Many of us THINK we know the true origins of rap. But it goes back way further than you might think - back hundreds of years!
“Griots,” West African musicians and storytellers, kept records of a society’s history through a tradition that included rhyming poetry. The beginnings of rap actually start there!
That tradition carried over to the Americas during slavery. The toasting tradition, and stories like the Signifyin’ Monkey - and the act of signifying itself - passed down lessons, told boastful stories, and entertained audiences through rhymes and creative language.
In New York in the 1960s and ‘70s, radio deejays continued the tradition over and between songs. Jamaican-Americans brought “Sound Systems” to New York, and DJs like Kool Herc hosted block parties with the new music of the day.
All of this came together to create hip-hop as we know it.
With two turntables connected to a sound system, a deft DJ could extend a record’s “break.”
Soon, MCs were boasting, promoting the DJ, giving props to the “break” dancers, and telling entertaining, rhyming stories that chronicle our history and culture over the beat. Rap was born!
The impact rap music has had on global culture over the last 40 years is immeasurable. And though in some ways it’s strayed quite far from its roots, in other ways it’s still a vehicle for boasting, toasting, storytelling, and passing down our cultural history!