Hip-Hop Evolution | |
---|---|
Genre | Documentary |
Developed by | Banger Films |
Directed by | Darby Wheeler, Rodrigo Bascunan |
Presented by | Shad |
Country of origin | Canada |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 4 |
No. of episodes | 16 |
Production | |
Producers | Darby Wheeler, Rodrigo Bascunan, Russell Peters, Scot McFadyen, Sam Dunn, Nelson George |
Original release | |
Network | HBO Canada |
Release | April 29, 2016 – 25 September 2016 |
Network | Netflix |
Release | 19 October 2018 – present |
Hip-Hop Evolution is a Canadian music documentary television series that originally aired on HBO Canada in 2016. [1] Hosted by Juno Award-winning artist Shad, the series profiles the history of hip-hop music through interviews with many of the genre's leading cultural figures. [2] The series is produced by Darby Wheeler, Rodrigo Bascuñán, Russell Peters, Scot McFadyen, Sam Dunn and Nelson George. It won the 2016 Peabody Award, [3] and the 2017 International Emmy Award for Best Arts Programming. [4]
The series was screened at the 2016 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival [5] before being picked up for broadcast by HBO. [1] In December 2016, it was added to Netflix for international distribution. [2]
Hip-Hop Evolution features in-depth, personal interviews with the progenitors of DJing, rapping, and production, culminating in what is now taken to be hip hop music and rap, adding to the existing understanding of hip-hop's earliest decades. Such original artists, producers, DJs, and promoters include: DJ Kool Herc, Coke La Rock, Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five, Fab Five Freddy, Marley Marl, Afrika Bambaataa, Kool Moe Dee, Kurtis Blow, Doug E. Fresh, Whodini, Warp 9, DJ Hollywood, Spoonie Gee, The Sugarhill Gang, Russell Simmons, Slick Rick, LL Cool J, Rick Rubin, Dana Dane, Vanilla Ice, Public Enemy, Michael Jackson, Perri "Pebbles" Reid, Jermaine Dupri & The Fat Boys.
The first episode documents the history of the inceptive hip-hop party at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in The Bronx where DJ Kool Herc, who thus emerged as a godfather of the tradition, DJed his sister's birthday party. [6]
The series went on to feature some of the most influential artists of the genre, without whom its current form would not exist, such as Public Enemy, Beastie Boys, N.W.A, Ice-T, Rakim, Big Daddy Kane and LL Cool J, as well as documenting Schoolly D, from Philadelphia, as the influence for gangsta rap on the West Coast, as told by the words of Ice T. It limits its telling of the history at that point, as it documents that was the turning point in which Hip Hop had turned from an underground movement within music to a mainstream genre, that ripples its influence throughout contemporary culture.
In 2016 the series was awarded a Peabody Award. [7] The series garnered four Canadian Screen Award nominations at the 5th Canadian Screen Awards in 2017, for Best Biography or Arts Documentary Program or Series, Best Editing in a Documentary Program or Series (Steve Taylor and Mark Staunton) Best Writing in a Documentary Program or Series (Rodrigo Bascunan) and Best Direction in a Documentary or Factual Series (Darby Wheeler). It won the awards for Best Biography or Arts Documentary and Best Editing. The series was also awarded with a 2017 International Emmy for Best Arts Programming. [8]
Series | Episodes | Originally aired | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
First aired | Last aired | Network | |||
1 | 4 | 4 September 2016 | 25 September 2016 | HBO Canada | |
2 | 4 | 19 October 2018 | Netflix | ||
3 | 4 | 6 September 2019 | |||
4 | 4 | 17 January 2020 |
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | "The Foundation" | Darby Wheeler | 4 September 2016 | |
In the 1970s, DJ Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa, Grandmaster Flash and the first rhythmic rappers lay the foundations of hip-hop in the South Bronx | |||||
2 | 2 | "The Underground to the Mainstream" | Darby Wheeler | 11 September 2016 | |
Bootleg tapes capture the energy of live battles, the Sugarhill Gang releases a Top 40 hit, and hip-hop meets art punk in downtown New York | |||||
3 | 3 | "The New Guard" | Darby Wheeler | 18 September 2016 | |
Run-DMC and Def Jam bridge the rap-rock divide. Innovators like Marley Marl and Rakim usher in a new sound, and Public Enemy raises consciousness | |||||
4 | 4 | "The Birth of Gangsta Rap" | Darby Wheeler | 25 September 2016 | |
Ice-T and N.W.A put West Coast rap on the map, documenting the reality of life in South Central L.A. Dr. Dre tops the charts with "The Chronic" |
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
5 | 1 | "The Southern Way" | Darby Wheeler | 19 October 2018 | |
2 Live Crew popularizes the Miami bass sound and scores a victory for free speech. The Geto Boys put Houston on the map, paving the way for UGK | |||||
6 | 2 | "Out The Trunk: The Bay" | Darby Wheeler | 19 October 2018 | |
In the Bay Area, Too Short channels pimp culture, MC Hammer becomes rap's first pop star, and Digital Underground introduces the world to Tupac Shakur | |||||
