Introduction
The music field is among the forms of art that allow individuals to connect with others in their community and share their opinions and emotions. While the most common genres of music are pop music, rock, jazz, and blues, there are additionally many other genres, such as hip hop, that have become popular around the world. The elements of beat, rhythm, and rapping have been altered to meet local preferences and customs in every nation where rap has gained popularity, fusing with regional and traditional forms.
Hip-hop is currently growing both internationally and domestically, with the emergence of new forms of art, including hip-hop drama, hip-hop cinematography, and performing arts. Thus, hip hop can vary in some features in different countries, such as social discrimination in American hip hop, masculinity, so-called laddism in the British style, and passion and violence in Spanish hip hop.
In general, hip-hop is better defined as a sociocultural, ideological, and artistic movement. According to Fonseca and Dawn Goldsmith (6), such a movement was founded by African Americans, Latinos, and Caribbean Americans, despite some of the period’s earliest forms being connected to musical artists like Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five and The Sugarhill Gang. Hip-hop culture contains a variety of other aspects in addition to music, which is perhaps its most well-known component. These aspects include dancing, style, street art, racial politics, religion, social organization, localization, and identity (Fonseca and Dawn Goldsmith 6).
Each of these components of hip-hop culture has migrated to all areas across the United States and most other countries. It can be seen that the reason why hip hop is so popular is that it embraces various cultures and allows full expression of one’s identity through various forms of art, concentrating on acute issues. It can additionally allow artists to use obscene language without being criticized in their subcultures.
European Hip-Hop
British Hip-Hop
When it comes to European hip hop, it is not much different from its American counterparty. For instance, London’s hip-hop incorporates many of the poetic, rhythmic, and political characteristics of the American style due to common language and historical connections (Williams 36). This is what connoisseurs of music and ordinary individuals could anticipate.
The city is also renowned for its inventive and continuously expanding musical subgroups, and the hip-hop movements there are as varied as the capital itself. The London representations involve a wide assortment of blended genres of hip-hop-related drum and bass styles of music along with the main scene, which is frequently known as U.K. hip-hop (Williams 36). These genres include grime, funky house, jungle, garage, drum and bass, ragga, dancehall, bhangra, and many others (Williams 36). Therefore, there are still some differences that make British hip-hop unique.
A traditional English meal mugs with tea that becomes pints of beer, accompanied by a darts game at the pub at midnight, are depicted and described in the lyrics and video clip for Don’t Mug Yourself by The Streets. These are just a few of the common ladies and “white English masculinity” depictions that are most clearly highlighted (Williams 38). These components, which align with the words of the song, are highlighted in the music video. It is a display of trite patriotism, with the concepts of daily Englishness at the heart of the song’s lyrics. For instance, the singer mentions how a “girl brings two plates of full English over / With plenty of scrambled eggs and plenty of fried tomatoes” (The Streets, 2018, 0:36). This, as emphasized by the man, is a usual breakfast.
In the second part of the video clip, one can see how the man tries to send a message to his girlfriend but is stopped by his friend. Here, the emphasis on masculinity is shown since the friend views the young man as over-committed. The primary phrase that the audience hears is “Don’t mug yourself,” which should not be translated literally since this is slang, meaning “don’t shoot yourself in the foot” (Williams 38). Therefore, it is evident that such hip-hop compositions are made for the locals. One can understand why such a portrayal is appealing to both locals who can understand it and outsiders who desire a voyeuristic introduction to this world.
Puerto Rican Hip-Hop
Urban Latino adolescents have embraced hip-hop and freely improvised multilingual rap lyrics to Latino-influenced music, adjusting the beats and genres to fit the rhymes, which frequently convey the gangster lifestyle of drugs, sexism, and brutality. Hip-hop from the African American community has had the biggest effect, and it has permeated the Spanish-speaking region (Kanellos 130). The hip-hop-inspired reggaetón originated in Puerto Rico and later moved to other cities, including New York (Kanellos 130). It is a kind of hip-hop that combines rapping and Spanish singing to music with a Caribbean influence (Kanellos 130). Thus, Spanish hip hop, similarly to British hip hop, is based on masculinity, yet it additionally emphasizes the role of drugs and misogyny.
