layering different hits, and with a possibility of re-sequencing them into a single piece. With the emergence of a new generation of samplers such as the AKAI S900 in the late 1980s, producers did not have to create complex, time-consuming tape loops. Public Enemy 's first album
1160-466: A basic chorus, to allow the performer to gather his thoughts (e.g. "one, two, three, y'all, to the beat"). Later, the MCs grew more varied in their vocal and rhythmic delivery, incorporating brief rhymes, often with a sexual or scatological theme, in an effort to differentiate themselves and to entertain the audience. These early raps incorporated the dozens, a product of African American culture. Kool Herc &
1305-663: A best-selling genre in the mid-1990s and the top-selling music genre by 1999. Hip hop became a category at the Grammy Awards in 1989 with the addition of the Best Rap Performance award and was given to DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince for their song "Parents Just Don't Understand". In 1990, they became the first hip hop act to perform at the Grammys. The popularity of hip hop music continued through
1450-737: A black D.J., as were other white DJ's at the station. Dr. Hep Cat's rhymes were published in a dictionary of jive talk, The Jives of Dr. Hepcat , in 1953. Jockey jack is the infamous Jack the Rapper of Family Affair fame, after his radio convention that was a must attend for every rap artist in the 1980s and 1990s These jive talking rappers of the 1950s black appeal radio format were the source and inspiration of Soul singer James Brown , and musical 'comedy' acts such as Rudy Ray Moore , Pigmeat Markham and Blowfly that are often considered "godfathers" of hip hop music. Within New York City, performances of spoken-word poetry and music by artists such as
1595-478: A disagreement over the group's decision to endorse Bernie Sanders and perform at his Los Angeles rally. Flavor Flav denounced the firing, maintaining that he was Chuck D's partner in Public Enemy and could therefore not be fired from it. On April 1, 2020, Chuck D announced that the firing was a hoax. Flavor Flav stated shortly thereafter that he was not a part of the hoax and disapproved of the stunt. After
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#17327905239011740-660: A fingertip-to-vinyl and crossfader technique called the Quick Mix Theory. In doing this, he figured out a mathematical way to cut, paste, repeat, and extend a very minuscule piece of an existing composition. This innovation took place in two places in the Bronx. The first location was his parents' house, 2730 Dewey Ave in the Throggs Neck Projects of the Bronx. The completion of the Quik Mix Theory
1885-427: A form of empowerment and self-expression has solidified its significance beyond mere entertainment, making it a significant cultural force worldwide. The origin of the phrase "hip-hop" is unknown but a very old example of the phrase appears in scene II of an anonymously written satirical play from 1671 called The Rehearsal , thought to be written by George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham and others. A character in
2030-505: A grooved disc. Flash continued to experiment by taking apart any machine he could get his hands on to figure out how it worked. His early work shows the innovative ways in which his artistic abilities led to what is considered the first evolution of hip hop culture. He hosted a weekly show on Sirius Satellite Radio (Friday Night Fire with Grandmaster Flash) and was presented with the BET "I Am Hip Hop Icon" award in 2006. Grandmaster Flash and
2175-490: A hiatus from the music scene, Flavor Flav was invited to participate on VH1 reality show The Surreal Life . During this show, he developed a relationship with actress Brigitte Nielsen . Following the conclusion of The Surreal Life , VH1 gave Flav and Nielsen a show titled Strange Love , which detailed their globetrotting adventure in love. At the end of Strange Love , Nielsen decided to return to her fiancé, Mattia Dessi. Flavor of Love , which aired for three seasons,
2320-481: A hip hop trio signed to Sugar Hill Records , the first all-female group to release a hit rap record, Funk You Up . The roots of rapping are found in African American music and bear similarities to traditional African music , particularly that of the griots of West African culture. The African American traditions of signifyin' , the dozens , and jazz poetry all influence hip hop music, as well as
2465-456: A historic building. The equipment consisted of numerous speakers, turntables, and one or more microphones. By using this technique, DJs could create a variety of music, but according to Rap Attack by David Toop "At its worst the technique could turn the night into one endless and inevitably boring song". KC the Prince of Soul , a rapper-lyricist with Pete DJ Jones, is often credited with being
2610-439: A knife. Flav's mother, Anna Drayton, died on December 31, 2013. On January 9, 2014, Flav was pulled over on Long Island's Meadowbrook Parkway for driving 79 miles per hour (127 km/h) in a 55 mph (89 km/h) zone, and was additionally charged with possession of marijuana and unlicensed operation of a vehicle. Authorities discovered Flav had 16 suspensions on his license. He was en route to his mother's funeral. Flav
2755-571: A member of the Cold Crush Brothers , stated that "hip hop saved a lot of lives". For inner-city youth, participating in hip hop culture became a way of dealing with the hardships of life as minorities within America, and an outlet to deal with the risk of violence and the rise of gang culture. MC Kid Lucky mentions that "people used to break-dance against each other instead of fighting". Inspired by DJ Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa created
2900-572: A national restaurant franchise . A mix of squabbling owners, bounced checks, and bad business decisions led to Flavor Flav's Chicken shutting down barely four months after it opened. Flavor Flav was not involved in the restaurant's day-to-day operations; Nick Cimino simply paid for Flavor Flav's license. Flavor Flav's House of Flavor in Las Vegas opened on Flav's birthday in March 2012. Flavor Flav teamed up with Gino Harmon and Salvatore Bitonti to start
3045-756: A national franchise known as Flavor Flav's Chicken & Ribs, which opened December 21, 2012 in Sterling Heights, Michigan . The business was not affiliated with the previous two ventures Flavor Flav has had in the restaurant business. Flavor Flav's Chicken & Ribs was a casual dining experience with a quick serve attitude. Flavor Flav's Chicken & Ribs closed in July 2013 after being evicted by its landlord for failure to pay rent. In 2002, Flav appeared in Taking Back Sunday 's music video for their song You're So Last Summer. Flav has appeared as
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#17327905239013190-614: A paradigm shift in the development of hip hop, with the introduction of samples from rock music, as demonstrated in the albums King of Rock and Licensed to Ill . Hip hop prior to this shift is characterized as old-school hip hop . In 1980, the Roland Corporation launched the TR-808 Rhythm Composer. It was one of the earliest programmable drum machines, with which users could create their own rhythms rather than having to use preset patterns. Though it
3335-544: A penchant for speaking about himself in the third person . Hip hop music African Asian Middle Eastern European North American Oceanic South American Hip hop or hip-hop , formerly known as disco rap , is a genre of popular music that originated in the early 1970s from the African American community. Hip-hop music originated as an anti-drug and anti-violence genre consisting of stylized rhythmic music (usually built around drum beats ) that often accompanies rapping ,