7 | 3 | "Do The Knowledge" | Darby Wheeler | 19 October 2018 | |
KRS-One makes his mark at New York's legendary Latin Quarter club. A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul cultivate an Afrocentric, jazzy style | |||||
8 | 4 | "New York State Of Mind" | Darby Wheeler | 19 October 2018 | |
In the early 1990s, a new wave of East Coast artists emerges, led by Nas, Wu-Tang Clan and the Notorious B.I.G. |
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
9 | 1 | "A Tale of Two Coasts" | Darby Wheeler, Rodrigo Bascuñán | 6 September 2019 | |
With the rise of N.W.A., gangsta rap and Suge Knight, the East Coast-West Coast rivalry climaxes with a lethal beef ensnaring the great Tupac Shakur. | |||||
10 | 2 | "Life After Death" | Darby Wheeler, Rodrigo Bascuñán | 6 September 2019 | |
In NYC, the Notorious B.I.G. fosters an empowering protégée, Lil' Kim. When the East-West feud claims Biggie, Puff Daddy and Jay-Z vie for the throne. | |||||
11 | 3 | "Pass the Mic" | Darby Wheeler | 6 September 2019 | |
Alternative hip-hop bubbles up from the streets; Mos Def spits in NYC, the Freestyle Fellowship chops it up in LA, and Eminem battles on the circuit. | |||||
12 | 4 | "The Dirty South" | Darby Wheeler | 6 September 2019 | |
A hot, sticky music scene is born in Atlanta as the infectious hooks of TLC and Kris Kross yield to the gritty originality of OutKast and Goodie Mob. |
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
13 | 1 | "Bounce to This" | Darby Wheeler, Rodrigo Bascuñán | 17 January 2020 | |
Rooted in New Orleans's rich music culture, No Limit mogul Master P and bounce breakouts DJ Jimi and Juvenile shake rap and put twerking on the map. | |||||
14 | 2 | "The Southern Lab" | Darby Wheeler, Rodrigo Bascuñán | 17 January 2020 | |
Innovators explode out of the South: Houston's DJ Screw slows hip-hop down, Memphis's Three 6 Mafia goes dark, and Atlanta's Lil Jon brings the crunk. | |||||
15 | 3 | "The Super Producers" | Darby Wheeler | 17 January 2020 | |
Auteurs like the Neptunes' Pharrell and Chad expand the sonic palette. Timbaland and Missy Elliott lean forward. Kanye West and J Dilla reimagine rap. | |||||
16 | 4 | "Street Dreams" | Darby Wheeler | 17 January 2020 | |
Mixtapes spread the hottest sounds, infringe copyright and break artists. Among them, 50 Cent polarizes, T.I. takes off with trap, and Lil Wayne clicks. |
A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs, club DJs, mobile DJs, and turntablists. Originally, the "disc" in "disc jockey" referred to shellac and later vinyl records, but nowadays DJ is used as an all-encompassing term to also describe persons who mix music from other recording media such as cassettes, CDs or digital audio files on a CDJ, controller, or even a laptop. DJs may adopt the title "DJ" in front of their real names, adopted pseudonyms, or stage names.
Kurtis Walker, professionally known by his stage name Kurtis Blow, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record/film producer, b-boy, DJ, public speaker and minister. He is the first commercially successful rapper and the first to sign with a major record label. "The Breaks", a single from his 1980 self-titled debut album, is the first certified gold record rap song. Throughout his career he has released 17 albums and is currently an ordained minister.
Old-school hip hop is the earliest commercially recorded hip hop music and the original style of the genre. It typically refers to the music created around 1979 to 1983, as well as any hip hop that does not adhere to contemporary styles.
Breakbeat is a broad type of electronic music that tends to use drum breaks sampled from early recordings of funk, jazz, and R&B. Breakbeats have been used in styles such as hip hop, jungle, drum and bass, big beat, breakbeat hardcore, and UK garage styles.
Hip house, also known as rap house or house rap, is a musical genre that mixes elements of house music and hip hop music, that originated in both London, United Kingdom and Chicago, United States in the mid to late 1980s.
Scratching, sometimes referred to as scrubbing, is a DJ and turntablist technique of moving a vinyl record back and forth on a turntable to produce percussive or rhythmic sounds. A crossfader on a DJ mixer may be used to fade between two records simultaneously.
Turntablism is the art of manipulating sounds and creating new music, sound effects, mixes and other creative sounds and beats, typically by using two or more turntables and a cross fader-equipped DJ mixer. The mixer is plugged into a PA system and/or broadcasting equipment so that a wider audience can hear the turntablist's music. Turntablists typically manipulate records on a turntable by moving the record with their hand to cue the stylus to exact points on a record, and by touching or moving the platter or record to stop, slow down, speed up or, spin the record backwards, or moving the turntable platter back and forth, all while using a DJ mixer's crossfader control and the mixer's gain and equalization controls to adjust the sound and level of each turntable. Turntablists typically use two or more turntables and headphones to cue up desired start points on different records.