Among the examples of Puerto Rican hip-hop songs is Gasolina by Daddy Yankee. The song is based on depicting a shallow woman who only cares about parties. In the lyrics, it is emphasized in the following lines: “No se pierde ni un party de marquesina, / Se cicala hasta pa la esquina,” which means that the woman cares for parties and always wears make-up (Daddy Yankee). However, it additionally accentuates the passion for women of all colors, saying: “Haces q cualquiera se enamore, Cuando bailas al ritmo de los tambores,” meaning that rhythm and dancing make everyone fall in love with the woman (Daddy Yankee). Therefore, Spanish hip-hop emphasizes passion, dancing, and rhythm.
Hip-Hop in America
American hip-hop can be characterized as a style that focuses on political issues and identities. For instance, the famous artists of the 1980s and 1990s, N.W.A., made songs about African American identity and community. The song by N.W.A. Straight Outta Compton seeks to underline that the rappers would not surrender to the authorities’ aggression and oppression by addressing the historical concerns of police brutality against the African American community.
Similarly to British hip-hop songs, it has slang terms. For example, in one of the lines, the artist mentions, “When I’m called off, I got a sawed-off,” with the sawed-off meaning a specific type of gun (N.W.A.). Similarly, in the phrase “with a gat that’s pointed at your ass,” the gat implies a pistol (N.W.A.). In this situation, similarly to Spanish hip-hop, the American style illustrates violence and the use of guns.
The present artists cover the same topics with similar rigor. Among the most popular hip-hop artists today are 21 Savage and Drake. In one of their songs, Rich Flex, the artists focus on themes of misogyny and guns. For instance, similarly to Spanish hip-hop compositions, one can see belittling phrases and b-words. Here, Drake and 21 Savage show the tough part of their lives, emphasizing how they can afford diamond accessories.
Moreover, the artist frequently mentions being shot, and in one of the lines, one can see the question, “Why my apps be posting guns,” with the apps meaning enemies (Drake and 21 Savage). Like in British hip-hop, American artists commonly use slang. In this case, like with previous songs, it is popular among youth since such vulgar expressions show the attitudes and characters of artists.
Conclusion
Hence, hip-hop can have distinct characteristics depending on the country in which it is produced, such as socioeconomic discrimination in American hip-hop, toughness and so-called laddism in British hip-hop, and passion and violence in Spanish hip-hop. Hip-hop in London stresses manhood and nationalism while incorporating many of the lyrical, rhythmic, and political elements of American hip-hop. Latino-influenced music usually depicts the harsh, drug-fueled gangster lifestyle.
Similarly, past American artists emphasized brutality and sexism in their songs, accentuating their identities and defiance of authority aggression. Nowadays, modern artists tend to accentuate their masculinity and misogyny as well. The similarities between all styles include the use of slang and themes of brutality. The reason why hip hop is a popular genre of music is because it allows one to express one’s thoughts and emotions and attract the audience’s attention to the common problems in communities. In other cases, its popularity is explained by the use of vulgar language and expressions, which show one’s identity.
Works Cited
Bradley, Anthony B. Why Black Lives Matter: African American Thriving for the Twenty-First Century. Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2020.
Daddy Yankee. Gasolina. Genius, 2004. Web.
Drake and 21 Savage. Rich Flex. Genius, 2022. Web.
Fonseca, Anthony J., and Melissa Ursula Dawn Goldsmith. Listen to hip-hop! Exploring a Musical Genre. ABC-CLIO, 2021.
Kanellos, Nicolás. Latino Almanac: From Early Explorers to Corporate Leaders. Visible Ink Press, 2022.
N.W.A. Straight Outta Compton. Genius, 1988. Web.
The Streets. Don’t Mug Yourself [Video]. YouTube. Web.
Williams, Justin A. Brithop: The Politics of UK Rap in the New Century. Oxford University Press, 2020.