Document Type
Process Analysis Essay
Publication Date
1990
Excerpt
Modern rap music began in the early 1980's. It started as a way for non-singers to get involved in music. Young men more gifted in creating beats than in singing were given the chance to highlight their talents at parties, clubs, or dances. Using a combination of highly synthesized beats, word mixing, and chanting, these raps featured the essential parts of music young blacks listened for with the beat being the nucleus. Some of the early pioneers of this form of music were Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, the Sugarhill Gang, and Kurtis Blow, but rap music wasn't really taken seriously until 1986 when Run-Dmc released the triple platinum album Raising Hell. Since that time rap music has become a world-wide phenomenon. In 1989, rap was included in the American Music Awards, which means it is finally being appreciated in the same way as pop/rock, heavy metal, country, and rhythm and blues music.
Recommended Citation
Taylor, Ronnie, "Mastering the Art of Rap (1990)" (1990). The Valpo Core Reader. 386.
http://scholar.valpo.edu/core_reader/386