HIP-HOP Part 1: The Birth

Hello hello,

I wanted to write something about hip-hop (Lisa's great article inspired me I must confess). 

It is something very dear to me and I would like to share on the subject and if you happen to dislike or don’t know a lot about it then this article is for you. 

Hip-hop is such a wide universe I’m sure you’ll find something to entertain or transport you into this magical universe.  I think there is an undeniable historical aspect to hip hop culture that is almost as interesting as the music itself (or maybe I’m just weirdly fascinated by the period). Hip Hop is almost 50 years old; it was born in the 70s in New York, in the Bronx to be more specific, at a time when economical struggle was gathering young people with 2 ideas in their minds: the urge to party to escape the current situation, and question the established order. But I’m not qualified enough to tell you about this life changing creation, I will leave you with these 3 recommendations to discover it on your own:

1.      SERIES AND CINEMA:                                                                                                     

     The first thing coming to my mind would be The Get Down. You’ve probably heard of it, if you haven’t, it’s a series directed by the great Baz Lurhmann (Romeo + Juliet, The Great Gatsby, Moulin Rouge!) about the creation of hip hop. It’s amazing the songs in this series are a work of art on their own. It stars some pretty famous actors like Jaden Smith (The Pursuit Of Happiness), Jimmy Smits (Dexter, Sons Of Anarchy) or even Breaking Bad’s Giancarlo Esposito.

      Hip-Hop’s birth inspired many directors or even rappers who decided to make a movie out of their stories: Eminem starred in the almost-autobiographical 8 Miles, Notorious was made about the rap legend Notorious Big, or more recently a movie was made about the pioneer group N.W.A, called N.W.A: Straight Outta Compton. 

2.      COMICS AND BOOKS:                                                                                                          

      I’ve recently discovered Hip Hop Family Tree. This is a series of comic books by Ed Piskor, retracing the birth of hip hop. This is a great way to learn about hip hop and the major rappers behind the movement. You will find yourself dived in this overwhelming 70s musical atmosphere. In a similar spirit, I could recommend The Rap Year Book by Shea Serrano. This instructive book retraces famous songs from the early 80s until nowadays, feature some really entertaining drawings and graphics.                                    And if you still haven’t had enough, famous rapper Jay Z wrote a biography but I haven’t read it so I wouldn’t know if it will increase your hip-hop knowledge. Or you could read Tupac’s poetry book The Rose That Grew from Concrete.

      3.EXHIBIT:                                                                                                                       

      I only have one to recommend sorry… Hip-Hop : un âge d'or 1970-1995 is an exhibit taking place at the MAC and it’s up until the 14^th of January. I don’t think I’m learning anything to you here, I’m sure you’ve already all seen the posters of this exhibit in Marseille. And if you haven’t seen it yet, I would strongly recommend you do, as I think it is the ultimate element missing from your amazing Hip Hop discovery. The exhibit doesn’t really include a lot of recent groups or artists (even if some of them are still doing music like IAM or Snoop Dog), however I’m sure you’ll recognize some faces as it also follows the birth of the French hip hop’s stage. There is a lot covered there: from New York to Marseille, the 70s to the late 90s, posters, pictures, audios, clothes…  

Hip-Hop is mainly a musical movement so I guess I should recommend some music but I’m not sure where to start, so I’ll leave that for another article. However, there are some amazing playlists out there to discover a variety of classical hip-hop songs (the “Ultimate Hip Hop Playlist” by The Guardian on Spotify for example) or I could even recommend listening to The Get Down’s soundtrack, because trust me, it is that good.

I hoped you enjoyed reading me,

Inès.