3480-639: A playable fighter in the 2004 fighting game; Def Jam: Fight for NY . In May 2005, Flav took part in the UK reality TV show The Farm on Channel 5 . Also in 2005, Flavor Flav made a guest appearance in the MTV2 surreal black comedy show Wonder Showzen as himself, in the debut episode "Birth". On June 14, 2006, Flav's participation, with WEVR-MRC , in the Lisa Tolliver Show celebration of National Safety Month , earned kudos from Surgeon General of
3625-465: A previous marriage, while making money scalping baseball tickets. In 2002, Flav spent nine weeks in Rikers Island jail for driving with a suspended license, numerous parking tickets, and tardiness for probation appointments. Following his release from jail, Flav broke up with Johnson and moved in with his mother on Long Island. Chuck D became concerned about his friend's well-being and, toward
3770-519: A reaction against disco and eventually incorporated characteristics of hip hop during the early 1980s. The DJ-based genre of electronic music behaved similarly, eventually evolving into underground styles known as house music in Chicago and techno in Detroit. The 1980s marked the diversification of hip hop as the genre developed more complex styles. New York City became a veritable laboratory for
3915-451: A result, the hip hop genre, barely known outside of the Bronx at the time, grew at an astounding rate from 1977 onward. DJ Kool Herc's house parties gained popularity and later moved to outdoor venues to accommodate more people. Hosted in parks, these outdoor parties became a means of expression and an outlet for teenagers, where "instead of getting into trouble on the streets, teens now had a place to expend their pent-up energy." Tony Tone,
4060-588: A rhythmic delivery of poetic speech. In the early 1990s, a professor of African American studies at Temple University said, "Hip-hop is something that blacks can unequivocally claim as their own." By the 21st century, the field of rappers had diversified by both race and gender. The music developed as part of the broader hip-hop culture , a subculture defined by four key stylistic elements: MCing /rapping, DJing/ scratching with turntables , breakdancing , and graffiti art . While often used to refer solely to rapping and rap music, "hip hop" more properly denotes
4205-465: A solo act; however, Chuck D insisted that Flav be signed with them and the two were signed to Def Jam. The group's first album Yo! Bum Rush the Show was released in 1987. Flav served as the comic foil to Chuck D's serious, politically charged style. The group gained much wider fame with their following release, 1988's It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back , which went double platinum. By
4350-491: A son with Elizabeth Trujillo, and another child with Kate Gammell. In 1991, Flav pleaded guilty to assaulting his then-girlfriend Karen Ross and served 30 days in jail, lost custody of his children, and fell deeper into addiction. In 1993, Flav was charged with attempted murder and imprisoned for 90 days for shooting at his neighbor. Later that year, Flav was charged with domestic violence, and cocaine and marijuana charges. His family performed an intervention , and he checked into
4495-470: A street organization called Universal Zulu Nation , centered on hip hop, as a means to draw teenagers out of gang life, drugs and violence. The lyrical content of many early rap groups focused on social issues, most notably in the seminal track "The Message" by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five , which discussed the realities of life in the housing projects. "Young black Americans coming out of
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4640-438: A way that mimicked the rhythmic cadence of soldiers marching. Cowboy later worked "hip hop" into a part of his stage performance saying something along the lines of what was adopted by other artists such as The Sugarhill Gang in 1979 in one of the earliest rap records " Rapper's Delight "I said a hip-hop, a hibbit, hibby-dibby, hip-hip-hop and you don't stop". Universal Zulu Nation founder and music artist Afrika Bambaataa
4785-484: Is a 7-minute solo showcase of Grandmaster Flash's virtuosic turntable skills, combining elements of Blondie 's "Rapture", Michael Viner's Incredible Bongo Band's "Apache", Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust", Chic's "Good Times", and the group's own "Freedom". It is also the first documented appearance of scratching on a record. That year, the group opened for The Clash and were poorly received by an audience unaccustomed to
4930-564: Is a reality show where Flavor Flav looks for love. The show's success led to spin-offs titled I Love New York and I Love Money . During the third season reunion of Flavor of Love , Flav proposed to Liz, the mother of his youngest son, Karma. The Comedy Central roast of Flavor Flav aired on August 12, 2007. Guests appearing at the roast included: Snoop Dogg , Brigitte Nielsen , Jimmy Kimmel , Carrot Top , Lisa Lampanelli , Ice-T , Jeff Ross , Katt Williams , Patton Oswalt , Greg Giraldo , and Sommore . Flav played Calvester Hill on
5075-815: Is also a cousin of rappers Ol' Dirty Bastard , RZA , and GZA of the Wu-Tang Clan . He began teaching himself piano at the age of five, and mastered piano, drums and guitar at an early age, while also singing in the youth choir at his church. According to Chuck D , Drayton is proficient in fifteen instruments. By the time he dropped out of Freeport High School in the 11th grade, he had been in and out of jail for robbery and burglary. Drayton attended culinary school in 1978. Later, he attended Adelphi University on Long Island , where he met Carlton Ridenhour (who later became known as Chuck D ). They first collaborated on Chuck D's hip-hop college radio show, then began rapping together. Drayton's stage name Flavor Flav
5220-399: Is an American musician and DJ. He created a DJ technique called the Quick Mix Theory. This technique serviced the break-dancer and the rapper by elongating the drum breaks through the use of duplicate copies of vinyl. This technique gave birth to cutting and scratching. It also gave rappers better music with a seamless elongated bed of beats to speak on. He also invented the slipmat . He
5365-584: Is credited with first using the term as a five element culture of which the music belonged; although it is also suggested that it was sometimes used as a derogatory term. The term was used in an article of February 24, 1979 by reporter Robert Flipping Jr. in the New Pittsburgh Courier The article is about DJs and discothèque nightclubs in Pittsburgh and does not mention rap music but says this: "D.J. Starsky ( Lovebug Starsky ), one of
5510-603: Is the founder and creator of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five , the first rap group to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007. In 2019 he became the first hip hop artist to be honoured with the Polar Music Prize . On May 21, 2022, he acquired an honorary doctorate in Fine Arts from Buffalo State University . On June 1, 2023, he was awarded an honorary doctorate in music from Lehman College in
5655-638: Is the rhythmic spoken delivery of rhymes and wordplay, delivered at first without accompaniment and later done over a beats . This spoken style was influenced by the African American style of "capping", a performance where men tried to outdo each other in originality of their language and tried to gain the favor of the listeners. The basic elements of hip hop—boasting raps, rival "posses" (groups), uptown "throw-downs", and political and social commentary—were all long present in African American music. MCing and rapping performers moved back and forth between
5800-463: Is this dictionary is: "Hip-hop, adv. [v. hip + hop v.; or re-duplication of hop, with alternation of lighter and heavier vowel : cf. drip-drop, tip-top: With hopping movement; with successive hops." A similar phrase "hippity hop" of unknown origin goes to least back to the 1800s and appears in a poem, "Spring Weather", written by Elizabeth Cummings published in an 1882 children's magazine called Wide Awake . The illustrated poem begins "Hippity hop to
