From breakbeats to the dance floor: How hip-hop and house revolutionized music and culture

NEW YORK - Feb. 1, 2025 - PRLog -- By: Joycelyn Wilson, Georgia Institute of Technology, Dashade Music Empire Company

There was a time when artists representing two of America's biggest homegrown musical genres wouldn't get a look in at the Grammys.

Hip-hop and house both have their origins in the 1970s and early 1980s – in fact, they recently celebrated a 50th and 40th birthday, respectively. But it was only in 1989 that an award category for "best rap performance" started recognizing hip-hop's contribution to U.S. music, and house had to wait another decade, with the introduction of "best dance/electronic recording" in 1998.

At this year's awards, taking place on Feb. 2, hip-hop and house artists will be among the most talked about. House duo Justice and Kendrick Lamar, a hip-hop superstar who incorporates elements of house himself, are among those looking to pick up an award. Meanwhile, a nomination for a collaboration between DJ Kaytranada and rapper Childish Gambino shows how artists from both genres continue to feed off each other.

And while both genres are now celebrated for their separate contributions to the music landscape, as a scholar of African American culture and music, I am interested in their commonality: Both are distinctly Black American artforms that originated on the streets and dance floors of U.S. cities, developing a devoted underground following before being accepted by – and transforming – the mainstream.

By the early 1980s, both genres had found their feet.

Hip-hop emerged as a powerful voice for storytelling, resistance and identity. Building on the foundations laid down by DJ Kool Herc, artists like Afrika Bambaataa emphasized hip-hop's cultural and communal aspects. Meanwhile, Grandmaster Flash elevated the genre's technical artistry with innovations like cutting and scratching.

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https://music.apple.com/us/album/brendas-got-a-baby-pt-2-...

https://theconversation.com/from-breakbeats-to-the-dance-floor-how-hip-hop-and-house-revolutionized-music-and-culture-229336