Hip Hop is one of the most popular and influential types of music in modern times. Only being around for almost 40 years, the genre has increased exponentially over its time frame. As recent as 2017, hip hop has become the most dominant genre of music in the United States for the first time. Hip Hop has surpassed rock music according to 2017 data showing 25.1% of United States music consumption being R&B and Hip Hop while 23% of it belongs to Rock (Forbes). Also, seven of the top ten streamed songs that same year belonged to the hip-hop genre; including hits such as “XO Tour Llif3”- by Lil Uzi Vert, “Congratulations”- by Post Malone, and “Humble”- by Kendrick Lamar (Nielsen). However, later hip hop, with its commonly explicit lyrics, has caused controversy over the possible negative impact of the genre. Many mainstream radio stations banned plenty of hip-hop songs due to their explicit content. Also, law enforcement figures have had past conflicts associated with hip hop which put a dent in but couldn’t stop the growing juggernaut. Many can debate the nature of hip-hop’s controversial role within society but, even as hip-hop is one of the most influential genres, the sociological nature of its success can be seen from a conflict theorist perspective.
The origins of hip hop can date back to the mid to late 1970s in the Bronx, New York. At the turn of the century, a large shift in demographics was seen in New York. Many immigrants from mainly Caribbean nations, such as Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago, and Barbados, moved to New York. This large immigration can be seen as a result of large amounts of whites leaving these areas to find more racially homogenous areas as a result of racial prejudice in a time during the Civil Rights movement. Throughout the 1960s and 70s, mainly the South Bronx became a largely unstable place to live. Poor financing and construction projects, such as the Cross Bronx Expressway, contributed to the outdated and collapsing infrastructure. As a result, many immigrants couldn’t find work due to poor financing. Due to the lack of jobs, residents resorted to crime. This created a negative public opinion among Americans. With little that these immigrants brought and had, their culture helped to make the Bronx flourish into a lively place for social gatherings and so-called “block parties”. These block parties were held at public venues and involved deejays that mixed the sounds of disco/funk with Caribbean beats.
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There were three important pioneers of Hip Hop at this time. The first ever deejay of hip hop or the “Father of Hip Hop” is DJ Kool Herc. At a party in 1973, Herc realized the “break” section (or the dancing beat) is what people waited for. In response, Herc took two turntables and started to mix the middle parts of the records so that they would fade into each other. This resulted in a non-stop dance party flow and the rest is history. One of the other important pioneers of the time was Grandmaster Flash. He perfected Herc’s technique by using headphones to listen to the second track in advance. He does this to then transition into the next song at the most appropriate time. The third most important pioneer is Grand Wizard Theodore. Grand Wizard Theodore is known for creating the popular and well-known scratching of records which has defined early hip-hop techniques for the genre. These pioneers created beats never heard before that would go on to represent minority groups in a brand-new genre of music. With the birth of hip hop being explained above, the conflict theorist perspective can be integrated within. As was seen with the immigrants in the Bronx, the underrepresentation of these people within a poor socio-economic area created a new vibrant culture of its own. The culture of hip-hop gained popularity quickly, spreading within less than a decade of DJ Kool Herc’s first block party. However, the spread of hip hop wasn’t only because of great beats and deejaying.
Hip Hop encompassed its’ magnificent beats with magnificent rhymes. Coke La Rock teamed up with DJ Kool Herc to be considered the first ever known rapper of the early ages of hip hop. However, it wasn’t until the release of “Rapper’s Delight” by the Sugarhill Gang did hip hop started to gain attention from record labels. The song peaked at #36 on Billboard (billboard). America was then first exposed to the nature of a new cultural wave starting in the early 80s. Even as hip-hop was a new cultural movement, it was also a way to express the hardships that many minority groups faced living in slum conditions. The first known song to take a serious outtake on the hardships faced was “The Message” by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. The Message, released in 1982, showed the hardships of living in the South Bronx. Lyrics such as “You say I'm cool, huh, I'm no fool. But then you wind up droppin' outta high school. Now you're unemployed, all non-void…” (Kobalt). The lyrics above show the smooth rhymes that mix with an apprehensive and negative tone. In 2012, Rolling Stone put this song at number one on its list of the top 50 greatest hip-hop songs of all time. It is undoubtful to see that it was placed at number one due to its cultural impact. Its impact has paved a path for other hip-hop songs that would display such conditions. Such songs like Run DMC’s “It’s Like That” displayed problems in the 1980s era of crack cocaine and later on songs displaying police brutality such as 2Pac’s 1991 release of “Trapped”, showed the negative aspects of certain societies. The display of such problems within the art of hip-hop is where conflict theory can be applied most firmly.