5945-481: Is usually considered new wave and fuses heavy pop music elements, but there is an extended rap by Harry near the end. Boxer Muhammad Ali , as an influential African American celebrity, was widely covered in the media. Ali influenced several elements of hip hop music. Both in the boxing ring and in media interviews, Ali became known in the 1960s for being "rhyming trickster". Ali used a "funky delivery" for his comments, which included "boasts, comical trash talk , [and]
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6090-559: Is widely regarded to be the Sugarhill Gang 's " Rapper's Delight ", from 1979. It was the first hip hop record to gain widespread popularity in the mainstream and was where hip hop music got its name from (from the opening bar). However, much controversy surrounds this assertion as some regard the March 1979 single " King Tim III (Personality Jock) " by the Fatback Band , as a rap record. There are various other claimants for
6235-535: The Australian radio show The Kyle and Jackie O Show that when his drug problem was at its worst, he would spend up to US$ 2,600 a day on crack cocaine . As of October 2012, Elizabeth Trujillo, the mother of Flav's son, Karma, lived with Flav in Las Vegas and had been his fiancée for eight years. On October 17, 2012, Flav was jailed in Las Vegas on felony charges stemming from a domestic argument with Trujillo and his threats to attack her teenage son, Gibran, with
6380-538: The Betty Ford Center for an addiction to crack cocaine. After Flav's father died of complications from diabetes in 1997, Flav decided to re-enter rehabilitation, this time at the Long Island Center for Recovery. At one point, he broke both arms in a motorcycle crash. Flavor Flav dated Beverly Johnson , and by 2000, he lived in a small apartment in the Bronx with her and her two children from
6525-619: The Do It Any Way You Wanna Do rhythm by the People's Choice as re-recorded by Sly and Robbie ), where he even used a New York accent, consciously aiming at the new NYC rap market. The Jamaican DJ dance music was deeply rooted in the sound system tradition that made music available to poor people in a very poor country where live music was only played in clubs and hotels patronized by the middle and upper classes. By 1973 Jamaican sound system enthusiast DJ Kool Herc moved to
6670-521: The Funky Four ) and Scorpio (Eddie Morris, a.k.a. Mr. Ness) to make Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. Quickly gaining recognition for their skillful raps, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five pioneered MCing and freestyle battles. Some of the staple phrases in MCing have their origins in the early shows and recordings of the group. In 1978, the new group began performing regularly at Disco Fever in
6815-758: The Linn 9000 . The first sampler that was broadly adopted to create this new kind of music was the Mellotron used in combination with the TR-808 drum machine. Mellotrons and Linn's were succeeded by the Akai , in the late 1980s. Turntablist techniques – such as rhythmic " scratching " (pushing a record back and forth while the needle is in the groove to create new sounds and sound effects , an approach attributed to Grand Wizzard Theodore ), beat mixing and/or beatmatching , and beat juggling – eventually developed along with
6960-701: The MyNetworkTV comedy series Under One Roof , starring alongside Kelly Perine . In 2011, Flav partnered with Nick Cimino to open Flav's Fried Chicken in Cimino's hometown of Clinton, Iowa . The two had met through Cimino's brother Peter, who runs Mama Cimino's in Las Vegas and Castle Rock Bar and Pizzeria in Kingman, Arizona . After enjoying Flav's homemade fried chicken, Peter Cimino began selling chicken wings using Flav's recipe. The founders hoped to start
7105-569: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame . After spending several years out of the limelight, Flav starred in multiple VH1 reality series, including The Surreal Life , Strange Love , and Flavor of Love . Drayton was born in Roosevelt, New York , and grew up in nearby Freeport , two communities within the Town of Hempstead . Drayton is the cousin of former Penn State basketball player Shep Garner, and of Brooklyn MC Timbo King of Royal Fam . He
7250-551: The United States women's national water polo team amidst their preparations for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, signing a five-year sponsorship deal as the team's official hype man. He travelled to France to personally watch the team play. Flavor Flav made a custom bronze clock necklace for US Gymnast Jordan Chiles when her Bronze medal was controversially rescinded at the Paris 2024 games. He also helped raise money for
7395-421: The break section of the song, showing off athleticism, spinning on the stage to 'break-dance' in the distinctive, frenetic style. Although there were some early MCs that recorded solo projects of note, such as DJ Hollywood , Kurtis Blow , and Spoonie Gee , the frequency of solo artists did not increase until later with the rise of soloists with stage presence and drama, such as LL Cool J . Most early hip hop
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#17327905239017540-494: The call and response patterns of African and African American religious ceremonies. Early popular radio disc jockeys of the Black-appeal radio period broke into broadcast announcing by using these techniques under the jive talk of the post WWII swing era in the late 1940s and the 1950s. DJ Nat D. was the M.C. at one of the most pitiless places for any aspiring musician trying to break into show business, Amateur Night at
7685-656: The "Graffiti Capital of the World" in 1971. Philadelphia native DJ Lady B recorded "To the Beat Y'All" in 1979, and became the first female solo hip hop artist to record music. Schoolly D , starting in 1984 and also from Philadelphia, began creating a style that would later be known as gangsta rap . Hip hop music was influenced by disco music, as disco also emphasized the key role of the DJ in creating tracks and mixes for dancers, and old school hip hop often used disco tracks as beats. At
7830-436: The 'talking blues' tradition. The first full-length Jamaican DJ record was a duet on a Rastafarian topic by Kingston ghetto dwellers U-Roy and Peter Tosh named Righteous Ruler (produced by Lee "Scratch" Perry in 1969). The first DJ hit record was Fire Corner by Coxsone's Downbeat sound system DJ, King Stitt that same year; 1970 saw a multitude of DJ hit records in the wake of U-Roy's early, massive hits, most famously Wake
7975-514: The 1960s, 1950s, and earlier, including several records by Bo Diddley and gospel group The Jubalaires , whose 1946 song "Noah" is often named as the first recorded instance of rap . Muhammad Ali 's 1963 spoken-word album I Am the Greatest is regarded by some writers as an early example of hip hop. Pigmeat Markham 's 1968 single " Here Comes the Judge " is one of several songs said to be
8120-628: The 1970s, when block parties became increasingly popular in New York City, particularly among African American youth residing in the Bronx . At block parties, DJs played percussive breaks of popular songs using two turntables and a DJ mixer to be able to play breaks from two copies of the same record, alternating from one to the other and extending the " break ". Hip-hop's early evolution occurred as sampling technology and drum machines became widely available and affordable. Turntablist techniques such as scratching and beatmatching developed along with
8265-462: The Black community. Old-school hip hop was the first mainstream wave of the genre, marked by its disco influence and party-oriented lyrics. The 1980s marked the diversification of hip hop as the genre developed more complex styles and spread around the world. New-school hip hop was the genre's second wave, marked by its electro sound, and led into golden age hip hop , an innovative period between
