Hip Hop Concerts

As I like hip hop you probably thought I would have been to a hip hop concert but no I haven't been to a concert. I guess I would like to go to one, one day but I'm not sure who I would go and see. If he was still alive I would probably go and see 2Pac but other than that I'm not sure. I do have to concerts on film though one is Tupacs and the other one is "The Up In Smoke Tour" which includes Rapper Eminem, Snoop Dog, Ice Cube, and Dr. Dre. Both of these concerts I enjoy watching over and over again on DVD. "The Up In Smoke Tour" is also a bit of a show and a concert put together. I guess I'll get to a concert one day but if I don't, I don't mind. I enjoy just listening to my Hip Hop/Rap CD's.

Research Entry 3. Subculture of Tattoos,Rap Beef's and Clothing

Hip Hop Subculture

Along with the Music of Hip Hop there are a lot of other things that belong to this subculture including Tattoos, the rap beef’s that go on between Artists, and the clothing they wear. For my final research entry, I am going to talk about these four elements of the Hip Hop/Rap Subculture:


Tattoos:

In today’s music world there are many artists from many genres that have tattoos. But the genre that seems to have the most artists with tattoos is Hip Hop/Rap, with many artists having many different tattoos all up and down there arms. This has become a part of who Hip Hop/Rap Artists are. A culture has also developed with many people choosing to have tattoos of their favourite artist put onto themselves. This is because of how the Hip Hop/ Rap Artists are portrayed in their videos with big gold chains, pimped out hummers, and hot babes wearing bikinis hanging off each arm. This is what we see 24/7- the rich player living the good life in Hip Hop/Rap Videos. And it is not just one tattoo that the Hip Hop/Rap artists have - it is quite a few. But this has become a big thing in the subculture of Hip Hop/Rap and not only Hip Hop/Rap but in today’s world as a different fashion accessory like : Hats, Ear rings, and different hair cuts. Tattoo’s have come into the main stream in the last couple of years and this has also transformed the music world. I would go as far as to say that Hip Hop/Rap Artists are using Tattoo’s like record sales to see who can have the best Tattoo. They are trying to out do each other with the number of them and the creativeness of the Tattoo’s on their bodies. Here are some pictures of Hip Hop/Rap Artists Tattoo’s









Beef’s Between Hip Hop/Rap Artists:

This is also a big part of Hip Hop and it is also a big part of record sales too. The fans that love these artists believe in not liking the Artists that their favourite Hip Hop/Rap Artists have a beef (Fight) With ie: Both Artists are putting each other down. The most famous Beef in Hip Hop/Rap History would have to be between 2Pac and Biggie in the early 90's. This was known as the East Coast Vs West Coast Rap War. This was the Artists' two different record labels dissing each other in a way to sell more records. As their side was the better side,these two artists who where once good friends got dragged into the Beef. This resulted in the deaths of 2Pac and Biggie Smalls. Both were very talented artists and had a long way to go in the world of Rap. Even after this there are still many Beef’s going on today between artists. While looking on the internet I stumbled over a web site that had related Blogs on Hip Hop/Rap Beefs. This site talks all about Rap beef’s and how it was in the Hip Hop/Rap culture from day One. It also talks about how these beefs between Rapper start through their lyrics but can turn into something much worse out side the studio and become actual vilonce on the streets ending in deaths of people like 2Pac and Biggie’s Deaths. Though in today’s Hip Hop/Rap World they are trying to solve disputes as men and not let them get out of hand like the East Coast Vs West Coast one did. There are still many going on in today’s Hip Hop/Rap Scene. Here are a list of a few

50 Cent Vs Fat Joe
Ja Rule Vs Eminem and 50 Cent
DMX Vs Ja Rule
Eminem Vs Everlast & Dilated Peoples

These are just some of the Beef going on in Hip Hop/Rap


Clothing: Last but not least is the clothing of the Hip Hop/Rap Culture. It seems in this subculture it is the bigger the better and that goes for your clothes as well. The clothes seen most worn in the Hip Hop/Rap subculture are: Baggie pants, Hats Backwards, NFL football Jerseys, and big chains around the neck. The fashion of Hip Hop was seen early in 1990’s where kids would wear the baggie pant’s and the big (NFL) football jerseys. It was a statement of who they were wearing these clothes. As it came from Hip Hop/Rap, it is in the Dance culture as well. It is in all the dance movies like "Step Up", "Honey" and "U Got Served", and this is because dance is a big part of their subculture. Go out on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday night to a club and many clubs would have a DJ playing Hip Hop/Rap/R&B Songs to a big crowd all dancing. There have also been clubs that hold dance battles just like B Boys and B girls used to do. This style of clothing is a big part of Hip Hop /Rap and has spread a cross its fan base from 12yrs old to 20yrs old alike.


All of these elements of the subculture play a very important role within the culture itself and are followed by artists and fans all over the world.




References:

http://ezinearticles.com/?Rap-Tattoo:--The-Tattoos-of-Rap-Artists-and-Rap-Stars!--This-is-a-Huge-Trend!&id=41208

http://www.hiphopgalaxy.com/rap-beef-hip-hop-2092.html

Waters Rosa "Hip Hop: A Short History Pennsylvania" : Mason Crest ,2007

Hip Hop Artist Names

In Hip Hop the artists have very different names to their real names. There are only a few in hip hop that have names that are close to their real names or are derived from their real names.

