Editing Old-school hip-hop (section)

==Musical characteristics and themes==
Old-school hip hop is noted for its relatively simple [[rapping]] techniques, compared to later [[Hip-hop|hip hop music]].<ref name="allmusic.com"/> Artists such as [[Melle Mel]] would use few syllables per bar of music,<ref name="Edwards, Paul 2009, p MC">{{cite book|last=Edwards|first=Paul|date=2009|title=[[How to Rap]]: The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC|publisher=Chicago Review Press}}, p. 126.</ref> with simple [[rhythm]]s<ref name="allmusic.com"/><ref name="Edwards, Paul 2009, p MC"/> and a moderate tempo.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Hip hop: Origins, Characteristics and Creative Processes |last=Neumann |first=Frederich |journal=The World of Music |volume=42 |issue=1 |pages=51–63 |jstor=41699313 |date=2000 |publisher=VWB - Verlag für Wissenschaft und Bildung |issn=0043-8774}}</ref>

Much of the subject matter of old-school hip-hop centers around partying and having a good time.<ref name="allmusic.com"/> In the book ''[[How to Rap]]'', [[Immortal Technique]] explains how party content played a big part in old-school hip hop: "[[hip-hop]] was born in an era of social turmoil... in the same way that slaves used to sing [[work songs|songs]] on a plantation... that's the party songs that we used to have".{{sfn|Edwards|2009|p=19}}

[[Battle rap]] was also a part of the old-school hip-hop aesthetic. While discussing battle rapping, [[7L & Esoteric|Esoteric]] said, "a lot of my stuff stems from old school hip-hop, [[Braggadocio (rap)|braggadocio]] ethic".{{sfn|Edwards|2009|p=26}} A famous old-school hip-hop battle occurred in December 1981, when [[Kool Moe Dee]] challenged [[Busy Bee Starski]].<ref name="Blow Average">{{cite web |url=http://www.dallasobserver.com/2007-04-26/news/blow-average/|title=Blow Average|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120207161020/http://www.dallasobserver.com/2007-04-26/news/blow-average/|archive-date=7 February 2012}}</ref> Busy Bee Starski's defeat by the more complex raps of Kool Moe Dee meant that "no longer was an MC just a crowd-pleasing comedian with a slick tongue; he was a commentator and a storyteller".<ref name="Blow Average"/> in the documentary ''[[Beef (documentary)|Beef]]'', [[KRS-One]] also credits this as creating a shift in rapping.<ref>''Beef'' documentary, 2003, Peter Spirer, Aslan Productions.</ref>

[[Science fiction|Sci-fi]]/[[Afrofuturism]] was another theme introduced into hip hop. The release of ''[[Planet Rock: The Album|Planet Rock]]'' in 1982 was a game-changer, like "a light being switched on."<ref name=Toop-2000>Toop, David (2000), with electro elements being utilized in hip hop. Rap Attack 3: African Rap To Global Hip Hop. (Expanded Third Edition) Serpent's Tail, London N4 2BT pp. 131,146 {{ISBN|1-85242-627-6}}.</ref> The combination of electronic percussive propulsion and [[Afrika Bambaataa]]'s rap sounded like "an orchestra being rocketed into outer space."<ref>Toop, David (2000). Rap Attack 3: African Rap To Global Hip Hop. (Expanded Third Edition) Serpent's Tail, London N4 2BT pp. 146, 148, 150-151 {{ISBN|1-85242-627-6}}.</ref> "[[Light Years Away (Warp 9 song)|Light Years Away]]", by [[Warp 9]] (1983), produced and written by [[Lotti Golden]] and Richard Scher, explored social commentary from a sci-fi perspective.<ref>Fitzpatrick, Rob, "The 101 strangest records on Spotify: Warp 9 - It's A Beat Wave", May 14, 2014 [https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/may/14/the-101-strangest-records-on-spotify-warp-9-its-a-beat-wave]</ref> A "cornerstone of early 80's beatbox afrofuturism", "Light Years Away" is characterized as "a brilliantly spare and sparse piece of [[Electro (music)|electro]] hip-hop traversing inner and outer space."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/may/14/the-101-strangest-records-on-spotify-warp-9-its-a-beat-wave|title=The 101 strangest records on Spotify: Warp 9 - It's A Beat Wave|first=Rob|last=Fitzpatrick|date=14 May 2014|website=[[the Guardian]]|access-date=19 March 2018}}</ref>

[[Freestyle rap]] during hip hop's old-school era was defined differently than today. Kool Moe Dee refers to this earlier definition in his book ''[[There's a God on the Mic]]'': "There are two types of freestyle. There's an old-school freestyle that's basically rhymes that you've written that may not have anything to do with any subject or that goes all over the place. Then there's freestyle where you come off the top of the head".<ref>{{cite book|author=Kool Moe Dee|date=2003|title=There's a God on the Mic: The True 50 Greatest MCs|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781560255338|url-access=registration|publisher=Thunder's Mouth Press|isbn=978-1-56025-533-8 }}, p. 101.</ref> This is in contrast to the more [[Freestyle rap#Newer definition|recent definition]] which usually defines freestyle rap as "improvisational rap like a [[jazz]] solo".{{sfn|Edwards|2009|p=182}} In old-school hip hop, Kool Moe Dee says that improvisational rapping was instead called "coming off the top of the head".{{sfn|Kool Moe Dee|2003|p=22, 23, 201, 292, 306}}

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Old-school hip hop often sampled [[disco]] and [[funk]] tracks, such as "[[Good Times (Chic song)|Good Times]]" by [[Chic (band)|Chic]], when performed live in the 1970s. Recorded hip hop (such as Sugarhill Gang's "[[Rapper's Delight]]") would use a live band to do covers of the famous breaks from the 1970s [[Block party|block parties]]. However, after "[[Planet Rock (song)|Planet Rock]]", [[electro-funk]] (the electronic [[Roland TR-808]] [[drum machine]] recreation of the original 1970s [[breakbeat]] sound from the now infamous block parties) became the staple production technique between 1982 and 1986 (the invention of the sampler later in the 80s and [[Eric B. & Rakim]]'s "[[Eric B. Is President]]" brought the original 1970s breakbeat sound back to hip hop, referred to today as the "[[boom bap]]" sound). The use of extended percussion breaks led to the development of mixing and scratching techniques. Scratching was pioneered by [[Grand Wizard Theodore]] in 1975, and the technique was further developed by other prominent DJs, such as Grandmaster Flash. One example is "[[The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel|Adventures on the Wheels of Steel]]", which was composed entirely by Flash on the [[Turntablism|turntables]].

[[Quincy Jones]] was an influential figure in hip-hop as a record producer for [[Mercury Records]], and eventually became its vice president, which made him popular in hip-hop culture. He went on to publish ''[[Vibe (magazine)|Vibe]]'' magazine, which became a cornerstone in hip-hop history.