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How Many Generations Are There In Hip Hop?

5

5 Grand

Old School Godfather
Most people on ABW would agree that Grandmaster Flash & The Furious 5, Kurtis Blow and The Sugarhill Gang represent a different generation than, say, Dipset, G-Unit, and Ruff Ryders.

Likewise, most of us would agree that Eric B & Rakim, Public Enemy and NWA represent a different generation than Migos, Meek Mill & Asap Rocky.

Furthermore, nobody would disagree if I made the assertion that 2Pac and J Cole represent two completely eras.

So how many generations, or eras, of Hip Hop are there?

I was at a Zulu Nation reunion a while back and the general consensus was that the pioneers represent the first generation. Those are the people that plugged their sound system into a lamppost in a park and mixed records while somebody got on the mic and talked shit. This was before rap records.

The second generation spans between The Sugarhill Gang (the first rap record) to the end of the 80s (De La Soul, Eric B & Rakim, Public Enemy, MC Hammer, NWA, Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince, Kid N Play, Salt N Pepa, etc.) Although I'm not sure if The Sugarhill Gang is the same generation as De La Soul, but that's what they concluded at the Zulu Nation Anniversary.

Add on.
 
I would say each decade is it's own era/generation. We can get specific and say 82-92, 93-03, etc; but for the most part I think each era lasted about 10 years.
 
Appreciate the response.

So you're saying 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s, 10s; 5 Generations?


70s - under the radar (Last Poets, Gil Scott Heron, Watts Prophets, Nicki Giovanni, James Brown, P-Funk, early rap in the Bronx)

80s - Hip Hop made its way into mainstream America via songs, movies, and music videos

90s - The Big Budget era. Artists got big budget videos and large album budgets for sample clearances. Record labels had staffs of people working on each project. Toward the end of the decade it became possible to make professional recordings in your bedroom.

00s - Artists followed the rules in the beginning of the decade which required budgets. Toward the end of the decade the rules changed with mp3 technology, streaming, and the lack of a physical product.

10s - The independent era. Artists can control their own careers via social media. You can make a professional song & video for $500.
 
5 Grand said:
Can you guys elaborate?
Click to expand...
A generation is defined by a sound, style, and way of looking at things

so u got

GMF&TFF---they're style, sound, outlook defined what it was like at that time. Anything that came out had to in some way be reminiscent of what they were doing or it wasnt legit.

Run DMC-- defined what a new jack was and what they looked like in the streets. If what u were doing wasnt reminiscent of them. You werent down enough to be doing it.

Koe Moe D--low key the first breed of mainstream MC. If you weren't reminiscent of him, you lacked skill

LL Cool J---the evolution of what it meant to have skills, took the reigns by force.

just to stop there, you can see how each generation evolved into the next and see what acts where popping and how they in some way mirrored who ever was at the peak of the culture. And the generation changes when someone redefines it enough to switch what's most important.

cause from LL...u go into NWA, which leads into the Deathrow "gangsta rap" generation

the Gen I was born into was LL

the Gen that was popping before I was into music was NWA

the Gen I grew up in was Pac

most of what I know about music comes from NWA and on..

I cant tell u about KRS and Scott La Rock..

but I'm sure theres niggaz on here who can
 
I think you could argue there is a new generation in hip hop every 5 years... Especially with the way culture and 'whats hot and popular' changes every two seconds in todays society of fast food social media lifestyle... Mainstream hip hop (like pop) is a reflection of society and sets and follows trends, think how out of date some mainstream hip hop from 2009 sounds now (and the fashion too)...
 
10 years is almost a lifetime in hip hop and pop music years... Think how different 80s, 90s, 2000, 2010 hip hop sounds and looks with regards to fashion too...
 
I don’t think it’s as difficult as some of y’all are making it...