Some names that are derived from their real names are:

Artist Name , Real Name
2pac , Tupac Amaru Shaku
Eminem , Marshall Bruce Mathers
Lil Jon , Johnathan Smith
Obie Trice , Obie Trice III
R. Kelly , Robert Sylvester Kelly(R&B)
Usher , Usher Raymond IV (R&B)
Chris Brown , Chris Brown (R&B)
Dr. Dre , Andre Romel Young

Here are some examples of artists names that are very different to their real names

Artist Name , Real Name
Cashis , Ramone Johnson
Akon , Aliaune Thiam
Young Buck , David Darnell Brown
Snoop Dog , Cordazer Calvin Broadus
50 Cent , Curtis James Jackson III
Chingy , Howard Bailey Jr

These are just some of the names from Hip Hop/ Rap and R&B. These artists names are very different to pop artists who sing under their own name like Jessica Simpson, Hilary Duff, Justin Timberlake, to name a few

Reference
http://www.whudat.com/hip_hop_real_names/

Research Entry 2. Hip Hop History

Hip-hop History

I have been into Hip Hop/Rap for most of my life. As I told you before I used to listen to it at school before I’d go to class. Since I like Hip Hop I have decided for my 2nd research Blog to get some books from the library and find out about the History of Hip Hop.


Hip Hop started in the Early 70’s in the Bronx and Brooklyn. Hip Hop was very much helped to become what it is today by African culture as slaves tried hard to keep parts of their culture alive among these traditions of dance and music (Walters, Rosa 2007) In the early 70’s Gang violence and drugs were a big problem. Hip Hop rose out of the gang dominated streets and Gangs are still defining features of Hip-hop, particularly territorialism and the tradition of battling. (Fricke, J and Ahearn, C 2002) Along with the music of Hip Hop come other things that define this culture - Graffiti, DJ’s, MC’s, Break Dancing (B-Boys an B Girls). All these things are very much apart of Hip Hop and still are today. From graffiti style album covers and walls to break dancing competition. Hip hop is not just music, it is a culture of all these things combined Even words are spoken and spelt differently in the Hip Hop Culture. (International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) See the table below.

English Mainstream , Hip Hop Alteration , IPA

Brother , Brotha , “Br-the (E is meant to be upside down)
Deft , Def , ‘Def
Disrespecting/Dissing , Dissin , Dis-‘sin
Gangster , Gangsta , ‘Gan-ste (E is meant to be upside down)
Rapping , Rappin , ‘Rap-,pin
Fat , Phat , ‘Fat
Sister , Sista , ‘Sis-te (E is meant to be upside down)
Skills , Skillz , ‘Skilz
Whack , Wack , ‘Wak

(Keyes L. Cheryl 2002 pg xxv)

The Rap music concept first evolved among itinerant DJ’s known as Mobile or street DJ’s who would mix pre-recorded hits alternately on two turntables while reciting into a microphone party phrases (Keyes L. Cheryl 2002). The first person to have a European Hip Hop Tour was Hip Hop Pioneer Afrika Bambaataa. Afrika Bambaataa is considered to be the godfather of Rap. Hip Hop today still contains many of these features. Hip Hop/Rap music can be defined as a musical form that makes use of rhyme, rhythmic speech and street vernacular, which is recited or loosely chanted over a musical soundtrack. This is just a small in site to the history of Hip Hop





Reference: (Keyes Cheryl L. Rap Music & Street Consciousness Illinois University of Illinons Press ,2002)
(Waters Rosa Hip Hop: A Short History Pennsylvania : Mason Crest ,2007)
(Fricke J & Ahearn C The Expenence Music Project: Oral History of Hip Hop’s First Decade Canbridge: Perseus Books ,2002 )

The Music I Listen Too

I still listen to the same artist as i did when i first got into listening to Hip Hop/Rap (Eminem, Snoop, Xizbit) but i also have started to listen to a lot more artist like (The Game, 50, T-pain, Akon) since i first listen to it back at School. I have also got more into the R&B side as well with artists like(Chris Brown, Mraio, Ne.Yo, R.Kelly) but my listening goes back and forth depending my mood. Some days i just want to listen to some R&B Slow Songs but then the next day i will want to listen to an up beat song. But i still like to go back and listen to my Eminem & Snoop albums and even though i have listen to the ablums a million times it still feels like i am listening to it for the frist time and i enjoy all the songs as much as i did back when i frist bought it. My fav Hip Hop/ Rap artist would have to be 2Pac i have 3 Documentray dvds of his and 1 of his only filmed concert. I have (11) 2pac cd's and 6 of them are double cd's. That is the most cd's i have from one artist. Even though i listen to other types of music too. I will allways listen to Hip Hop/Rap. i don't think i will ever grow out of it.

