Would you give a speech on 19th Century French Architecture without having a sound knowledge of the artistic development in every decade? To successfully present a thorough lecture on said topic, would one have to understand the architects, their work, what influenced and inspired them?
The next Hip Hop generation of Australia could do themselves a favour by becoming immersed in American Hip Hop from the 1990’s. By seeking out the ideas and concepts which shaped Hip Hop like the afrocentric lyrics and jazz-imbued beats of A Tribe Called Quest or the innovative rhyming techniques pioneered by Rakim or the intelligent sentiment and boom-bap styles of Boogie Down Productions. An odyssey into late, 20th Century, American Hip Hop would give a substantial insight into the current brand of Australian Hip Hop in the ears of adolescents around the country. Irrespective of whether it seems irrelevant or dated. Often the most powerful aspect of music is a connection with the lyrics and young people living in Australia find it harder to directly relate to American Hip Hop made in the South Bronx 15 years ago, harder yet living in a diametrically opposed environment to that of Hip Hop’s regular demographic.
Australian was the first kind of Hip Hop I was introduced to, I will always fiend the stuff because it epitomises a true Australian culture and identity. Not some bullshit, nationalistic take on values and patriotism. The current Australian MC’s and DJ’s produce the music which is the soundtrack to the next Hip Hop generation’s lives. To gain a greater understanding and find further meaning to this music it is requisite to listen to the music, which inspired the current generation of MC’s and DJ’s who produce a soundtrack of this calibre.
This heritage manifests after years of listening to DJ’s in various Australian groups cut up a key line or two from an ‘at the time’ anonymous, American rapper. Frequently, whilst listening to the old gems which left an indelible mark on the genre, brief threads of memory frequently appear in the form of cut up lines and give the contemporary Australian song further meaning, a context for the quote of sorts. Hilltop Hoods’ song ‘The Sentinel’ is a perfect example of this. A sample from the Hard Knocks’ song ‘Blow To The Head’ is the cornerstone of the chorus in ‘The Sentinel.’ Another example is the chorus from Koolism’s song ‘Double O,’ Danielsan sampled from one of Hip Hop’s quintessential albums; Ultramagnetic MC’s – Critical Beatdown. A member of an Australian Hip Hop internet forum recently described the feeling of recognising a sample as:
“…being part of the worldwide inside joke that is hip hop. Feeling like you’re part of something because someone on your tv screen, your radio, your computer, your scratched up 12″, is making music aimed at you which shows you that they’ve had the same or similar experiences to you…”
It would be understandably difficult for an adolescent of today’s generation to derive the same inspiration from music produced before their time. Both musical and lyrical style are barometers for periods of history. This is evident in the jazzy, boom bap beats of the 90’s from the likes of DJ Premier and Pete Rock blessed by the gritty yet classy poetry of Guru and CL Smooth. Songs of today, chronicling today’s ideas are invariably going to seem more relevant than those of yesteryear. Just as today’s music is pushing expressive boundaries, so did the previously mentioned acts at that time and Hip Hop then was just as fresh for the current generation as it is now. It remains to be seen whether artists of tomorrow will recognise the roots of the genre and carry on the traditions of the immortalised, timeless acts.
American MC’s and DJ’s invented and pioneered many techniques and styles of Hip Hop music. The most significant of which being Boom Bap. This style is a fair representation of most Australian Hip Hop. Without those American pioneers, Australian Hip Hop could have been vastly different. If the Australian pioneers didn’t grasp the ‘be yourself’ concept, then American accents would have been a paradigm in Australian Hip Hop. Instead it is a culture unto itself, drawing only inspiration from it’s American counterpart.
As with any artistic means of expression, Hip Hop will always have defined periods of change which will document the state of the culture was at the time, what it is in the present and where it’s headed. Many people wish Hip Hop would return to the ‘golden era’ of the later 1980’s to early 90’s, a period when a series of fresh and rousing developments took place. Whilst this is a different ‘can of worms’, it is arguably the pinnacle of quality in the genre so irrespective of the debate, it is a necessity to check it out for the foregoing reasons. There was no significant presence of commercial MC’s and DJ’s in this period of Hip Hop to corrupt the current brand of Australian Hip Hop but as with any artform, there will be a select group willing to sell out. However, this is why we can enjoy such a myriad of quality acts around the country today, the sheer quality of their inspirations. Time is nigh to look at what the next generation is listening to, their knowledge of the culture and what inspires them if quality Hip Hop is to be preserved for years to come.
fucking brilliant