Establishing a Hip Hop Canon
Friday, June 29, 2007
As hip hop reaches its 30th year, the genre is more segmented than ever, by both regional styles (East Coast, West Coast, Dirty South) and in stylistic terms (Gangsta rap, conscious hip-hop, "alternative" rap). From these many parts a canon is emerging and today we debate its meaning. Joining us is Mark Anthony Neal, associate professor of Black Popular Culture at Duke University; and Brian Coleman, author of Check the Technique.
Comments [5]
I agree with one of your earlier commentators that the the late 80's to early 90's was the start of a golden era. I wanted to ask where does scratching + early remixes ("Sucker MC's" by RUN-DMC with "Just be good to me" by the SOS band) Influence on Electronic music.
Baby Got Back
Gotta be.
Nas - Illmatic
truly timeless
also, agreed with tomek's comment on talent in today's music mainstream and the ability to get a deal. so much has been overdone that new styles, sounds and looks are often frowned upon by mainstream hip hop.
I agree with the above comment. Artists I would include are: Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, EPMD, Redman, Nas, and the Wu Tang Clan.
Your guest is correct in saying different age groups have different golden ages, but I would argue that the early to late 90's were the golden era, simply because the greatest variety of artists and styles of hip-hop were all coming out . The labels were giving many kinds of rappers a shot - the music was not so big yet that only one certain sound or style was prevalent, or only one type of rapper had a shot at a label deal. Artist like Smif-n-Wessun or Souls of Mischief could never get a deal in today's environment.
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