Cookie Lommel (born 1970) is an American author, biographer, film producer, and activist.
147-578: Public Enemy is an American hip hop group formed by Chuck D and Flavor Flav in Roosevelt, New York , in 1985. The group rose to prominence for their political messages including subjects such as American racism and the American media . Their debut album, Yo! Bum Rush the Show , was released in 1987 to critical acclaim, and their second album, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988),
294-465: 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
441-566: 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
588-638: 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
735-416: 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
882-959: A Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back as one of his favorite albums), Nine Inch Nails (mentioned the band in Pretty Hate Machine credits), Björk (included Rebel Without a Pause in her The Breezeblock Mix in July 2007), Tricky (did a cover of Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos and appears in Do You Wanna Go Our Way ;??? video), The Prodigy (included Public Enemy No. 1 in The Dirtchamber Sessions Volume One ), Ben Harper , Underground Resistance (cited by both Mad Mike and Jeff Mills ), Orlando Voorn, M.I.A. , Amon Tobin , Mathew Jonson, Aphex Twin (Welcome To The Terrordome being
1029-620: A Public Enemy spin off group under the name Confrontation Camp , a name that the ADL saw as a pun on the term concentration camp , released an album. The group consisted of Kyle Jason, Chuck D (under the name Mistachuck) and Professor Griff. Public Enemy was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013. Hip hop music African Asian Middle Eastern European North American Oceanic South American Hip hop or hip-hop , formerly known as disco rap ,
1176-563: 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
1323-466: 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 &
1470-663: 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
1617-737: 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
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#17327802706231764-426: A collaborative album with Paris , Rebirth of a Nation (2006). Public Enemy has gone through many lineup changes over the years, with Chuck D and Flavor Flav remaining the only constant members. Co-founder Professor Griff left in 1989 but rejoined in 1998, before parting ways again some years later. DJ Lord also joined Public Enemy in 1998 as the replacement of the group's original DJ Terminator X . In 2020, it
1911-496: A commentary on disinformation, and Reuters claimed that Chuck D and Flavor Flav "concocted a fake split to grab attention and highlight media bias towards reporting bad news about hip hop". In an interview with rapper Talib Kweli , Chuck D stated that the stunt was inspired by Orson Welles ' 1938 radio drama " The War of the Worlds ". In response, Flavor Flav tweeted: "I am not a part of your hoax" and: "There are more serious things in
2058-427: 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
2205-992: A free concert with Salt-N-Pepa and Kid 'n Play at Wingate Park in Brooklyn , New York City, as part of the Martin Luther King Jr. Concert Series . On August 26, 2012, Public Enemy performed at South West Four music festival in Clapham Common in London. On October 1, 2012 The Evil Empire of Everything was released. On June 29, 2013, they performed at Glastonbury Festival 2013 . On September 14, 2013, they performed at Riot Fest & Carnival 2013 in Chicago, Illinois. On September 20, 2013, they performed at Riot Fest & Side Show in Byers, Colorado. In 2014, Chuck D launched PE 2.0 with Oakland rapper Jahi as
2352-517: A hip hop act". Critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine called them "the most influential and radical band of their time". They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013. They were honored with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award at the 62nd Grammy Awards . Public Enemy was formed in 1985 by Carlton Ridenhour ( Chuck D ) and William Drayton ( Flavor Flav ), who met at Adelphi University on Long Island in
2499-481: 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
2646-456: 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
2793-571: 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
2940-640: A mutual respect and the personal friendship between Chuck D and Anthrax's Scott Ian , introduced a hitherto alien genre to rock fans, and the two seemingly disparate groups toured together. Flavor Flav's pronouncement on stage that "They said this tour would never happen" (as heard on Anthrax's Live: The Island Years CD) has become a legendary comment in both rock and hip-hop circles. Metal guitarist Vernon Reid (of Living Colour ) contributed to Public Enemy's recordings, and PE sampled Slayer 's "Angel of Death" half-time riff on "She Watch Channel Zero?!" The Manic Street Preachers track "Repeat (Stars And Stripes)"
3087-480: A non-profit organization that funded the travel of inner city minority students to live on an Israeli Kibbutz . Cookie Lommel authored the 2001 book The History of Rap Music , and Black Filmmakers in 2002. She is also the author of unauthorized biographies for Russell Simmons , Arnold Schwarzenegger , James Oglethorpe , Johnnie L. Cochran , Jr., Arthur Miller , Robert Church , Madame C.J. Walker , Michelle Pfeiffer , and Mary Church Terrell . She
