DJ Kool Herc, known to be the foundation of Hip-Hop debuted on the 11th of August 1973. Popularly, in the world of Hip-Hop when you try to trace back its origin, it can be associated with DJ Kool Herc who was born in the Bronx, New York. Herc, along with other DJs around the city experimented with his music and eventually came up with a technique that we now call ‘breaking’.
Soon after rap songs started to emerge in the Bronx. The creators soon started using rap names adopting the tradition from club DJs. If you are into Hip-Hop and want to see what your rap name is, check out the random rap name generator. Many of the famous Hip-Hop artists that you listen to today, have done the same – they found their rap names on the internet. So why don’t you as well?
What Are the Roots of Hip-Hop Music?
We all already know that Hip-Hop music was majorly created by African Americans and Latino-Americans. But from where did it evolve? Certain traits that are seen in Hip-Hop were always present in other music genres most associated with a Black origin. Reggae, for example, is of black origin. If we had to, we could say that Reggae gave birth to Hip-Hop (Not literally!).
Reggae and Hip-hop have certain similarities such as song structure, lyrical styles, sound system, and their expression of social unrest. Reggae emerged from the slums of Jamaica while Hip-Hop emerged from the poverty-stricken Bronx. Both have similar conditions because of which they rose – poverty and racial discrimination.
The 1970s
The 1970s saw the use of ‘breaks’. Jimmy Castor in his song It’s Just Begun and Herman Kelly in Dance to The Drummer’s Beat started giving special attention to the percussion breaks. Back then, those who liked this kind of music and wanted to create it started calling themselves B-Boys and then emerged the dancing technique called B-Boying.
By the end of the decade, many DJs and MCs emerged who used the ‘breaking’ technique and such music started to play in the Bronx and eventually in New York clubs. Soon enough the old black tradition of using rhyming words to put down your competitors or enemies entered this genre of music which was still evolving to a greater extent. The concept of using stage names already existed in the club scene.
Deprived kids and youngsters ended up developing a new genre of music and dance which in turn developed a new culture that entered the global music market from Germany to Korea to India. With their song Rapper’s Delight, the trio that called themselves Sugarhill Gang a new genre was acknowledged.
Sugarhill Gang’s success changed the club scene. Disco was soon shed aside to be replaced by rap songs. Rappers started to emerge from deprived suburbs, and they took the world by storm. They adopted rap names that sounded dope although some of them were still quite terrible. If you are a rapper looking for a rap name and failing to come up with a good one, refer to random rap name generator.
The Golden Era
By the 1980s Hip-Hop was a genre on its way to being popular in different corners and streets of North America. Technologically speaking, studios rapidly grew that supported and produced music required for rappers to rap. In fact in the 80s, Roland, the instrument manufacturer developed a programmable drum machine named TR-808 that made producing the sound required for Hip-Hop easy which led to the rapid release of Hip-Hop songs.
Between the mid-1980s and 1990s, Hip-Hop had spread its wings in the mainstream and the radios supported the genre. New styles developed regionally with stylistic innovation, varied influence, and mainstream success. From city to city, a new Hip-Hop style was seen with the influence of street life and the political turmoil.