Research Entry 1. Hip Hop/Rap DVD's Review (Tupac Shakur Documentarys)

I have looked at three Documentary style DVD’S on one of the most influence people in Hip Hops/Rap history Tupac Shakur. These DVD’S talk about his life career and his death. Tupac was one of the biggest Hip Hop/Rap artists Ever and still is today; even after his death His album’s still sell millions of copies all over the world. Many fans loved Tupac. Tupac will forever be in Hip Hop/ Rap history. For many things from his albums to his life outside music.



Tupac Assassination:

Tupac Assassination Documentary is the latest DVD to come out about Tupac Shakur. In this DVD they talk about the way he died. There is a whole conspiracy about how Tupac died that night in 1996 in Las Vegas. This DVD Tupac Assassination tells the story of what happened that night Tupac Died. With interviews from former bodyguards of Tupac’s. Also high profile detectives from different fields of the police force (Past and present officers) help explain what happened that night in 1996. As the title of the DVD states this looks into that the death of Tupac as not just a random act of violence but as an Assassination of him. It explains all the factors of the events leading up to the death of Tupac Including: (Tupac wanting to start his own record label, Tupac reluctant to go to the boxing fight in Las Vegas the night he died, Tupac body guards told to not carry guns that night of the fight, Bad communication between body guards and other personal aka body guards with no radios) It also then talks about they way the shooting went down (The way Tupac’s car was situated when shot aka in the middle of other cars so Tupac had no where to go, The way the crime scene was covered) This DVD covers every point of Tupacs’s Death in great detail. Tupacs music still sells very well to this date. The death of Tupac is still today one of Hip Hops biggest loses



Tupac Resurrection:

Tupac Resurrection Documentary is the story of Tupacs Life in his own words. Tupac was a poet, an artist and writer. This DVD talks about Tupac from his begins. His mother as a black panther. He talks about how he first rebelled from his mother and that if he hated anything it would be poverty. He talks about when he was young how he was quite and read a lot and wrote and how he watched TV a lot and emulated the actors and maybe if he could be and actor and act like those character he could have some of that joy that the Actors had. He talks about his first acting job at the Apollo Theatre and how he loved his classes at the Baltimore School for the arts. He talks about things in life like the state of living, poverty, shelter, and food. He thinks poor people should live like rich people and rich people should live like poor people and should swap every week. He also talks about how there should be classes In School on drugs, Sex education, and why people are hungry. He talks about how he dropped out of school and how the drug deals looked out for him and told him to go for his dreams and Also how he got his start in digital underground and how they were some of his best times in his life and then how he got picked up by inter scope records and how his songs deal with pain from his childhood and his hero’s and how he wanted to change his community through his songs he also talks about the trouble he got into when he become a recording artist and how he was in and out of court and how he got looked up to by everybody and how he means thug life as the underdog. He also talks about the shooting in a recording studio when he was shot 5 times this leads into the war between death row records (Tupac’s record label) and bad boy records (Biggie Small Record Label) Biggie Smalls was once a great friend of Tupac’s. He talks about his time in prison how he couldn’t write songs and he talks about his move to death row. This DVD tells the story of Tupac from a young age till his death



Tupac Shakur: Tupac VS

Tupac VS is Another Documentary on Tupac Shakur’s life it talks about the meaning of Tupac’s life. Tupac was one of the biggest hip hop/rap artists of all time and still is today. Tupac never though that he would be shoot by a black person as he believed that he was a representative for the black community and that he didn’t have to fear his own kind. He truly believed this before he was gunned down in Las Vegas. Tupac talks about Thug Life once again. As he did in (Tupac Resurrection). He talks about it being not an image but that it is just a way of life. And he sees it as a stage that we all go through and that he didn’t create Thug Life He diagnosed it. It talks about Tupac as an icon and having a very strong bond with his mother who was a black panther as stated in (Tupac Resurrection review) it talks about how Tupac had a poor childhood how he dropped out of school and how Tupac liked to read a lot and how as he read and it talks a lot a bout the politics of when Tupac Was growing up. It also talks about how Tupac talked about Death a lot in his Songs and Raped about how he would die himself. It also talks about Tupac being in prison and how he red a lot in prison wrote poetry and even a movie script as a way to pass the time in prison as also stated in (Tupac Resurrection) also along with his music and acting. Tupac had big ambition to do more like (Write movie, direct movies, bringing out new artists) it talks again about the east coast west coast war. It talks about how Tupac’s lyrics where looked upon as a bad influence and how it was classed as gangster rap. And how the image of thug life comes back to be blamed on Tupac. Also he talks about his hero’s as he did in (Tupac Resurrection) This DVD once again talks about his life but more in the way of what surrounded him as he lived his life.

How I got into Hip Hop

 I started to listen to Hip Hop/Rap when i was about in grade 9 at school. I use to have to go to school early at 6:30am for sport everyday of the week and would finish sport at 7:30 . As school started at 8:30 I had an hour of doing nothing between sport and my first class. A friend of my would also get to school early and also have an hour to do nothing till class started. As we had a CD player where our lockers where situated, my friend would bring his CD's with him which happened to be Hip Hop/Rap CD's (Eminem, Snoop Dog, Xzibit). We would listen to them for an hour or so before we went of to class. This is how i got into Hip Hop/Rap