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#17327802706233234-614: 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
3381-464: 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
3528-503: 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,
3675-423: A solo album for years, Bobby Brown had left New Edition and experienced some solo success beginning in 1988, and Johnny Gill had just been recruited to come in, but [he] had come off a solo career and could always go back to that. At MCA, Hiram Hicks, who was their manager, and Louil Silas, who was running the show, were like, 'Yo, these kids were left out in the cold. Can y'all come up with something for them?' It
3822-550: A spiritual successor and "next generation" of Public Enemy. Jahi met Chuck D backstage during a soundcheck at the 1999 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and later appeared as a support act on Public Enemy's 20th Anniversary Tour in 2007. PE 2.0's task is twofold, Jahi says, to "take select songs from the PE catalog and cover or revisit them" as well as new material with members of the original Public Enemy including DJ Lord, Davy DMX, Professor Griff and Chuck D. PE 2.0's first album People Get Ready
3969-470: 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
4116-546: A track that takes issue with the use of the word nigga outside of its original derogatory context. The album also included the controversial song and video " By the Time I Get to Arizona ", which chronicled the black community's frustration that some US states did not recognize Martin Luther King Jr. 's birthday as a national holiday. The video featured members of Public Enemy taking out their frustrations on politicians in
4263-438: 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
4410-418: 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 , a rhythmic delivery of poetic speech. In the early 1990s, a professor of African American studies at Temple University said, "Hip-hop
4557-513: Is a remix of the band's own anti-monarchy tirade by the Bomb Squad of whom James Dean Bradfield and Richey Edwards were big fans. The song samples "Countdown to Armageddon" from It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back . The band had previously sampled Public Enemy on their 1991 single " Motown Junk ." Other rock bands that have cited Public Enemy and the Bomb Squad as influences include My Bloody Valentine , ...And You Will Know Us by
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4704-405: Is certainly free to express his political views as he sees fit — his voice alone does not speak for Public Enemy". Chuck D responded to the statement by saying: "Flavor chooses to dance for his money and not do benevolent work like this. He has a year to get his act together and get himself straight or he's out". A lawyer for Chuck D added: "Chuck could perform as Public Enemy if he ever wanted to; he
4851-584: 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
4998-451: 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
5145-638: 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
5292-526: Is the sole owner of the Public Enemy trademark. He originally drew the logo himself in the mid-80s, is also the creative visionary and the group's primary songwriter, having written Flavor's most memorable lines". On March 1, 2020, before the group's performance at the Sanders rally, Chuck D, DJ Lord, Jahi, James Bomb and Pop Diesel issued a joint statement announcing that Flavor Flav had been fired from
5439-463: 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
5586-481: 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]
5733-611: 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
5880-641: The Arab–Israeli conflict . Professor Griff commented that "Jews are responsible for the majority of the wickedness in the world" (p. 177), a quote from The International Jew . Shortly after, Chuck D expressed an apology on his behalf. At a June 21, 1989, press conference, Chuck D announced Griff's dismissal from the group, and a June 28 statement by Russell Simmons , president of Def Jam Recordings and Rush Artists Management, stated that Chuck D. had disbanded Public Enemy "for an indefinite period of time". By August 10, however, Chuck D denied that he had disbanded
6027-619: 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
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6174-758: 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
6321-583: The Niggy Tardust album. He also used a line from the song in his poem, amethyst rocks . Public Enemy helped to create and define " rap metal " by collaborating with Living Colour in 1988 (" Funny Vibe "), with Sonic Youth on the 1990 song " Kool Thing ", and with New York thrash metal outfit Anthrax in 1991. The single " Bring the Noise " was a mix of semi-militant black power lyrics, grinding guitars, and sporadic humor. The two bands, cemented by
6468-421: 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
6615-494: 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
6762-656: 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
6909-436: 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