8410-422: The Bronx to its global reach today, hip hop has served as a voice for the disenfranchised, shedding light on issues such as racial inequality, poverty, and police brutality. Artists such as Public Enemy , Tupac Shakur , and Kendrick Lamar have used their platforms to address systemic injustices, fostering dialogue and inspiring activism. Hip hop's ability to confront societal issues while simultaneously providing
8555-528: The Bronx, NY. On August 4, Grandmaster was issued a proclamation from the city of New York stating that August 4th is Grandmaster Flash Day. Saddler's family immigrated to the United States from Barbados . He was raised in the Bronx , New York City, where he attended Samuel Gompers High School , a public vocational school. There, he learned how to repair electronic equipment. Saddler's parents played an important role in his interest in music. His father
8700-485: The Bronx, one of the first times a hip-hop group was given a weekly gig at a well-known venue. Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five were signed to Bobby Robinson's Enjoy Records and in 1979 released their first single, "Superrappin'". In 1980 they signed to Sugar Hill Records and began touring and releasing numerous singles. The seminal " The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel ", released in 1981,
8845-465: The Bronx, taking with him Jamaica's sound system culture, and teamed up with another Jamaican, Coke La Rock, at the mike. Although other influences, most notably musical sequencer Grandmaster Flowers of Brooklyn and Grandwizard Theodore of the Bronx contributed to the birth of hip hop in New York, and although it was downplayed in most US books about hip hop, the main root of this sound system culture
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#17327905239018990-732: The Caribbean, where Jocko Henderson and Jockey Jack were American DJs who were listened to at night from broadcast transmitters located in Miami, Florida. Jocko came to have an outsized influence on Jamaican Emcees during the '50s as the R&;B music played on the Miami stations was different from that played on JBC , which re-broadcast BBC and local music styles. In Jamaica, DJs would set up large roadside sound systems in towns and villages, playing music for informal gatherings, mostly folks who wandered down from country hills looking for excitement at
9135-404: The Furious Five who is sometimes credited with the term as it relates to Hip Hop as we know it today (although it was not documented). Lovebug Starski , Keef Cowboy, and DJ Hollywood used the term when the music was still known as disco rap . It is believed by some that Cowboy created the term while teasing a friend who had just joined the U.S. Army, by singing the words "hip/hop/hip/hop" in
9280-599: The Furious Five were the first hip-hop/rap group inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on March 12, 2007, by Jay-Z . In 2008, he remixed the single "Into the Galaxy" by the Australian group, Midnight Juggernauts . It has been said that "his pioneering mixing skills transformed the turntable into a true 'instrument', and his ability to get a crowd moving has made his DJ sets legendary." Grandmaster Flash appears in
9425-456: The Furious Five". Grandmaster Flash was also interviewed in the 1986 cult documentary Big Fun in the Big Town . Although frequently credited on the records, Grandmaster Flash does not actually appear on "The Message", "Freedom", or many of the other Furious Five songs. Although Grandmaster Flash provided the central element of the group's sound when performing live (in addition to giving
9570-522: The Herculoids were the first hip hop group to gain recognition in New York, but the number of MC teams increased over time. Often these were collaborations between former gangs , such as Afrikaa Bambaataa 's Universal Zulu Nation —now an international organization. Melle Mel , a rapper with the Furious Five is often credited with being the first rap lyricist to call himself an "MC". During
9715-461: The Last Poets , Gil Scott-Heron and Jalal Mansur Nuriddin had a significant impact on the post-civil rights era culture of the 1960s and '1970s, and thus the social environment in which hip hop music was created. AM radio at many stations were limited by the 'broadcast Day' as special licenses were required to transmit at night. Those that had such licenses were heard far out to sea and in
9860-574: The Music Play " (1983), Freeez 's "I.O.U." (1983), Midnight Star 's "Freak-a-Zoid" (1983), Chaka Khan 's " I Feel For You " (1984). DJ Pete Jones, Eddie Cheeba, DJ Hollywood , and Love Bug Starski were disco-influenced hip hop DJs. Their styles differed from other hip hop musicians who focused on rapid-fire rhymes and more complex rhythmic schemes. Afrika Bambaataa , Paul Winley, Grandmaster Flash , and Bobby Robinson were all members of third s latter group. In Washington, D.C. go-go emerged as
10005-510: The National Recording Registry, the first hip hop recording to receive this honor. Critics praised the song's social awareness, calling the chorus "a slow chant seething with desperation and fury." Other than Melle Mel, no members of the group actually appear in the song. Rahiem lip-synced Duke Bootee's vocal in the music video. The same year, Grandmaster Flash appeared in the movie " Wild Style " and sued Sugar Hill over
10150-570: The Palace theatre on Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee. There he was master of ceremonies from 1935 until 1947 along with his sideman, D.J. Rufus Thomas . It was there he perfected the dozens, signifyin' and the personality jock jive patter that would become his schtick when he became the first black radio announcer on the air south of the Mason–Dixon line. Jive popularized black appeal radio, it
10295-635: The Planet" by Hashim ; and "Destination Earth" by Newcleus . However, the majority of the genre has been accompanied by rap vocals, such as the Sci-fi influenced electro hip hop group Warp 9 . Female rappers appeared on the scene in the late 1970s and early 80s, including Bronx artist MC Sha-Rock , member of the Funky Four Plus One , credited with being the first female MC and the Sequence ,
10440-659: The TOP ten of the German charts. In 2008, he released a memoir, The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash: My Life, My Beats , in which he talks about the origins of his fascination with scratching records and creating new beats. From a young age, Flash talks about how he would sneak into his father's record room to watch the record player spin, and then get punished for touching the records. He found inspiration even from things not associated with music. The spokes of his bicycle caused an interest in how record players create music just by rotating
10585-583: The Town and many others. As the tradition of remix (which also started in Jamaica where it was called 'version' and 'dub') developed, established young Jamaican DJ/rappers from that period, who had already been working for sound systems for years, were suddenly recorded and had many local hit records, widely contributing to the reggae craze triggered by Bob Marley's impact in the 1970s. The main Jamaican DJs of
10730-806: The United States Richard Carmona . On November 18, 2009, Flav became a downloadable character in the PlayStation Network 's video game Pain . Flav stars in Deon Taylor 's horror anthology Nite Tales and Dark Christmas . On May 10, 2010, Flav guest hosted the wrestling show WWE Raw . On August 14, 2011, Flav appeared as a host at the twelfth annual Gathering of the Juggalos . On January 10, 2012, Flav appeared with his longtime fiancée Liz on ABC's Celebrity Wife Swap . His fiancée traded places with Suzette,
