Hip Hop Matters: Pages 1-50

Summary:

In the prologue, Watkins introduces hip hop by sharing one of the most publicized feud in hip hop with his readers. He introduces the feud between rappers Ja Rule and 50 cent. He explained that Rule’s thug life persona served as an oxymoron to the public and hit increased his record sales dramatically. When 50 cent came into the picture, his thuggish, bad boy persona threatened rule. 50 Cent questioned Rule’s masculinity and place in the hip hop culture. Unfortunately this was not the first time where a feud was started between two rappers because of their street credibility. The same situation occurred between 2Pac and Notorious B.I.G, Sadly in that case both parties were killed. Once Minister Farrakhan heard of the growing feud between rule and 50 he immediately wanted an interview with rule so the situation would not end up like the previous feud before them. He explained that hip hop created a voice and a vehicle for the young to express their everyday life. The first chapter summarizes the beginning of hip hop. Watkins stated that hip hop began in basements, street corners, in public parks and through out the night. It creates a sense of community in the neighborhood. He credited Sylvia Vanderpool with the creation of hip hop. Although she had a wonderful career as an R&B artist she still urged for someone to rap to one of her songs. She also was the first to create mixed taps which is commonly used in today’s society. Vanderpool was the first to really help hip hop break through. When she first brought up the idea to her hottest act, he refused it and said that the record would never sell. The next important people that Watkins introduced us too were Michael Fine and Michael Shalett who are credited with the creation of Soundscan. Soundscan is the system in which albums are rated by the amount of records sold opposed to the popularity of a certain record. To this day the Soundscan is still used to this day. This system is known as the Billboard charts.


Quotation:

" Let's keep it underground. Nobody outside the Bronx would like this stuff anyway( Grabdnaster Flash 9).

Reaction:
The reason why Watkins began this chapter with this quote is to emphasize the incorrect opinion Grandmaster Flash had on the development of hip hop. He felt like the only people in the world who would like rap is the people from Bronx, New York but what he failed to realize is that everyone would love rap. In these days everyone is familiar with rap, whether it is a child from china or an elderly person in Massachusetts. Rap is a form of music that holds the same type of respect as country or R&B. This quote helps the ready understand the views on rap before 2Pac, Lil Kim or Lil Wayne ever became popular. This book will help us understand the hard work put behind Rap and the growth that took place between the 1970’s and now.