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C O U R S E L E C T U R E Late 1980s Hard Core Rap Notes taken on January 19, 2017 by Edward Tanguay |
1980s: rap music became CNN for black people
as it becomes a bigger commercial entity
began to offer many various kinds
one version of rap music was socially conscious rap
realistic communication of what urban life is really like for African American people
they didn't really didn't have a black news channel
had elements of good guys and bad guys as in other eras of Rock music
Elvis Presley was the bad guy, the guy mothers didn't want their daughters going out with
Pat Boone was the good guy
Rolling Stones the bad guys
some rappers were likewise funny and relatively inoffensive
more graphic and angry way
created anger and controversy
1989 Straight Outta Compton
drew from Kool and the Gang, rather than rock samples
Boogie Down Productions
not a big commercial success
influential for portraying ghetto life in New York
Long Island, not too far from the Bronx
1988: It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
raising of social conscience
almost entirely electronic
1990: Fear of a Black Planet
featured in Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing
1989: All Hail the Queen
Latifah made her mark in hip-hop by rapping about issues of black women
her songs covered topics including domestic violence, harassment on the streets, and relationship problems
raps about the pleasures of womanhood
she is out to prove that women can rap
in a style that many people would consider rap misogynist: objectified, demeaned
quickly becomes the most popular show on MTV
rap has very effectively crossed over
suburban kids are going off to their Target or K-Mart or wherever to buy up these albums which talk about world that their parents would never allow them to be a part of
many rock musicians at the time really hated rap in the same way that they really hated disco a couple of years back
it wasn't about the performing artists
no guitars, no guitar solos
but actually remixing sounds had been being done since the 1960s
increasing success through the 80s
develops out of the New York scene