10875-456: The United States and young immigrants and children of immigrants from countries in the Caribbean. Some were influenced by the vocal style of the earliest African American radio MCs (including Jocko Henderson 's Rocket Ship Show of the 1950s, which rhymed and was influenced by scat singing ), which could be heard over the radio in Jamaica. The first records by Jamaican DJs, including Sir Lord Comic ( The Great Wuga Wuga , 1967) came as part of
11020-627: The animated feature Hitpig! , both under the direction of animator David Feiss . Flavor Flav sang a widely noted performance of the Star Spangled Banner at the Milwaukee Bucks/Atlanta Hawks game in 2023. His performance was confusing to some, but Flavor Flav described the performance as a bucket list item, and a tribute to military veterans. He frequently engages in philanthropy to help struggling Olympic athletes. Flav helped financially support athletes of
11165-450: The basis of hip hop music. Campbell's announcements and exhortations to dancers would lead to the syncopated, rhymed spoken accompaniment now known as rapping. He dubbed his dancers "break-boys" and "break-girls", or simply "b-boys" and "b-girls". According to Herc, "breaking" was also street slang for "getting excited" and "acting energetically". DJs such as Grand Wizzard Theodore , Grandmaster Flash , and Jazzy Jay refined and developed
11310-444: The birth of hip hop in the hip hop culture. It is hard to pinpoint the exact musical influences that most affected the sound and culture of early hip hop because of the multicultural nature of New York—hip hop's early pioneers were influenced by a mix of cultures, due to the city's diversity. The city experienced a heavy Jamaican hip hop influence during the 1990s. This influence was brought on by cultural shifts particularly because of
11455-402: The breaks. Rapping developed as a vocal style in which the artist speaks or chants along rhythmically with an instrumental or synthesized beat . Hip hop music was not officially recorded to play on radio or television until 1979, largely due to poverty during the genre's birth and lack of acceptance outside ghetto neighborhoods. The genre of music began spreading through block parties throughout
11600-569: The candy Shop four little men in a row" and the phrase appears a few more times. The hopping depicted in the illustration seems to crossover later to describing dances such as the Lindy Hop , which began in Harlem in the late 1920s. Later dance parties in the 1970s with DJs predated rap music but rap music would evolve out of them. In an article in Medium , Jeff Chang writes: "Father Amde Hamilton of
11745-469: The civil rights movement have used hip hop culture in the 1980s and 1990s to show the limitations of the Hip Hop Movement." Hip hop gave young African Americans a voice to let their issues be heard; "Like rock-and-roll, hip hop is vigorously opposed by conservatives because it romanticises violence, law-breaking, and gangs". It also gave people a chance for financial gain by "reducing the rest of
11890-460: The creation of new hip hop sounds. Early examples of the diversification process can be heard in tracks such as Grandmaster Flash's " The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel " (1981), a single consisting entirely of sampled tracks as well as Afrika Bambaataa 's " Planet Rock " (1982), and Warp 9 's " Nunk ", (1982) which signified the fusion of hip hop music with electro . In addition, Rammellzee & K-Rob 's "Beat Bop" (1983)
12035-413: The crossover success of its artists. During the late 2000s and early 2010s "blog era", rappers were able to build up a following through online methods of music distribution, such as social media and blogs, and mainstream hip hop took on a more melodic, sensitive direction following the commercial decline of gangsta rap. The trap and mumble rap subgenres have become the most popular form of hip hop during
12180-466: The crowd. Eventually, this introducing role developed into longer sessions of spoken, rhythmic wordplay, and rhyming, which became rapping. By 1979, hip hop music had become a mainstream genre. Herc also developed upon break-beat deejaying, where the breaks of funk songs—the part most suited to dance, usually percussion-based—were isolated and repeated for the purpose of all-night dance parties. This form of music playback, using hard funk and rock, formed
12325-417: The earliest New York DJ scene, attending parties set up by early luminaries like DJ Kool Herc and Disco King Mario. Saddler's uncle Sandy Saddler was a featherweight boxing champion. Grandmaster Flash observed the styles of the smooth transitions of a disco DJ versus the non-fluid non-BPM-matched transitions of early DJing. He chose to complete his studies with the former. Grandmaster Flash came up with
12470-550: The earliest hip hop record. Leading up to hip hop, there were spoken-word artists such as the Last Poets who released their debut album in 1970, and Gil Scott-Heron , who gained a wide audience with his 1971 track " The Revolution Will Not Be Televised ". These artists combined spoken word and music to create a kind of "proto-rap" vibe. Hip hop as music and culture formed during the 1970s in New York City . As expressed by Mark D. Naison of Fordham University , "Hip hop
12615-406: The early 1970s B-boying arose during block parties, as b-boys and b-girls got in front of the audience to dance in a distinctive and frenetic style. The style was documented for release to a worldwide audience for the first time in documentaries and movies such as Style Wars , Wild Style , and Beat Street . The term "B-boy" was coined by DJ Kool Herc to describe the people who would wait for
12760-556: The early 1970s were King Stitt , Samuel the First , Count Machuki, Johnny Lover (who 'versioned' songs by Bob Marley and the Wailers as early as 1971), Dave Barker, Scotty, Lloyd Young, Charlie Ace and others, as well as soon-to-be reggae stars U-Roy , Dennis Alcapone , I-Roy , Prince Jazzbo , Prince Far I , Big Youth and Dillinger . Dillinger scored the first international rap hit record with Cocaine in my Brain in 1976 (based on
12905-420: The early days of hip hop were characterized by divisions between fans and detractors of disco music. Hip hop had largely emerged as "a direct response to the watered down, Europeanised, disco music that permeated the airwaves". The earliest hip hop was mainly based on hard funk loops sourced from vintage funk records. By 1979, disco instrumental loops/tracks had become the basis of much hip hop music. This genre
13050-446: The end of 2003, suggested Flav move to Los Angeles . Flav moved into his friend Princess' apartment, and within months met Cris Abrego and Mark Cronin , the creators and executive producers of the reality television series The Surreal Life . The pair sought him out as soon as they heard Flav had moved to Los Angeles. Seeing that he had remained free from his previous addictions, they wanted to cast him. Initially Flav refused, feeling
13195-570: The end of the week. There the DJs would allow 'Toasts' by an Emcee, which copied the style of the American DJs listened to on AM transistor radios. It was by this method that Jive talk, rapping and rhyming was transposed to the island and locally the style was transformed by 'Jamaican lyricism', or the local patois . Hip hop as music and culture formed during the 1970s in New York City from the multicultural exchange between African American youth from
13340-434: The endless quotabl[e]" lines. According to Rolling Stone , his " freestyle skills" (a reference to a type of vocal improvisation in which lyrics are recited with no particular subject or structure) and his "rhymes, flow, and braggadocio " would "one day become typical of old-school MCs" like Run-DMC and LL Cool J , the latter citing Ali as an influence. Hip hop music in its infancy has been described as an outlet and
