Though it may be locked in a sonic loop back home, global of Hip-hop music keeps on expanding. Just today the New York Times ran an article on Cuban Hip--hop which raised some eyebrows -- including mine -- with its headline claim that Cubans, because they had little "access"to US music, had to "make it up" on their own. Of course, as the article itself makes clear, Cubans have been making antennas out of old coat hangers and tuning in Miami's WEDR since the 1980's; it turns out that the shortage that mattered was a shortage of technical equipment - digital samplers, mixers, even a decent mixing board - and that, once again, it's the 'beautiful limitations' that matter. Cuban crews even gained government support, the vital juice without which no Cuban artist can thrive; there's even a state-sponsored annual Hip-hop festival in Havana.
The globalization of rap music began in fits and starts. They dropped an EP in '92. but was Zimbabwe Legit legit? The London Posse pioneered the way back in 1988, but there weren't many successful UK artists until The Streets and Dizzee Rascal more than a dozen years later (Rascal was only three years old when LP's "How's Life in London" briefly charted). Japan, a reliable funhouse mirror for all things American pop culture, gave us the pioneering "Scha Dara Parr" back in 1988, but again it was several years before anything one could call a J-Rap "scene" emerged, and as usual it was a mad scramble of elements -- including several "burapan" groups who performed in blackface makeup. One might think that African popular music, which had already attained regional and global successes, would be a logical seedbed for Hip-hop, but it wasn't until later in the 1990's that such artists emerged, many of them from Sénégalese communities in France such as MC Solaar and Daara J. Solaar's combination of spahetti western themes and smart, sharp beats -- see "Nouveau Western" for one great example -- gave him an early edge, and he's been one of the few non-US artists to have chart success stateside.
The past decade has seen Hip-hop claim a foothold in some of the seemingly unlikeliest places -- Canada, for instance, which has given us the Rascalz, Kardinal Offishal, and K'naan (as well as Francophone artists such as Dubmatique and Roi Heenok) - and even Greenland's own Nuuk Posse, a band of west Greenland Inuit whose work has attracted the interest of figures such as DJ Spooky, who intermixed their music with a talk by Antonin Artaud on one of his CD's.
Where next? Hopefully, it's impossible to predict. One thing is for certain, though: the next wave of innovation in Hip-hop may very well come from outside North American shores.
I think it's great that hip hop is dreading across the globe. Hip hop is probably one of America's best exports from the last 30 years. I don't think I can predict where the next hip hop artist import will come from. I never thought we would have Japanese rappers, but we do. I would love to hear hip hop from some of the African tribal communities where the languages they speak still include sounds similar to clicks and pops. The combination of those languages and the hip hop beat could lead to some amazing sounds. The only global hip hop I have ever really listened too is Dizzee Rascal. "Fix Up Look Sharp," is a song my roommate discovered and played over and over as a joke at first. I then found some more songs by him and researched his background. One he's a little out there, but I like that. He's like a British ODB and that is always a good thing in my book.
ReplyDeleteAnother group that I thought should be mentioned is Die Antwoord. They are a kind of bizarre group of south africans who's music has infiltrated America quite a bit in the past few years. Here is one of their really popular songs. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wc3f4xU_FfQ. They definitely have a more techno sound to them, but that does go with what I have heard about popular club music in South Africa.
ReplyDeleteAs Hip-Hip is very popular in Europe, I believe there is a strong wave of hip-hop fans that support domestic and global rap scenes in countries such as Germany, Eko Fresh is a rapper from Germany that is I have heard on a track as well as B-Tight, I do not know their popularity but the evidence of the global hip-hop scene is definitely present. These countries look up to and support American hip-hop to set the precedence and also support their own hip-hop communities.
ReplyDeleteSam, if you are interested in hip-hop in Germany, you might want to check out the late-90s, Stuttgart-based group Freundeskreis or Berlin's Culcha Candela. Both groups rap(ped) in more than one language, which should make their material accessible. If you don't mind German-language rap, you might like Peter Fox (2010), Advanced Chemistry (early-90s), or, more recently, Damion Davis -- to name just a few. (Many of these groups are up on You Tube.) Hip-hop is a live and well in Germany and, in some cases, artists there are doing some really interesting work. Greetings from China, Terence
DeleteOne of my first extended exposures to hip-hop and rap came from an odd, Japanese source. Samurai Champloo, an anime airing on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim block from May 14th, 2005 to March 18th, 2006. In many ways, it’s a spiritual successor to Cowboy Bebop, which blended science fiction and jazz. In turn, Champloo blends anachronistic samurai drama/comedy with hip-hop. It’s a combination that works out far better than it has any right to. The primary story involves two samurai (Mugen, a brash, loud vagabond and Jin, a reserved, quiet ronin) traveling with a girl (Fuu, a fifteen year old barmaid) who wishes to find the “samurai who smells of sunflowers”. Hip-hop style pervades the entire series, with record scratches censoring curse words in the televised version and colorful characters appearing in many episodes, including an egotistical samurai who travels with a constantly beatboxing companion (who uses the butt of a short sword instead of a microphone). The opening theme song, performed by the late Japanese artist Nujabes and Shing02, is a personal favorite of mine and I intend to suggest it in class tonight. - Sean Connell
ReplyDeleteThanks to a tweet from Chuck D, I came upon a podcast at his Rapstation.com site which has a thoughtful roundup of global Hip hop. Worth a visit!
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting to do the research (Youtube.com for example) to find out what places are just mimicking the U.S. and what places are really working to define their own take on hip hop. I like some of the Kwele music found in Africa which sometimes incorporates not only hip hop but also American fifties and sixties types of music.
ReplyDeleteCory P Kirk
This is the segment of the interview that I meant to show today in class, in case anyone is interested.
ReplyDeleteI can agree that in Miami, the hip hop scene is different than we see here further north. From living outside the area for a few years I have witnessed that these artist are more independent. They are producing, advertising and completing every step of the way on their own. Using the streets as a market to sell their products. I feel the sound up north has more experience. But I do abmire the cuban aspects of hip hop.
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