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frak - the history of rap videos lyrics

throughout hip-hop history, a duality has always existed between certain driving artistic forces. whether it was underground vs. mainstream, gangsta vs. pop-rap, or club-rap vs. intellectual rap, the hip-hop genre has always fluctuated between different perspectives. the question i want to address is; how do the media platforms where hip-hop music is delivered affect this interplay? for the answers, let’s turn to rap videos. besides perhaps radio, music videos have been the most important and consistent method of transmitting hip-hop to the public eye and ear. at every step hip-hop has taken, rap videos have evolved with the music, the content and style of the videos mirroring the lyrical subject matter. let’s take a look through a timeline of hip-hop videos

part 1: the early stages

hip-hop grew out of the south bronx in the late 1970s and early 1980s. there were 4 elements of hip-hop at the beginning; breakdancing, graffiti, djing, and mcing. at first, being an mc was mainly being the guide to the party, but eventually, mcs started incorporating more complicated flows and patterns into their rhyme-schemes, which contained poetry and commentary about social issues. the early stages of hip-hop videos showed the potential of the genre to be an interconnected display of art, fun, and socially aware intelligence

the first videos were actually featured in movies about breakdancing and graffiti culture, as you can see in grandmaster flash and melle mell’s performance in the film -beat street.-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrfo6kw8eis

eventually videos were made specifically for songs, and the traces of graffiti and breakdancing are evident in the video for -the message-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4o8teqkhgy

the first rap video on tv was actually blondie’s -rapsody,- which was featured on mtv and had a verse from fab five freddy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phcds7o248g

part 2: yo mtv raps

yo! mtv raps was a media platform that centralized hip-hop culture and gave rap a voice of solidarity. the show was launched in 1989, when an mtv program director, ted demme, complained about the lack of black culture portrayed on the channel. demme came up with the idea to do a strictly hip-hop show, and mtv threw him enough money for a pilot without thinking much of the project. the show immediately took off, enlisting hip-hop personalities fab 5 freddy, ed lover, and dr. dre to host the show

- frak lyrics

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