13485-571: The ensemble went by the name "Grandmaster Flash & the 3 MCs". Cowboy created the term hip hop . He created the term while teasing a friend who had just joined the U.S. Army, by scat singing the words "hip/hop/hip/hop" in a way that mimicked the rhythmic cadence of soldiers marching. Cowboy later worked the "hip hop" cadence into a part of his stage performance. Mel was the first rapper to call himself "MC" (Master of Ceremony). Two other rappers briefly joined, but they were replaced more permanently by Rahiem (Guy Todd Williams, previously in
13630-705: The family of Paralympic sprinter Nick Mayhugh to travel to Paris to see their relative play, and paid rent for the Olympic Discus Thrower Veronica Fraley during the Olympic games. Flavor Flav is a long time fan of women's sports. Flavor Flav has been a notable guest at WNBA games, including performing a call and response tribute to the late Fatman Scoop at a New York Liberty game in September 2024. Flavor Flav had his first three children with Karen Ross, three more with Angie Parker,
13775-596: The first rap lyricist to call himself an "MC". Street gangs were prevalent in the poverty of the South Bronx, and much of the graffiti, rapping, and b-boying at these parties were all artistic variations on the competition and one-upmanship of street gangs. Sensing that gang members' often violent urges could be turned into creative ones, Afrika Bambaataa founded the Zulu Nation , a loose confederation of street-dance crews, graffiti artists, and rap musicians. By
13920-414: The four element cultures of hip-hop. After the premiere of The Get Down , Netflix premiered Hip-Hop Evolution , a music documentary discussing the history of hip hop in which Grandmaster Flash talks about the evolution of his art. In 2023, Grandmaster Flash competed in season nine of The Masked Singer as "Polar Bear". He was eliminated on "New York Night". As part of his encore, some DJ equipment
14065-460: The group its name), there was little room for his turntablism in early singles driven by the grooves of live session musicians. Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five reformed in 1987 for a charity concert, and in 1988 they released a new album. The group reunited again in 1994, although Cowboy died in 1989. In 1999, Grandmaster Flash recorded with DJ Tomekk and Flavor Flav the single " 1, 2, 3, ... Rhymes Galore ". The single stayed for 17 weeks in
14210-481: The heightened immigration of Jamaicans to New York and the American-born Jamaican youth who were coming of age during the 1990s. In the 1970s, block parties became increasingly popular in New York, particularly among African American, Caribbean and Hispanic youth residing in the Bronx . Block parties incorporated DJs, who played popular genres of music, especially funk and soul music . Due to
14355-633: The influential rap precursors the Watts Prophets once told me that, when he was growing up along Central Avenue in 1950s Los Angeles, the older folks used to call teen house parties 'them old hippity hops'." The earliest known instance of "hip hop" as a compound phrase in a song lyric is in a song about dancing by the doo-wop group the Dovells in 1963 called You Can't Sit Down , the lyric is: "...you gotta slop, bop, flip flop, hip hop, never stop". Keef Cowboy , rapper with Grandmaster Flash and
14500-421: The late 1970s, the culture had gained media attention, with Billboard magazine printing an article titled "B Beats Bombarding Bronx", commenting on the local phenomenon and mentioning influential figures such as Kool Herc. The New York City blackout of 1977 saw widespread looting, arson, and other citywide disorders especially in the Bronx where a number of looters stole DJ equipment from electronics stores. As
14645-411: The late 1990s to early-2000s "bling era" with hip hop influences increasingly finding their way into other genres of popular music, such as neo soul , nu metal , and R&B . The United States also saw the success of regional styles such as crunk , a Southern genre that emphasized the beats and music more than the lyrics, and alternative hip hop began to secure a place in the mainstream, due in part to
14790-452: The local dance hall culture, which featured 'specials,' unique mixes or 'versions' pressed on soft discs or acetate discs, and rappers (called DJs) such as King Stitt , Count Machuki, U-Roy , I-Roy , Big Youth and many others. Recordings of talk-over, which is a different style from the dancehall's DJ style, were also made by Jamaican artists such as Prince Buster and Lee "Scratch" Perry ( Judge Dread ) as early as 1967, somehow rooted in
14935-552: The mid-1980s and mid-1990s that also developed hip hop's own album era . The gangsta rap subgenre , focused on the violent lifestyles and impoverished conditions of inner-city African American youth, gained popularity at this time. West Coast hip hop was dominated by G-funk in the early-mid 1990s, while East Coast hip hop was dominated by jazz rap , alternative hip hop , and hardcore hip hop . Hip hop continued to diversify at this time with other regional styles emerging, such as Southern rap and Atlanta hip hop . Hip hop became
15080-454: The mid-late 2010s and early 2020s. In 2017, rock music was usurped by hip hop as the most popular genre in the United States. In recent years, hip hop's influence has transcended musical boundaries, impacting fashion, language, and cultural trends worldwide. Amidst its evolution, hip hop has also been a vehicle for social commentary and political expression, reflecting the struggles and aspirations of marginalized communities. From its roots in
15225-667: The more prominent based disc jockeys ... He is also responsible for the derivation of the 'Hip-Hop'." Lovebug Starsky is also credited for the term by Afrika Bambaataa in a January 1982 interview by Michael Holman in the East Village Eye . Holman stating "Hip hop: the all inclusive tag for the rapping, breaking, graffiti-writing, crew fashion wearing street sub-culture." The term gained further currency in September of that year in another Bambaataa interview in The Village Voice , by Steven Hager , later author of
15370-400: The music scene outside of New York City; it could be found in cities as diverse as Los Angeles, Atlanta , Chicago, Washington, D.C., Baltimore , Dallas , Kansas City , San Antonio , Miami, Seattle , St. Louis , New Orleans , Houston , and Toronto . Indeed, " Funk You Up " (1979), the first hip hop record released by a female group, and the second single released by Sugar Hill Records ,
15515-469: The new style. The group's most significant hit was the electro rap song " The Message " (1982), which was produced by in-house Sugar Hill producer Clifton "Jiggs" Chase and featured session musician Duke Bootee. Unlike earlier rap tunes, "The Message" featured a grim narrative about inner city violence, drugs, and poverty. In 2002, it was one of 50 recordings chosen by the Library of Congress to be added to
15660-412: The non-payment of royalties. Tensions mounted as "The Message" gained in popularity, eventually leading to a rupture between Melle Mel and Grandmaster Flash. Soon the group disintegrated entirely. Grandmaster Flash, Kidd Creole, and Rahiem left Sugar Hill, signed with Elektra Records , and continued on as simply "Grandmaster Flash", while Melle Mel and the others continued on as "Grandmaster Melle Mel &
15805-462: The people who helped establish hip hop culture, including DJ Kool Herc , DJ Disco Wiz , Grandmaster Flash , and Afrika Bambaataa were of Latin American or Caribbean origin. DJ Kool Herc is widely recognized as the creator of hip hop, credited with pioneering the technique of extending the instrumental "breakbeat" on a record during a party in the Bronx on August 11, 1973, which is considered to be
15950-446: The percussion breaks, creating a musical accompaniment or base that could be rapped over in a manner similar to signifying . Rapping , also referred to as MCing or emceeing, is a vocal style in which the artist speaks lyrically and rhythmically, in rhyme and verse, generally to an instrumental or synthesized beat . Beats, almost always in 4/4 time signature , can be created by sampling and/or sequencing portions of other songs by