7056-514: 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
7203-628: 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
7350-462: 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
7497-422: 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
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#17327802706237644-465: 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
7791-732: 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
7938-404: 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
8085-522: 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
8232-504: The Jews are responsible for the majority of wickedness that went on around the globe I would have to know about the majority of wickedness that went on around the globe, which is impossible ... I'm not the best knower. Then, not only knowing that, I would have to know who is at the crux of all of the problems in the world and then blame Jewish people, which is not correct." Griff also said that not only were his words taken out of context, but that
8379-601: The Jungle Brothers , and A Tribe Called Quest . Public Enemy was one of the first hip-hop groups to do well internationally. PE changed the Internet's music distribution capability by being one of the first groups to release MP3 -only albums, a format virtually unknown at the time. Poet and hip-hop artist Saul Williams uses a sample from Public Enemy's "Welcome to the Terrordome" in his song "Tr[n]igger" on
8526-461: 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
8673-574: 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
8820-580: The New School , Kings of Pressure, and True Mathematics—and gave producer Kip Collins his start in the business. The influence of the band goes also beyond hip-hop in a unique way, indeed the group was cited as an influence by artists as diverse as Autechre (selected in the All Tomorrow's Parties in 2003), Nirvana (It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back being cited by Kurt Cobain among his favorite albums), Moby (also selected It Takes
8967-570: 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
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#17327802706239114-635: 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 ,
9261-534: The Power" is regarded as one of the most popular and influential songs in hip hop history. It was the theme song of Spike Lee 's Do the Right Thing . The group's fourth album, Apocalypse 91... The Enemy Strikes Black , continued this trend, with songs like "Can't Truss It", which addressed the history of slavery and how the black community can fight back against oppression; "I Don't Wanna be Called Yo Nigga",
9408-454: The Show , was released in 1987 to critical acclaim. In October 1987, music critic Simon Reynolds dubbed Public Enemy "a superlative rock band". They released their second album, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back , in 1988, which performed better in the charts than their previous release, and included the hit single " Don't Believe the Hype " in addition to " Bring the Noise ". It
9555-583: 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
9702-498: The Trail of Dead , and Quicksand . The revolutionary influence of the band is seen throughout hip-hop and is recognized in society and politics. The band "rewrote the rules of hip-hop", changing the image, sound and message forever. Pro-black lyrics brought political and social themes to hardcore hip hop, with stirring ideas of racial equality, and retribution against police brutality, aimed at disenfranchised blacks, but appealing to all
9849-519: 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
9996-539: The album Beats and Places , a compilation of remixes and "lost" tracks. On July 13, 2012, Most of My Heroes Still Don't Appear on No Stamp was released and was exclusively available on iTunes. In July 2012, on UK television an advert for the London 2012 Summer Paralympics featured a short remix of the song "Harder Than You Think". The advert caused the song to reach No. 4 in the UK Singles Chart on September 2, 2012. On July 30, 2012, Public Enemy performed
10143-450: 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
10290-444: 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
10437-402: 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
10584-569: 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
10731-469: 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
10878-416: The concept of the "chosen people" with the lyric "so-called chosen" and Jewish deicide with the last line. The rapper Ice-T addressed the controversy in his track "This One's For Me" on the album The Iceberg/Freedom of Speech... Just Watch What You Say! . He lamented that none of the rappers who had previously allied themselves with Public Enemy during their success was defending Professor Griff during
11025-625: The controversy, claiming that he had been the only one to speak out in Griff's defense. In 1999 the group released an album entitled There's a Poison Goin' On . The title of the last song on the album is called "Swindler's Lust". The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) claimed that the title of the song was a word play on the title of the Steven Spielberg movie Schindler's List about the genocide of Jews in World War II. Similarly in 2000
