When Culture Went Commercial (cont.)

Words by RIP NICHOLSONFor MUSC2000 Wk 11.

This essay aims to evaluate the shift in hip-hop from a youth expression to a rap industry over the period of 1979 to 1984 as it intersected with the recording industry. Scholarly articles and music journalism will help to build an objective case on the impact of Sylvia Robinson as she created precedence in the rap industry over the release of two records:  

• ‘Rappers Delight’ by The Sugar Hill Gang (1979).

• ‘The Message’ by Grandmaster Flash & The Furious 5 (1984).

Where Emmett Price looks into the mechanics of this shift, establishing a firm understanding before arguing for or against, Shannon McCabe’s Ism vs Prism theory explains the spectrum of hip-hop’s culture and why it’s worth preserving against the commercial use of rap iconography and imagery as hip-hop in the media. To provide a balanced view, The Big Payback by Dan Charnas suggests Sylvia Robinson’s impact on hip-hop has blazed a trail for future artists and refers to a culture then, in need of a paying gig. Lastly, first-hand accounts from Afrika Bambaataa and KRS-One are introduced, discussing ‘Planet Rock’s’ part during this intersection and, in a final rebuttal, KRS-One presents a credible solution for artists to take back the profits of their culture, clearly lost to commodity.

Weighing the cases presented and sources, how pivotal the use of recording media and the two chosen records have been in the shift from culture to commodity, this essay will arrive to a balanced opinion with a final thought to grease further discussion on the most important cultural shift in hip-hop’s forty-plus years.