Editing Old-school hip-hop

{{short description|Historical musical period}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2019}}
{{Infobox music genre
| name              = Old-school hip hop
| stylistic_origins = {{hlist|[[Poetry]]|[[jazz]]|[[funk]]|[[soul music|soul]]|[[disco]]|[[rhythm & blues]]|[[toasting (Jamaican music)|toasting]]|[[Underground hip-hop|underground]]}}
| cultural_origins  = Late 1970s, [[The Bronx]], [[New York City|New York City, U.S]]
| subgenres         = 
| other_topics      = {{hlist|[[Hip-hop|Hip hop music]]|[[Electro (music)|Electro]]|[[Toasting (Jamaican music)|Toasting]]}}
}}

'''Old-school hip hop''' (also spelled '''old skool''') (also known as '''disco-rap''') is the earliest commercially recorded [[Hip-hop|hip hop music]] and the original style of the genre. It typically refers to the music created around 1979 to 1983,<ref>{{citation|first=David |last=Toop |title=Rap Attack ''(3rd. ed.)'' |publisher=Serpent's Tail |year=2000 |page=Back matter |quote=Old school rap, the music of 1973 to 1983...}}</ref> as well as any hip hop that does not adhere to contemporary styles.<ref>{{cite book|page=1626|year=2015|title=The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English|editor1-last=Victor|editor1-first=Terry|editor2-last=Dalzeill|editor2-first=Tom|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|isbn=9781317372523}}</ref>

The image, styles and sounds of old-school hip hop were exemplified by figures like [[Disco King Mario]], [[DJ Hollywood]], [[Grandmaster Flowers]], [[Grand Wizzard Theodore]], [[Grandmaster Flash]], [[Afrika Bambaataa]], [[DJ Kool Herc]], [[Treacherous Three]], [[Funky 4 + 1|Funky Four Plus One]], [[Kurtis Blow]], [[The Sugarhill Gang]], [[Melle Mel]], Super-Wolf,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/super-wolf-mn0000751273 | title=Super Wolf |website=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref> [[West Street Mob]],<ref>"Break Dance Electric Boogie", Sugarhill Records</ref> [[Spoonie Gee]], [[Kool Moe Dee]],<ref>Soul hit "Wild Wild West", 1988</ref> [[Busy Bee Starski]], [[Lovebug Starski]], [[The Cold Crush Brothers]], [[Warp 9]], [[T-Ski Valley]], [[Grandmaster Caz]], [[Doug E. Fresh]], [[The Sequence]], [[Jazzy Jay]], [[Crash Crew]], [[Rock Steady Crew]], and [[Fab Five Freddy]].<ref name="allmusic.com">{{Cite web |title=Old-School Rap Music Style Overview |url=https://www.allmusic.com/style/old-school-rap-ma0000002762 |access-date=2024-10-10 |website=AllMusic |language=en}}</ref>

It is characterized by the more straightforward [[rapping]] techniques of the time and the general focus on party-related subject matter.<ref name="allmusic.com"/> The lyrics were usually not a very important part of old-school rap songs, but always included shoutouts to the artist's native New York City borough. Rap also emphasized the fashion of the time, whether it be Adidas, Kangol, Lee jeans, or the popular "Sheep dog" coats. However, there were some songs, such as Brother D's "[[How We Gonna Make the Black Nation Rise?]]" and Kurtis Blow's "Hard Times" (both released in 1980), that explored socially relevant ideas. The release of "[[The Message (Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five song)|The Message]]" in 1982, written by [[Duke Bootee]] and [[Melle Mel]] and credited to [[Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five|Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five]], marked the arrival of [[Political hip-hop|hip hop as social commentary]], making it possible for future artists like [[Public Enemy]] and [[N.W.A]] to create an identity based on socially conscious themes in later years.<ref>{{cite web|last=Gross|first= Terry |title=The History of Hip-Hop {{!}} Rapper Melle Mel: Delivering 'The Message'|url=https://www.npr.org/2005/08/29/4821649/rapper-melle-mel-delivering-the-message|website=[[NPR]]}}</ref> Fun rhymes, like the "Birthday Song" and "It's the Joint" rocked the airwaves. Old-school rappers are widely respected by current hip hop artists and fans, with many claiming they have contributed to the evolution of hip hop.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://hiphopgoldenage.com/list/10-important-old-school-hip-hop-songs/|title=10 Important Old School Hip Hop Songs|website=hiphopgoldenage.com}}</ref>

==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}}

{{Listen
|filename=808acctrig_01.ogg
|title=Roland TR-808 rhythm
|description=[[Roland Corporation|Roland]] [[TR-808]] [[drum machine]] rhythm with accent trigger used in hip-hop musical context
}}

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.

==History==
Old-school hip-hop typically refers to music created around 1980; however, the term may also be applied to music before this with hip-hop styles. "[[Here Comes the Judge (Pigmeat Markham song)|Here Comes the Judge]]" (1968) by [[Pigmeat Markham]] is often referred to as "old-school hip hop".<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.xxlmag.com/news/2011/04/did-pigmeat-markham-release-the-first-hip-hop-song/ |title=Did Pigmeat Release First Hip-Hop Song? |date=14 April 2011|magazine=[[XXL (magazine)|XXL]]}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Disco]]
* [[Funk]]
* [[Rhythm and blues|R&B]]
* [[Soul music]]
* [[James Brown]]
* [[South Bronx]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Hiphop}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Old School Hip Hop}}
[[Category:20th-century music genres]]
[[Category:History of hip-hop]]
[[Category:American hip-hop]]
[[Category:1980s in music]]
[[Category:African-American music]]
[[Category:African-American culture]]
[[Category:1970s in music]]
[[Category:1970s in New York City]]
[[Category:1960s in music]]