16095-453: The play named Bayes says: "Ay, is't not, I gad, ha? For, to go off hip hop, hip hop, upon this occasion, is a thousand times better than any conclusion in the world, I gad." This play and two other later sources are mentioned as an entry "Hip-hop" in a multi-volume dictionary from 1901 called A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles , in Volume 5 H to K , on page 296; the definition
16240-470: The positive reception, DJs began isolating the percussive breaks of popular songs. This technique was common in Jamaican dub music , and was largely introduced into New York by immigrants from the Caribbean, including DJ Kool Herc, one of the pioneers of hip hop. Herc has repeatedly denied any direct connections between Jamaican musical traditions and early hip hop, stating that his own biggest influence
16385-405: The practice of the entire subculture. The term hip hop music is sometimes used synonymously with the term rap music , though rapping is not a required component of hip hop music; the genre may also incorporate other elements of the culture, including DJing , turntablism , scratching , beatboxing , and instrumental tracks . Hip hop as both a musical genre and a culture was formed during
16530-498: The predominance of songs packed with a mix of boasting, 'slackness' and sexual innuendo and a more topical, political, socially conscious style. The role of the MC originally was as a Master of Ceremonies for a DJ dance event. The MC would introduce the DJ and try to pump up the audience. The MC spoke between the DJ's songs, urging everyone to get up and dance. MCs would also tell jokes and use their energetic language and enthusiasm to rev up
16675-497: The same rhyming, cadence laden rap style. Once the white owned stations realized the new upstarts were grabbing their black market share and that Big Band and swing jazz was no longer 'hip', some white DJ's emulated the southern 'mushmouth' and jive talk, letting their audience think they too were African American, playing the blues and Be-Bop . John R Richbourg had a southern drawl that listeners to Nashville's WLAC nighttime R&B programming were never informed belonged not to
16820-411: The same time however, hip hop music was also a backlash against certain subgenres of late 1970s disco. While the early disco was African American and Italian-American-created underground music developed by DJs and producers for the dance club subculture, by the late 1970s, disco airwaves were dominated by mainstream, expensively recorded music industry -produced disco songs. According to Kurtis Blow ,
16965-441: The show was for celebrities past their prime. He was eventually convinced to join by previous participant MC Hammer . On May 2, 2011, Flav was arrested on four outstanding misdemeanor warrants for various driving offenses. Police said Flav had two outstanding arrest warrants for driving without a license, one for driving without insurance, and one related to a parking citation. Flav has since been released. In June 2011, Flav said on
17110-401: The single " 1, 2, 3, ... Rhymes Galore ". The single stayed for 17 weeks in the top ten of the German charts. In 2006, Flav put out his first solo album, titled Hollywood . It was released during the second season of the reality TV dating show Flavor of Love . On March 1, 2020, Public Enemy released a statement saying that the group would be "moving forward without Flavor Flav," following
17255-489: The song sound worse, would stay inside the groove. This, in turn, allowed Flash to turn the vinyl counterclockwise to re-arrive at the top of the break. Grandmaster Flash played parties and collaborated with rappers such as Kurtis Blow and Lovebug Starski . In the late 1970s, he formed his own group. The original lineup consisted of Cowboy ( Keef Cowboy ), Melle Mel (Melvin Glover), and Kidd Creole (Nathaniel Glover), and
17400-595: The song that first popularized rap music in the United States and around the world. In 1982, Afrika Bambaataa released the single " Planet Rock ", which incorporated electronica elements from Kraftwerk 's " Trans-Europe Express " and "Numbers" as well as YMO 's "Riot in Lagos". The Planet Rock sound also spawned a hip-hop electronic dance trend, electro music , which included songs such as Planet Patrol 's "Play at Your Own Risk" (1982), C Bank's "One More Shot" (1982), Cerrone 's "Club Underworld" (1984), Shannon 's " Let
17545-481: The time the political single " Fight the Power " was released in 1989, the group had become mainstream superstars. Along with Chuck D, the showman of the group and its promotional voice, Flav stood out among the members of Public Enemy as he often got the fans excited, appearing on stage and in public wearing big hats and glasses, and a large clock dangling from his neck. The first released track on which Flav rapped solo
17690-427: The title of first hip hop record. By the early 1980s, all the major elements and techniques of the hip hop genre were in place, and by 1982, the electronic (electro) sound had become the trend on the street and in dance clubs. New York City radio station WKTU featured Warp 9 's " Nunk ", in a commercial to promote the station's signature sound of emerging hip hop Though not yet mainstream, hip hop had begun to permeate
17835-412: The use of breakbeats, including cutting and scratching. As turntable manipulation continued to evolve a new technique that came from it was needle dropping. Needle dropping was created by Grandmaster Flash, it is prolonged short drum breaks by playing two copies of a record simultaneously and moving the needle on one turntable back to the start of the break while the other played. The approach used by Herc
17980-550: The video game DJ Hero as a playable character along with original mixes created for the game. In December 2011, Grandmaster Flash was reported to be at work on his 12th album. Aired in 2016, the Netflix original series The Get Down features a version of Grandmaster Flash that is played by Mamoudou Athie . The series takes place in 1977 New York City and follows the genesis of the DJing , B-boying , graffiti, and emceeing,
18125-640: The wife of Twisted Sister front-man Dee Snider . On February 5, 2012, Flav appeared along with Elton John in a Pepsi Co. ad during Super Bowl XLVI . On February 11, 2012, Flav appeared as an honorary member of the UNLV Rebellion during the UNLV Runnin' Rebels victory over San Diego State, 65-63. From June to September 2012, Flav co-starred and rapped in the web series Dr. Fubalous . Flav has also appeared in YooHoo & Friends as Father Time, and
18270-419: The world to consumers of its social concerns." In late 1979, Debbie Harry of Blondie took Nile Rodgers of Chic to such an event, as the main backing track used was the break from Chic's " Good Times ". The new style influenced Harry, and Blondie's later hit single from 1981 " Rapture " became the first single containing hip hop elements to hit number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 —the song itself
18415-431: Was James Brown , from whom he says rap originated. Even before moving to the U.S., Herc says his biggest influences came from American music: I was listening to American music in Jamaica and my favorite artist was James Brown. That's who inspired me. A lot of the records I played were by James Brown. Herc also says that he was not influenced by Jamaican sound system parties, as he was too young to experience them when he
18560-435: Was "Life of a Nigerian" on Goat Ju JU , although the first hit on which he rapped solo would not come until the 1990 single " 911 Is a Joke ". During Public Enemy's first years of existence, Flav experienced tensions with group-mate Professor Griff , who never liked Flav's flamboyant stance in what Griff felt should be a serious, politically-challenging group. In 1999, Flavor Flav recorded with DJ Tomekk and Grandmaster Flash
