An Introduction to Hip-Hop

Hip-Hop began in New York’s South Bronx in the early 1970s. In the first class, we’ll trace the music form’s roots and explore its first major recordings and entrance onto the pop charts. Class two will deal with the Golden Age of Hip-Hop and trace its rise into a multi-billion dollar industry with its own culture, fashion, speech, and style. Class three will focus on the controversial elements of Hip-Hop, namely Gangsta Rap; the broadening of free speech; the famous feud between New York and Los Angeles that led to the deaths of two of the most important artists of the era: Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls; and the commercialization of Hip-Hop street culture. Finally, we’ll bring the Hip-Hop story up to the present and make recommendations on building a basic Hip-Hop music and book library.