Unit 7
Activity 1
Underground, mainstream and beyond...
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1Playground rap
Voices of East Harlem, 1970.
Vidéo associée
From 0:00 to 3:03
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2
Digital Rap
Harvard Political Review
The rise of the Internet age affected one other crucial aspect of the hip-hop genre. With social media providing increased visibility for artists, what constitutes a mainstream rapper, and the relationship between artists and radio stations, has changed completely. Underground ‘90s rap [...] stuck to politically and socially conscious messages as opposed to “the [gangster] [...] theme that perpe- tuated a lot of mainstream hip-hop.”
Fast forward a decade and, with the aid of social media, there is no longer a single theme for mainstream hip-hop artists. As Will puts it, mainstream music has become about “how well [a track's] message resonates with the typical person.” The more universal a song, the larger an audience it will reach.
Fast forward a decade and, with the aid of social media, there is no longer a single theme for mainstream hip-hop artists. As Will puts it, mainstream music has become about “how well [a track's] message resonates with the typical person.” The more universal a song, the larger an audience it will reach.
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3
Protest Rap
The 100 Best Protest Songs of All Time
When Chuck D of Public Enemy famously called hip-hop “the Black CNN,” he was touching on a uni- versal truth that goes beyond genre: Music and protest have always been inextricably linked. For some marginalized groups, the simple act of creating music at all can be a form of speaking out against an unjust world. [...]
Rap was still a fringe art form largely confined to the streets of New York City when Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five dropped “The Message” in the summer of 1982. Unlike the handful of earlier rap songs that had pierced the public's consciousness at that point, like “Rapper's Delight,” this one packed a serious political point. “It's like a jungle sometimes,” Duke Bootee raps at the beginning. “It makes me wonder how I keep from goin' under.” The song then paints a bleak portrait of urban blight, failing inner-city schools, the prison-industrial complex, and how all that fuels an endless cycle of violence and despair. Nobody had ever heard anything like this, and it sent shockwaves across the music industry. Rap was suddenly a mainstream art form and a means to convey crucial political messages.
Rap was still a fringe art form largely confined to the streets of New York City when Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five dropped “The Message” in the summer of 1982. Unlike the handful of earlier rap songs that had pierced the public's consciousness at that point, like “Rapper's Delight,” this one packed a serious political point. “It's like a jungle sometimes,” Duke Bootee raps at the beginning. “It makes me wonder how I keep from goin' under.” The song then paints a bleak portrait of urban blight, failing inner-city schools, the prison-industrial complex, and how all that fuels an endless cycle of violence and despair. Nobody had ever heard anything like this, and it sent shockwaves across the music industry. Rap was suddenly a mainstream art form and a means to convey crucial political messages.
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Questions
1
Watch the video and note down key dates and events that shaped the origins of rap.
2
How has the mainstream rap landscape evolved from the 1970s to today? What were the major reasons?
3
What accounts for the success of rap and its lasting genre?
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Background check
Based on what you have learned, what would you say is the common DNA of rap as a genre through the decades?Ressource affichée de l'autre côté.
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Word chain
Take turns to list words related to rap music. How long can you make the list?Une erreur sur la page ? Une idée à proposer ?
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j'ai une idée !
Oups, une coquille