11172-513: 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)
11319-413: 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
11466-466: 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
11613-550: 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
11760-406: 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
11907-556: 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
12054-420: 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
12201-570: 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
12348-434: 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
12495-596: 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
12642-583: The first track played after the introduction at the Coachella Festival in April 2008), Rage Against the Machine (sampling the track in their song "Renegades of Funk"), and Porcupine Tree 's Fear of a Blank Planet . In a 1989 interview with The Washington Times , the interviewing journalist, David Mills , lifted some quotations from a UK magazine in which the band were asked their opinion on
12789-414: The former Program Director at WBAU, was approached by Sam Mulderrig, who offered Stephney a position with the label. Stephney accepted, and his first assignment was to help fledgling producer Rick Rubin sign Chuck D, whose song "Public Enemy Number One" Rubin had heard from Andre "Doctor Dré" Brown . According to the book The History of Rap Music by Cookie Lommel , "Stephney thought it was time to mesh
12936-465: The group Public Enemy was born". According to Chuck, The S1W, which stands for Security of the First World, "represents that the black man can be just as intelligent as he is strong. It stands for the fact that we're not third-world people, we're first-world people; we're the original people". Hank Shocklee came up with the name Public Enemy based on "underdog love and their developing politics" and
13083-434: The group and focus full-time on raising African black ostriches on his farm. In late 1998, the group started looking for Terminator X's permanent replacement. Following several months of searching for a DJ, Professor Griff saw DJ Lord at a Vestax Battle and approached him about becoming the DJ for Public Enemy. DJ Lord joined as the group's full-time DJ just in time for Public Enemy's 40th World Tour. Since 1999, he has been
13230-483: The group returned to Def Jam and released their studio album What You Gonna Do When the Grid Goes Down? on September 25, 2020. On November 25, 2023, the authors of ''Jesahel'' ( Ivano Fossati and Oscar Prudente ) together with Universal Music Group sued Public Enemy for plagiarism, since Fossati and Prudente are not recognized as co-authors of "Harder Than You Think" Public Enemy made contributions to
13377-481: The group, and stated that Griff had been re-hired as "Supreme Allied Chief of Community Relations" (in contrast to his previous position with the group as Minister of Information). Griff later denied holding anti-Semitic views and apologized for the remarks. Several people who had worked with Public Enemy expressed concern about Chuck D's leadership abilities and role as a social spokesman. In his 2009 book, entitled Analytixz , Griff criticized his 1989 statement: "to say
13524-635: The group, stating: "Public Enemy and Public Enemy Radio will be moving forward without Flavor Flav. We thank him for his years of service and wish him well". The statement also claimed: "Flavor Flav has been on suspension since 2016 when he was MIA from the Harry Belafonte benefit in Atlanta, Georgia. That was the last straw for the group. He had previously missed numerous live gigs from Glastonbury to Canada, album recording sessions and photo shoots. He always chose to party over work". On March 2, 2020, it
13671-447: The hard-hitting style of Run DMC with politics that addressed black youth. Chuck recruited Spectrum City, which included Hank Shocklee, his brother Keith Shocklee, and Eric "Vietnam" Sadler, collectively known as the Bomb Squad , to be his production team and added another Spectrum City partner, Professor Griff , to become the group's Minister of Information. With the addition of Flavor Flav and another local mobile DJ named Terminator X ,
13818-481: 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
13965-478: The hip-hop world with sonic experimentation as well as political and cultural consciousness, which infused itself into skilled and poetic rhymes . Critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote that "PE brought in elements of free jazz , hard funk , even musique concrète , via [its] producing team the Bomb Squad, creating a dense, ferocious sound unlike anything that came before." Public Enemy held a strong, pro-black, political stance. Before PE, politically motivated hip-hop
14112-535: The idea from Def Jam staffer Bill Stephney following the Howard Beach racial incident , Bernhard Goetz , and the death of Michael Stewart : "The Black man is definitely the public enemy." Public Enemy started out as opening act for the Beastie Boys during the latter's Licensed to Ill popularity, and in 1987 released their debut album Yo! Bum Rush the Show . The group's debut album, Yo! Bum Rush
14259-633: 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
14406-421: 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