Conflict theory within early hip hop isn’t seen as strongly compared to the “Golden Age” and “Gangsta Rap Age” of Hip Hop. The late 1980s to the early 1990s could be seen as the Golden Age of the genre. This genre also introduced the mainstream beginnings of West Coast hip hop, a group that would soon be in conflict with the East Coast by the turn of the century. A group that formed during the “Golden Age” but paved the way for Gangsta Rap can include “Niggaz Wit Attitudes” or N.W.A. The group N.W.A. was formed in the mid-1980s in California and stayed together until financial disputes in 1991. The members of N.W.A in its prime included Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Eazy-E, DJ Yella, and MC Ren. N.W.A was ruthless in their style of lyrics and in response, faced much criticism for it. Many areas banned N.W.A’s music as it was too explicit. A song by N.W.A that best defines conflict theory in 1980s hip hop is the controversial but famous“Fuck Tha Police”. The song was released in 1988 in the album Straight Outta Compton and displayed the horrors of police brutality that were faced in Los Angeles during the 1980s. The song reached number 15 on Rolling Stone's list of the top 50 greatest hip-hop songs of all time (Rolling Stone). N.W.A plays the role of a conflict theorist group that advocates for change within not only the corrupt Los Angeles Police Department (L.A.P.D) but suppressant groups all over America. The public response to this song was both negative and positive. In a positive sense, minority groups began to rebel and protest for reform within police departments all over. In a negative sense, many saw hip-hop as destroying young people’s minds and the government saw the use of the song as a type of “crime” against the government. However, it can be argued that the song was protected under the First Amendment right to freedom of speech. Nevertheless, the song had a strong impact on minority communities and alluded to an event that would accomplish the goals of a conflict theorist. This event would become the Los Angeles riots of 1992. After the release of several songs displaying police brutality, including “Fuck Tha Police”, Los Angeles’s minority groups were on the brink of rioting. The approval rating for the L.A.P.D was at a great low of 34%. In early 1991, a video showing horrifying police brutality ignited great protest. This video captured Rodney King being beaten by several police officers after a high-speed police chase. They threw him to the ground, tased, kicked, stomped him, and battered him with batons 56 times (CNN). The video created more widespread outrage but, the trial was the catalyst for the riots. On April 29th, 1992 the three officers accused of the beating were acquitted. Havoc followed which resulted in massive looting of many stores (mostly Korean shops), massive fires, and great violence. There were more than 2000 injuries, 50 recorded deaths, and almost $1 billion dollars in damages (NBC). It was one of the worst riots in the history of America. The riots displayed a primary example of the conflict theorist idea of revolution for change. Interestingly, the change did come but it wasn’t quick. Several years after the riots, substantial amounts of Federal investigations resulted in 70 officers, in total, being accused of planting evidence, making false arrests, and excessive use of force (CNN). In response, the Justice Department gave the L.A.P.D choices that included facing a massive lawsuit or entering into a consent decree. The decree came with 187 paragraphs, each paragraph having sub-paragraphs of the protocol. It took almost 12 years to comply with the protocols and Chief William Bratton helped to contribute to it. The police department had to be nondiscriminatory to all of the public and if so, cops were fired on the spot for noncompliance with the decree. Statistics show the improvement in the L.A.P.D. In 1992, 60% of the department was white in contrast to now which is only 30% (CNN). This shows the increased diversity within the department that would bring in new ideals and a sense of greater equality to serve the people. Also, today, the L.A.P.D has an approval rating of 73%, more than double the rate in 1992 (CNN). The L.A.P.D was one of the most corrupt departments in all of America. Reform, for such a department, was a model for other departments. Ice Cube released a track inspired by the riots called “We Had To Tear This Mothafucka Up”. Ice Cube was one of the more relevant rappers right before the riots. Such tracks in his solo album “Death Certificate” helped to promote the riots similar to that of “Fuck Tha Police”. The track was aimed at the police officers that assaulted Rodney King and focused on what happened when law enforcement tried to control South Central Los Angeles.
From then to now, hip-hop has become greatly influential. Mainly, the underrepresented groups within society were finally able to display their struggles to the world. However, the groups who attacked hip-hop are the ones who are leading the attack on Welfare, Affirmative Action, funding for education, and proposals for universal health care (Stanford). These groups are the ones who are higher on the socioeconomic scale within America and are attempting to keep society the way it is. This group, higher on the socioeconomic scale, can be considered the functionalist group. Functionalists try to preserve society the way it is and tend to be more conservative. This is the complete opposite of a conflict theorist who takes more of a radical or liberal approach and wants change within society. In effect to this idea, there is no question as to why hip hop became substantially popular. Throughout the 1990s, the media started taking attention to the culture of the genre and began to monopolize the opportunity. Movies such as “Friday” starring Chris Tucker and Ice Cube along with television shows such as “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” starring Will Smith, moved hip hop from poor, urban areas into the mainstream, suburban/middle-class areas.
Today, hip-hop is listened to by many internationally. Furthermore, hip-hop attracts a very diverse group. In China, 37.1% of 15-25-year-olds enjoy hip-hop music (brandongaille). In addition, the genre’s audience demographics consist of roughly 46% black, 25% Hispanic, and the rest of the 29% including white, bi-racial, and Asian audiences (brandongaille). The diversity within hip hop is special as it represents not only underrepresented groups in America but underrepresented groups around the world. The culture of hip-hop gives its followers a sense of belonging, to a movement to improve their lives of themselves. That sense of belonging empowers groups of people to rise and make a change to the functionalist groups that suppress them. An example of someone who rose from nothing can include the controversial but well-known artist Nicki Minaj. Nicki Minaj grew up in one of the poorest areas in Queens, New York. She said in an interview with Contactmusic, “I never want to go back to being poor. Once you have a taste of that, you will always be driven. I know what that felt like, and I don’t want to feel it ever again. So yeah, I mean, my childhood was crazy, but it got me to the point where I had so much faith in whatever I was doing.” (Atlanta Blackstar). Minaj is an example of someone who used hip-hop as a way to move up the socioeconomic scale. She is now considered one of the best female hip-hop artists of all time and has a net worth of approximately $85 million (wealthy gorilla). Hip Hop from its roots, to its attempted suppression, and to its mainstream upcoming can be considered “music for the people”. It relates to those that have nothing and want to become something. Hip Hop will continue to grow substantially in the future and will be the change that will help to improve the social standards of equality for all.
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