This year marks the 50th anniversary of hip-hop’s birth. To mark the occasion the occasion, we invite students to investigate its extraordinary rise, its transformation of the world’s cultural landscape and its lasting legacy as well as the direction it will take in the coming years.
In the past five decades, hip-hop has transformed from a emerging art form into a superpower that defines culture. Though it was initially viewed as a trend, and often dismissed as an annoyance or a threat but hip-hop is now an enormous multibillion-dollar business and a global juggernautthat is woven into every nook and cranny of American life. Jon Caramanica, a New York Times music critic, says:
It’s a treasure trove of continuous innovation, and it is a text with a history that is perfect to be plunder. It’s a continuation of jazz, soul, and rock traditions, but also loosening their cultural ties. It is growing faster than ever before. New styles appear every year or faster, thereby increasing the possibilities of the genre. It has a profound impact beyond music. Hip-hop is interspersed into film and television as well as fashion, advertising literature, politics, and numerous other areas that comprise American life.
Hip-hop is everywhere. No matter how many students are avid fanatics of the music or not, everyone is connected to it, large or small. Before you read the New York Times’s report on the 50th anniversary, you should ask your students to draw their own personal connection to the film genre.
Through journal writing or discussions, students are able to respond to any or all of these challenges:
What does hip-hop mean for you? What is its role on your behalf?
Are you a big hip-hop fan? Do you attend shows? Make beats? Perform raps or write a rap? Does hip-hop influence your style or dress?
What artists, moments or songs that stand out for you? What are your top artists? Which one do you think is the most popular — who is the most influential artist in history?
Do you have any knowledge about hip-hop and its 50 years of background? What do you want to know more about
The centerpiece of The Times’ 50th anniversary coverage is the assortment of oral storie collected from hip-hop artists across all generations, regions, and styles. The collection includes interviews from stars such as Lil Wayne, Cardi B and Eminem as well as superstars from the fringes such as Trippie Redd as well as Slug. Here’s a snippet of the interview with 50 Cent:
I was captivated by hip-hop, and it was playing for a short time during every day on the radio. My grandmother would go to church, take the tape recorder to take notes of everything the pastor said and play the the Sunday service for herself on Wednesdays, for instance. She had all those Maxell cassette tapes, and once a recording is completed, cut the tab that was attached to it. I had to find toilet paper and place it into the square. I then had to record it over the tapes she had already recorded to record for church. The show lasted only 1 hour. I needed to take notes and then.
For a start, students can start by usingtake an overview of the collection in its entirety. They can navigate the interactive pages and play as many rappers as they want, making notes on the name of each artist, as well as the names of the songs featured and the dates that they came out. (Each review includes a song from the artist at the top.)
Then, ask them to read three interviews from different periods of hip-hop. They should highlight important biographical details as well as their most cherished quotations and information.
Students, either in groups or individually, can address these prompts. groups, may respond to these questions:
Which rappers did you choose? Why did you choose them?
What can you take away from their tales?
Which sounds, images, or details stuck out, and what was the reason?
What questions would you ask a rapper If you could?
Together, as a class, they will discuss What do oral histories reveal about hip-hop? What has the genre learned and changed over the past five years? What concerns do you have regarding oral histories or hip-hop as a whole?
Another option? Ask your students to create the 50th anniversary playlist. If some students had never had a chance to hear about hip-hop or aren’t a fan, What songs would you choose to play to explain its significance in relation to their lives and make them more enthused? What should be your top hip-hop playlist?