‘73-‘79- The Beginning (From the Bronx parties to hip hops first hit Rappers Delight)

‘80-‘86- The Rise (Rap acts becomes more & more relevant in music. Run-DMC, LL Cool J, Def Jam are born)

‘87-‘91- The Golden Era (Raps most influential projects, MCs & movements are born)

‘92-‘97- The “gangsta rap” Era (More edgy, controversial lyrics are accepted into the mainstream. This era ends with the deaths of Pac & Big)

‘97-‘03 The Shiny Suit Era (More emphasis on fun & materialism. Birthing some of the biggest artists going forward. Wayne, Em, 50, ‘Ye)

‘04-‘09 The Ringtone Era (Rap south of the Mason Dixon is the forefront of the culture. The internet, particularly the advent of YouTube, MySpace, programs like Fruity-loops also quickly takes things to a higher level)

‘10-‘15 The DIY Era (Self made rappers are more the norm. Boundaries of what a traditional rappers looks & sounds like are pushed to the limit)

‘16-present The Meme Era (Social media is for better or worse a foundation of rap.)

Regardless of whatever era you began your love with hip hop it has spawned the good & bad. Classic material & garbage. Trendsetters & imitators. Each era or “generation” does last 4-6 years which I feel is about right. This is just my opinion.
 
grYmes said:
I don’t think it’s as difficult as some of y’all are making it...

‘73-‘79- The Beginning (From the Bronx parties to hip hops first hit Rappers Delight)

‘80-‘86- The Rise (Rap acts becomes more & more relevant in music. Run-DMC, LL Cool J, Def Jam are born)

‘87-‘91- The Golden Era (Raps most influential projects, MCs & movements are born)

‘92-‘97- The “gangsta rap” Era (More edgy, controversial lyrics are accepted into the mainstream. This era ends with the deaths of Pac & Big)

‘97-‘03 The Shiny Suit Era (More emphasis on fun & materialism. Birthing some of the biggest artists going forward. Wayne, Em, 50, ‘Ye)

‘04-‘09 The Ringtone Era (Rap south of the Mason Dixon is the forefront of the culture. The internet, particularly the advent of YouTube, MySpace, programs like Fruity-loops also quickly takes things to a higher level)

‘10-‘15 The DIY Era (Self made rappers are more the norm. Boundaries of what a traditional rappers looks & sounds like are pushed to the limit)

‘16-present The Meme Era (Social media is for better or worse a foundation of rap.)

Regardless of whatever era you began your love with hip hop it has spawned the good & bad. Classic material & garbage. Trendsetters & imitators. Each era or “generation” does last 4-6 years which I feel is about right. This is just my opinion.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the input.

You say,

‘73-‘79- The Beginning (From the Bronx parties to hip hops first hit Rappers Delight)

‘80-‘86- The Rise (Rap acts becomes more & more relevant in music. Run-DMC, LL Cool J, Def Jam are born)

‘87-‘91- The Golden Era (Raps most influential projects, MCs & movements are born)



^^^^ Which makes sense, but I want to make a distinction. In the very early 80s, all Rap Music was made with a studio band playing the music. Grandmaster Flash & The Furious 5, Kurtis Blow and the Sugarhill Gang all had session musicians playing their music. Even lesser known acts like Cold Crush Brothers, The Crash Crew, Fearless 4, Funky 4+1 & the Treacherous 3 all had session musicians that played their music.

When Sucker MCs by Run DMC dropped in the summer of 83 it was a changing of the guard. There was a new sheriff in town. Run DMC were using drum machines and synthesizers. There wasn't really much "music" per se. It was just a drumbeat with somebody spitting rhymes.

From 79-83/4 you had session musicians playing the background music. Starting from Sucker MCs until about 1987, Rap was made on drum machines and synthesizers. Also the DJs would scratch records for the chorus, which for whatever reason, wasn't being done until around the time of Run DMC.

So during the 80s there were 3 production styles;

1. Session musicians playing the backing track (79-83)

2. Drum machines, synthesizers and scratching (83-87)

3. Samples. Sampling drum beats from one record and sampling the music from another record and mashing them together. (87-91)

In 1991 Biz Markie went to court over a sample that he didn't clear. He lost the lawsuit and since then all samples have to be cleared. The Biz Markie/Gilbert O'Sullivan case set the precedent.


What I just posted is my personal opinion. But when I went to that Zulu Nation Anniversary reunion the general consensus was that The Pioneers were from before Rappers Delight (73-79) and from 1980-1989 was "Old School". But I don't agree with that categorization.
 
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