14553-411: 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
14700-452: 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
14847-552: 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
14994-462: The mid-1980s. Developing his talents as an MC with Flav while delivering furniture for his father's business, Chuck D and Spectrum City, as the group was called, released the record "Check Out the Radio", backed by "Lies", a social commentary—both of which would influence RUSH Productions' Run–D.M.C. and Beastie Boys . Chuck D put out a tape to promote WBAU (the radio station where he was working at
15141-454: 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
15288-724: 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
15435-400: 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 ,
15582-458: The official DJ for Public Enemy on albums and world tours while winning numerous turntablist competitions, including multiple DMC finals. In 2007, the group released an album entitled How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul? . Public Enemy's single from the album was " Harder Than You Think ". Four years after How You Sell Soul ... , in January 2011, Public Enemy released
15729-462: 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
15876-446: 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
16023-453: 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
16170-1052: The poor and underrepresented. Before Public Enemy, hip hop music was seen as "throwaway entertainment", with trite sexist and homophobic lyrics. Public Enemy brought social relevance and strength to hip hop. They also brought black activist Louis Farrakhan to greater popularity, and they gave impetus to the Million Man March in 1995. Members of the Bomb Squad produced or remixed works for other acts, like Bell Biv DeVoe , Ice Cube , Vanessa Williams , Sinéad O'Connor , Blue Magic , Peter Gabriel , L.L. Cool J , Paula Abdul , Jasmine Guy , Jody Watley , Eric B & Rakim , Third Bass , Big Daddy Kane , EPMD , and Chaka Khan . According to Chuck D, "We had tight dealings with MCA Records and were talking about taking three guys that were left over from New Edition and coming up with an album for them. The three happened to be Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins , and Ronnie DeVoe , later to become Bell Biv DeVoe . Ralph Tresvant had been slated to do
16317-470: 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
16464-405: 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
16611-498: 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
16758-528: The recording has never been released to the public for an unbiased listen. The controversy and apologies on behalf of Griff spurred Chuck D to reference the negative press they were receiving. In 1990, Public Enemy issued the single "Welcome to the Terrordome", which contains the lyrics: "Crucifixion ain't no fiction / So-called chosen frozen / Apologies made to whoever pleases / Still they got me like Jesus". These lyrics have been described by rock critic Robert Christgau as anti-Semitic, making supposed references to
16905-497: 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
17052-411: 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 ,
17199-595: 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
17346-585: The states not recognizing the holiday. In 1992, the group was one of the first rap acts to perform at the Reading Festival in the UK, headlining the second day of the three-day festival. After a 1994 motorcycle accident shattered his left leg and kept him in the hospital for a full month, Terminator X relocated to his 15-acre farm in Vance County, North Carolina . By 1998, he was ready to retire from
17493-440: The time) and to fend off a local MC who wanted to battle him. He called the tape Public Enemy #1 because he felt like he was being persecuted by people in the local scene . This was the first reference to the notion of a public enemy in any of Chuck D's songs. The single was created by Chuck D with a contribution by Flavor Flav, though this was before the group Public Enemy was officially assembled. Around 1986, Bill Stephney,
17640-427: 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
17787-412: 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
17934-600: The world right now than April Fool's jokes and dropping records. The world needs better than this...you say we are leaders so act like one". On June 19, 2020, Public Enemy (with Flavor Flav), released the single and music video for their anti- Donald Trump song "State of the Union (STFU)". Chuck D stated, "Our collective voices keep getting louder. The rest of the planet is on our side. But it's not enough to talk about change. You have to show up and demand change. Folks gotta vote like their lives depend on it, cause it does". In 2020,
18081-419: 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
18228-431: 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
18375-507: 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
18522-480: 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
18669-500: 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