18705-507: Was Jamaican. The roots of rap in Jamaica are explained in detail in Bruno Blum 's book, 'Le Rap'. DJ Kool Herc and Coke La Rock provided an influence on the vocal style of rapping by delivering simple poetry verses over funk music breaks, after party-goers showed little interest in their previous attempts to integrate reggae-infused toasting into musical sets. DJs and MCs would often add call and response chants, often consisting of
18850-480: Was a 'slow jam' which had a dub influence with its use of reverb and echo as texture and playful sound effects. " Light Years Away ", by Warp 9 (1983), (produced and written by Lotti Golden and Richard Scher) described as a "cornerstone of early 80s beatbox afrofuturism," by the UK paper, The Guardian , introduced social commentary from a sci-fi perspective. In the 1970s, hip hop music typically used samples from funk and later, from disco. The mid-1980s marked
18995-500: Was a commercial failure, over the course of the decade the 808 attracted a cult following among underground musicians for its affordability on the used market, ease of use, and idiosyncratic sounds, particularly its deep, "booming" bass drum . It became a cornerstone of the emerging electronic, dance, and hip hop genres, popularized by early hits such as Afrika Bambaataa and the Soulsonic Force 's " Planet Rock ". The 808
19140-650: Was a fan of Caribbean and African American recordings. During his childhood, Joseph Saddler was fascinated by his father's record collection. In an interview, he reflected: "My father was a very heavy record collector.... I used to open his closets and just watch all the records he had. I used to get into trouble for touching his records, but I'd go right back and bother them." Saddler's early interest in DJing came from this fascination with his father's record collection as well as his mother's desire for him to educate himself in electronics. After high school, he became involved in
19285-412: Was arrested near Las Vegas on May 21, 2015. The charges included speeding and driving under the influence. On July 21, 2019, Flav had his youngest son Jordan with Kate Gammell. When asked about the significance of his trademark clock necklaces, Flav responded: "The reason why I wear this clock is because, you know, time is the most important element, and when we stop, time keeps going." Flavor Flav has
19430-430: Was born multicultural", gaining influences from African American and Anglo-Caribbean musical traditions, as well as African American and Latin American dancing traditions. Hip hop music in its infancy has been described as an outlet and a voice for the disenfranchised youth of marginalized backgrounds and low-income areas, as the hip hop culture reflected the social, economic and political realities of their lives. Many of
19575-468: Was called "disco rap". Ironically, the rise of hip hop music also played a role in the eventual decline in disco's popularity. The disco sound had a strong influence on early hip hop music. Most of the early rap/hip-hop songs were created by isolating existing disco bass-guitar bass lines and dubbing over them with MC rhymes. the Sugarhill Gang used Chic 's " Good Times " as the foundation for their 1979 hit " Rapper's Delight ", generally considered to be
19720-497: Was created with the help of large tape loops. The process of looping a break into a breakbeat now became more commonly done with a sampler, now doing the job which so far had been done manually by the DJs using turntables. In 1989, DJ Mark James, under the moniker "45 King", released "The 900 Number", a breakbeat track created by synchronizing samplers and vinyl records. Grandmaster Flash Joseph Robert Saddler (born January 1, 1958), known by his stage name Grandmaster Flash ,
19865-406: Was dominated by groups where collaboration between the members was integral to the show. An example would be the early hip hop group Funky Four Plus One , who performed in such a manner on Saturday Night Live in 1981. The earliest hip hop music was performed live, at house parties and block party events, and it was not recorded. DJs would play breaks from popular songs using two turntables and
20010-508: Was done at 927 Fox Street in the Hunts Point Area of the Bronx. The Quick Mix Theory gave birth to techniques such as cutting, scratching, and transforming. In addition to Grandmaster Flash's on-time BPM-perfected technique, additional items were needed to pull this off. These items were felt and wax paper. The combination of these two materials cut into the size of a record and placed on the turntable (at that time referred to as
20155-585: Was eventually used on more hit records than any other drum machine; its popularity with hip hop in particular has made it one of the most influential inventions in popular music, comparable to the Fender Stratocaster 's influence on rock. Over time sampling technology became more advanced. However, earlier producers such as Marley Marl used drum machines to construct their beats from small excerpts of other beats in synchronisation , in his case, triggering three Korg sampling-delay units through
20300-437: Was in Jamaica. In a 2020 interview, DJ Kool Herc's sister Cindy Campbell said that she wanted Jamaica to reclaim hip hop because, as she put it, "we are the ones who bought the style and the technique to America, which [later] became hip-hop." Because the percussive breaks in funk, soul and disco records were generally short, Herc and other DJs began using two turntables to extend the breaks. On August 11, 1973, DJ Kool Herc
20445-431: Was originally his graffiti tag. Flavor Flav (often referred to as "Flav") came to prominence as a founding member and hype man of the rap group Public Enemy , which he co-founded in 1985 with Chuck D . A year later, the group released "Public Enemy #1", which brought them to the attention of Def Jam Records executive Rick Rubin . Rubin initially did not understand Flav's role in the act and wanted to sign Chuck D as
20590-499: Was performed by the Sequence , a group from Columbia, South Carolina which featured Angie Stone . Despite the genre's growing popularity, Philadelphia was, for many years, the only city whose contributions could be compared to New York City's. Hip hop music became popular in Philadelphia in the late 1970s. The first released record was titled "Rhythm Talk", by Jocko Henderson . The New York Times had dubbed Philadelphia
20735-464: Was soon widely copied, and by the late 1970s, DJs were releasing 12-inch records where they would rap to the beat. Popular tunes included Kurtis Blow 's " The Breaks " and the Sugarhill Gang 's " Rapper's Delight ". Herc and other DJs would connect their equipment to power lines and perform at venues such as public basketball courts and at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, Bronx, New York, now officially
20880-412: Was the DJ at his sister's back-to-school party. He extended the beat of a record by using two record players, isolating the percussion "breaks" by using a mixer to switch between the two records. Herc's experiments with making music with record players became what we now know as breaking or " scratching ". A second key musical element in hip hop music is emceeing (also called MCing or rapping). Emceeing
21025-564: Was the language of the black youth, the double entendres and slightly obscene wordplay was a godsend to radio, re-invigorating ratings at flagging outlets that were losing audience share and flipping to the new format of R&B with black announcers . The 10% of African Americans who heard his broadcasts found that the music he promoted on radio in 1949 was also in the jukeboxes up north in the cities. They were also finding other D.J's like Chicago's Al Benson on WJJD , Austin's Doctor Hep Cat on KVET and Atlanta's Jockey Jack on WERD speaking
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