YOU HAVE LEARNT ABOUT URBAN TRIBES AND URBAN ART.
IS THERE ANYTHING MORE URBAN THAN RAP AND HIP-HOP? READ AND JUST GO WITH THE FLOW!
TASK 5- Rap music history (GROUP)
Read about the history of rap music (using the 1-2-4 technique) and answer the following questions:
History of Rap Music
More than a century before rap exploded onto the American music scene, West African musicians were telling stories rhythmically, with just the beat of a drum for accompaniment. Meanwhile, folk artists from the Caribbean Islands were also telling stories in rhyme. Indeed, these singing poets from Africa and the Caribbean lay the foundation for modern-day American rap music.
Rapping essentially involves the speaking or chanting of rhyming lyrics, often set to a beat. The rhyming created by rappers is considered by many to be one of the most sophisticated styles of poetry. What’s more, these rhymes often address provocative subjects such as sex, violence and socio-political issues.
Rapping first gained popularity in the U.S. in the 1970s as a kind of street art, especially among African American teenagers. But it wasn’t until 1979, when the Sugarhill Gang released their breakaway hit, ‘Rapper’s Delight, that record producers took notice of this emerging musical genre. once they did, numerous rap acts, including Run-DMC and N.W.A., surfaced, and rap’s audience began to swell. It wasn’t just African American male rappers getting in on the act, either: By the 1980s, white rap bands such as the Beastie Boys and female rap bands such as Salt-n-Pepa were reaching the top of the charts.
By the 1990s, rap matured from an old-school-style – which was based on relatively simple lyrics – to a new-school-style, which was louder and included more complex lyrics. Artists such as The Notorious B.I.G., Snoop Dogg and Tupac ruled the charts during this time, as did Eminem – one of the most popular white rappers of all time.
Rap has stood the test of time and its popularity rages on with today’s artists such as 50 Cent, Ludacris and Jay-Z churning out hit after thought-provoking hit. The beat truly does go on.
QUESTIONS:
1. What is the origin of modern-day American rap music?
2. How can rapping be defined?
3. What are the most commonly used topics in rap?
4. Apart from African American male rappers, what other rap bands were popular in the 1980's?
5. What is the difference between old-school-style rap and new-school one?
IS THERE ANYTHING MORE URBAN THAN RAP AND HIP-HOP? READ AND JUST GO WITH THE FLOW!
TASK 5- Rap music history (GROUP)
Read about the history of rap music (using the 1-2-4 technique) and answer the following questions:
History of Rap Music
More than a century before rap exploded onto the American music scene, West African musicians were telling stories rhythmically, with just the beat of a drum for accompaniment. Meanwhile, folk artists from the Caribbean Islands were also telling stories in rhyme. Indeed, these singing poets from Africa and the Caribbean lay the foundation for modern-day American rap music.
Rapping essentially involves the speaking or chanting of rhyming lyrics, often set to a beat. The rhyming created by rappers is considered by many to be one of the most sophisticated styles of poetry. What’s more, these rhymes often address provocative subjects such as sex, violence and socio-political issues.
Rapping first gained popularity in the U.S. in the 1970s as a kind of street art, especially among African American teenagers. But it wasn’t until 1979, when the Sugarhill Gang released their breakaway hit, ‘Rapper’s Delight, that record producers took notice of this emerging musical genre. once they did, numerous rap acts, including Run-DMC and N.W.A., surfaced, and rap’s audience began to swell. It wasn’t just African American male rappers getting in on the act, either: By the 1980s, white rap bands such as the Beastie Boys and female rap bands such as Salt-n-Pepa were reaching the top of the charts.
By the 1990s, rap matured from an old-school-style – which was based on relatively simple lyrics – to a new-school-style, which was louder and included more complex lyrics. Artists such as The Notorious B.I.G., Snoop Dogg and Tupac ruled the charts during this time, as did Eminem – one of the most popular white rappers of all time.
Rap has stood the test of time and its popularity rages on with today’s artists such as 50 Cent, Ludacris and Jay-Z churning out hit after thought-provoking hit. The beat truly does go on.
QUESTIONS:
1. What is the origin of modern-day American rap music?
2. How can rapping be defined?
3. What are the most commonly used topics in rap?
4. Apart from African American male rappers, what other rap bands were popular in the 1980's?
5. What is the difference between old-school-style rap and new-school one?
Rhyme and Rhythm (GROUP)
Rap is rhythm, rap is rhyming, rap can be poetry. You have here three rap and hip-hop videos.
In the first one, you have Will Smith's rap 'The fresh prince of Bel Air'.
In the second one, you have Alicia Keys' and Jay Z's song 'Empire State of mind'.
In both videos the singers talk about their lives in their cities.
Listen to them. You can use the attached documents with the lyrics for the parts that are hard to understand. After listening to the songs answer the following tasks:
Task 6: Rhyming (Prince of Bel Air): organise these words in pairs according to their rhyme: that -like-down-Air-way-neighbourhood-scared-there-how-rare - alright -school-cat-day
Eg: Air-rare
Task 7: Contractions (Empire State of Mind): Have a look at these informal contractions and write their formal meaning: I ain’t- It ain’t- y’all- I gotta
Eg: I ain’t = I am not
Task 8: Create your rhymes: Using this webpage www.rimador.net try to find 3 rhyming words for: night- city-friend-me-good- bad
Eg: night, fight, bright,light
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the_fresth_prince_of_bel_air_lyrics.rtf | |
File Size: | 312 kb |
File Type: | rtf |
empire_state_of_mind_lyrics.rtf | |
File Size: | 1255 kb |
File Type: | rtf |
Click here to edit.
FINAL TASK- (individual)
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