18816-662: Was a task that Hank, Keith, Eric, and I took on to try to put some kind of hip-hop-flavored R&B shit down for them. Subsequently, what happened in the four weeks of December [1989] was that the Bomb Squad knocked out a large piece of the production and arrangement on Bell Biv DeVoe 's three-million selling album Poison . In January [1990], they knocked out Fear of a Black Planet in four weeks, and PE knocked out Ice Cube 's album AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted in four to five weeks in February." They have also produced local talent such as Son of Bazerk , Young Black Teenagers , Leaders of
18963-604: Was announced that Flavor Flav had been fired from the group. His firing was later revealed to be a publicity stunt that was called an April Fools' Day prank. Public Enemy, without Flavor Flav, would also tour and record music under the name of Public Enemy Radio which consists of the lineup of Chuck D, Jahi, DJ Lord and the S1Ws. Public Enemy's first four albums during the late 1980s and early 1990s were all certified either gold or platinum and were, according to music critic Robert Hilburn in 1998, "the most acclaimed body of work ever by
19110-561: Was announced that Public Enemy (billed as Public Enemy Radio) would perform at a campaign rally in Los Angeles on March 1, 2020, for Bernie Sanders , who was campaigning to be the nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2020 presidential election . Days following the announcement, Flavor Flav's lawyer Matthew Friedman issued a cease-and desist letter asking the campaign to not use the group's name or logo, stating: "While Chuck
19257-440: Was announced that Public Enemy Radio would be releasing the album Loud Is Not Enough , which was due for release in April 2020. The album was to feature the lineup of Chuck D, DJ Lord, Jahi and the S1Ws and according to a statement from the group it will be "taking it back to hip hop's original DJ-and-turntablist foundation". On April 1, 2020, it was revealed Flavor Flav's firing was a publicity stunt to gain attention and provide
19404-595: Was born in Cleveland, Ohio . She began her career in the entertainment industry in 1981. Early on she worked as a journalist for Cashbox magazine and Radio & Records magazine. She has also worked as an entertainment industry reporter at CNN and as entertainment editor at Teen Magazine . In 2003, she was named the executive director of the Jewish Labor Committee 's Western region. Prior to this, in 1992 Lommel founded Operation Unity,
19551-430: 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
19698-468: 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
19845-414: 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. Cookie Lommel Cookie Lommel
19992-519: Was defined by a few tracks by Ice-T , Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five , Kurtis Blow and Boogie Down Productions . Other politically motivated opinions were shared by prototypical artists Gil Scott-Heron and the Last Poets . PE was a revolutionary hip-hop act whose entire image rested on a specified political stance. With the successes of Public Enemy, many hip-hop artists began to celebrate Afrocentric themes, such as Kool Moe Dee , Gang Starr , X Clan , Eric B. & Rakim , Queen Latifah ,
20139-406: 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
20286-585: 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
20433-437: 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
20580-499: 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
20727-495: Was released on October 7, 2014. InsPirEd PE 2.0's second album and part two of a proposed trilogy was released a year later on October 11, 2015. Man Plans God Laughs , Public Enemy's thirteenth album, was released in July 2015. On June 29, 2017, Public Enemy released their fourteenth album, Nothing Is Quick in the Desert . The album was available for free download through Bandcamp until July 4, 2017. In late February 2020, it
20874-487: Was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry . It included the singles " Welcome to the Terrordome ", written after the band was criticized by Jews for Professor Griff's anti-semitic comments, " 911 Is a Joke ", which criticized emergency response units for taking longer to arrive at emergencies in the black community than those in the white community, and " Fight the Power ". "Fight
21021-464: 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
21168-412: 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
21315-436: Was the first hip hop album to be voted album of the year in The Village Voice ' s influential Pazz & Jop critics' poll. In 1989, the group returned to the studio to record their third album, Fear of a Black Planet , which continued their politically charged themes. The album was supposed to be released in late 1989, but was pushed back to April 1990. It was the most successful of any of their albums and, in 2005,
21462-408: Was the first hip hop album to top The Village Voice ' s Pazz & Jop critics' poll. Their next three albums, Fear of a Black Planet (1990), Apocalypse 91... The Enemy Strikes Black (1991) and Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age (1994), were also well received. The group has since released twelve more studio albums, including the soundtrack to the 1998 sports-drama film He Got Game and
21609-564: 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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