Coke La Rock is an old-school rapper from New York City who is sometimes credited as being the first MC in the history of hip-hop.
Australian hip hop traces its origins to the early 1980s and was initially largely inspired by hip hop and other urban musical genres from the United States. As the form matured, Australian hip hop has become a commercially viable style of music that is no longer restricted to the creative underground, with artists such as The Kid Laroi, Manu Crooks, Onefour, Iggy Azalea, Hilltop Hoods, Bliss n Eso and Youngn Lipz, having achieved notable fame. Australian hip hop is still primarily released through independent record labels, which are often owned and operated by the artists themselves. Despite its genesis as an offshoot of American hip-hop, Australian hip hop has developed a distinct personality that reflects its evolution as an Australian musical style.
Hip hop or hip-hop is a culture and art movement that was created by African Americans pioneered from Black American street culture, also known as hip hop African American culture, that had been around for years prior to its more mainstream discovery while later reaching other groups such as Latino Americans and Caribbean Americans, starting in the Bronx, New York City. Hip Hop is one of cultural movements that has been shaped and dominated by African American males though female hip hop artists have contributed to the art form and culture as well. Hip hop culture is characterized by the key elements of rapping, DJing and turntablism, and breakdancing. Other elements include historical knowledge of the movement, graffiti, beatboxing, street entrepreneurship, hip hop language, and hip hop fashion.
Shadrach Kabango, better known as Shad or Shad K, is a Canadian rapper and broadcaster. He has released 7 full-length albums and 3 EP's since his debut in 2005. He won a Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year in 2011 and 5 of his albums have been shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize, the most short-list nominations of any artist since the prize's creation in 2006. In 2013, CBC Music named Shad the second-greatest Canadian rapper of all time. Shad hosted Q on CBC Radio One from 2015 to 2016 and hosts the International Emmy and Peabody Award-winning documentary series Hip-Hop Evolution on HBO Canada and Netflix.
Luis Cedeño, more commonly known as DJ Disco Wiz is an American DJ.
Clive Campbell, better known by his stage name DJ Kool Herc, is a Jamaican American DJ who is credited with being one of the founders of hip hop music in the Bronx, New York City, in 1973. Nicknamed the Father of Hip-Hop, Campbell began playing hard funk records of the sort typified by James Brown.
Rodrigo Salago Bascuñán is a Chilean-Canadian author, television writer and producer. His non-fiction book, Enter The Babylon System: Unpacking Gun Culture from Samuel Colt to 50 Cent, was nominated for numerous literary awards. He is more recently recognized for writing and producing the Peabody and International Emmy Award winning documentary series Hip-Hop Evolution.
Hip-hop or hip hop, also known as rap, and formerly known as disco rap, is a genre of popular music that originated in the early 1970s by African Americans and Caribbean immigrants in the Bronx, a borough of New York City. Hip-hop music originated as an anti-drug and anti-violence genre consisting of stylized rhythmic music that often accompanies rapping, a rhythmic delivery of poetic speech. According to the professor Asante of African American studies at Temple University, "hip hop is something that blacks can unequivocally claim as their own". The music developed as part of the broader hip hop culture, a subculture defined by four key stylistic elements: MCing/rapping, DJing/scratching with turntables, breakdancing, and graffiti art. While often used to refer solely to rapping and rap music, "hip hop" more properly denotes the practice of the entire subculture. The term hip hop music is sometimes used synonymously with the term rap music, though rapping is not a required component of hip hop music; the genre may also incorporate other elements of the culture, including DJing, turntablism, scratching, beatboxing, and instrumental tracks.
The Hip Hop Years is a three part series of one hour television documentaries, made for Channel 4 in 1999. It was accompanied by a book and compilation CD.
Sedgwick Avenue is a major street in the Bronx, New York City. It runs roughly parallel to Jerome Avenue, the Major Deegan Expressway, and University Avenue. Sedgwick Avenue is one of the longest streets in the western part of the Bronx, running from Mosholu Parkway at the north to Macombs Dam Bridge at its southern end, about 800 feet west of Yankee Stadium.
1520 Sedgwick Avenue is a 102-unit apartment building in the Morris Heights neighborhood in the Bronx, New York City. Recognized as a long-time "haven for working class families," it has been historically accepted as the birthplace of hip hop.
Hip Hop Family Tree is a series of educational and historical comic books written and illustrated by Ed Piskor that documents the early history of hip hop culture. Originating online with Boing Boing, the series was published in print form by Fantagraphics Books. The first collection was a 2014 New York Times Graphic Books Best Seller (#7) and was listed in The Washington Post Top 10 graphic novels of 2013. The second collection won the Eisner Award for Best Reality-Based Work in 2015.
The South Bronx is an area of the New York City borough of the Bronx. The area comprises neighborhoods in the southern part of the Bronx, such as Concourse, Mott Haven, Melrose, and Port Morris.