 | ||||||||
| Music of Switzerland | ||||||||
| General topics | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genres | ||||||||
| Specific forms | ||||||||
| Media and performance | ||||||||
| ||||||||
| Nationalistic and patriotic songs | ||||||||
| ||||||||
| Regional music | ||||||||
| ||||||||
The Swiss hip hop culture began in the early 1980s.
| ||||||||
| Music of Switzerland | ||||||||
| General topics | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genres | ||||||||
| Specific forms | ||||||||
| Media and performance | ||||||||
| ||||||||
| Nationalistic and patriotic songs | ||||||||
| ||||||||
| Regional music | ||||||||
| ||||||||
The Swiss hip hop culture began in the early 1980s.
The most known, active dancers and crews were:
(Of course there were also others who played a significant role along with those above.)
These crews were the Swiss hip hop founders and brought the hip hop culture fundamentals (Peace, love & unity state of mind, graffiti, breakdance, DJing, MCs) and clothing styles straight from the roots and basic founders in New York City (Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa & The Zulu Nation, Fab 5 Freddy, Grandmaster Flash, The Rock Steady Crew, The New York City Breakers and many other U.S. hip hop masters…). They led the hip hop culture in Switzerland until the end of the 1980s and even after.
Although some of them returned to anonymity since then or died young, the most of these "old schoolers" are still around, watching what's going on. Some of them are still taking part of actual hip hop events and others are even still active (like Seyo in Painting Art, others are dealing with music industry in different music styles) and living this culture yet mostly in their heart with a nostalgic state of mind.
Early Swiss German rappers started rapping in English, but after the bilingual track "Murder by Dialect" by P-27 featuring Black Tiger, rappers switched to their native Swiss German dialects. Rappers from the French-speaking part (where the traditional dialects died out in most parts) and from the Italian-speaking part (where most people mix dialects and Standard Italian freely) rap in the standard languages.
The issue of language choice has become a major influence in the Swiss hip hop scene: As author Pascale Hofmeier notes, the creation of "Mundartrap" (dialect rap) has enabled Switzerland to develop a unique scene that, due to the lingual choice, is immediately identifiable as a distinctly Swiss product. [1] The importance of language in Swiss hip hop can also create tension, however: Although the members of the Italian-speaking group Stoffunita live in Switzerland and consider it their home, their choice of language combined with their lack of Swiss citizenship earmark them as "Secondo", a term used to indicate people of foreign descent born in Switzerland. [2] Given Switzerland's particularly strong opinions on who is "Swiss" and who is "other", it is easy to see that groups such as Stoffunita make use of the fact that hip hop "is still considered a voice for the oppressed" [3] as hip hop scholar and author Jeff Chang notes.
The European Music Office's report on Music in Europe claimed that Switzerland's hip hop scene is "particularly innovative and advanced", [4] featuring Unik Records (the first European indie rap label).
The four national languages of Switzerland are German, French, Italian, and Romansh. German, French, and Italian maintain equal status as official languages at the national level within the Federal Administration of the Swiss Confederation, while Romansh is used in dealings with people who speak it. Latin is occasionally used in some formal contexts, particularly to denote the country.
French hip hop or French rap, is the hip hop music style developed in French-speaking countries. France is the second largest hip-hop market in the world after the United States.
Italian hip hop is hip hop music rapped in the Italian language and/or made by Italian artists. One of the first hip hop crews to catch the attention of the Italian mainstream was Bologna's Isola Posse All Star, then and still today produced by Sandro Orru, who had written the soundtrack to the animated Signor Rossi TV series Signor Rossi in the 1970s. The European Music Office's report on Music in Europe claimed that in general, hip hop from the south of Italy tends to be harder than that from the north.
Switzerland has long had a distinct cultural identity, despite its diversity of German, French, Italian, Romansh and other ethnicities. Religious and folk music dominated the country until the 17th century, with growth in production of other kinds of music occurring slowly.
Switzerland lies at the crossroads of several major European cultures. Three of the continent's major languages, German, French and Italian, are national languages of Switzerland, along with Romansh, spoken by a small minority. Therefore, Swiss culture is characterized by diversity, which is reflected in a wide range of traditional customs. The 26 cantons also account for the large cultural diversity.
Beat Street is a 1984 American dance drama film featuring New York City hip hop culture of the early 1980s. Set in the South Bronx, the film follows the lives of a pair of brothers and their group of friends, all of whom are devoted to various elements of early hip hop culture, including breakdancing, DJing and graffiti.
Pinoy hip hop or Filipino hip-hop is a style of hip hop music performed by musicians of Filipino descent, especially Filipino-Americans.
Emerging in the first half of the 1980s, Swedish hip hop originated in the cities of Stockholm and Malmö. Early on, most rappers in Sweden performed in English. Funkalics and The Latin Kings, two very different acts united by their innovative use of the Swedish language, debuted a decade later and paved the way for a second, and bigger, breakthrough for Swedish hip hop. Today, some of the most popular rappers use Swedish, often in different accents.
Liricas Analas is a rap crew from the canton of Grisons, G R. Switzerland. Their first album, Analogia, is the first rap album in the Romansh language. Author and anthropologist Pascal Hofmeier notes that in choosing to rap in Romansh, a language spoken by only a few thousand people, yet instantly identifiable as Swiss, Liricas Analas takes the concept of Lokalpatriotismus, which is so prevalent in the Swiss hip-hop scene, to an extreme level. Their 2006 CD, AnalFaBad, contained the chart-topping song "Siemis".
Tanzanian Hip-hop, which is sometimes referred to Bongo Flava by many outside of Tanzania's hip hop community, encompasses a large variety of different sounds, but it is particularly known for heavy synth riffs and an incorporation of Tanzanian pop.
Hustlers HC was an Asian hip hop group based in West London, England. The group formed in 1991, and consisted of three members: two rappers, The Hustler MC and Ski-Man, and DJ Mitts. Hustlers HC were the first Sikh rap crew to come out of the United Kingdom with a strong socio-political message. They did much to bridge religious divides in the Asian community as well as creating much respect for Sikhs in the Rap fraternity. Hustlers HC were also responsible, along with DJ Ritu, for organising and maintaining one of the first and most respected Asian club nights in London, Bombay Jungle at the Wag Club. The trio made their first television appearance on the series Rhythm & Raag in 1992.
Osez was born in Montevideo, he was a member of the rap group "Sens Unik".
Breakdancing or breaking, also called b-boying or b-girling (women), is a style of street dance originated by African Americans and Puerto Ricans in the Bronx.
Sandro Orrù, known as DJ Gruff, Gruffetti or Lowdy N.C.N., is a pioneer of the Italian hip hop scene. Known for his original take on rapping and scratching techniques since 1982. He has been active as a turntablist, DJ, beatmaker, rapper and producer.
Black Tiger, born Urs Baur, is the first rapper to rap in a Swiss German dialect, namely Basel German. Those now legendary rhymes appeared on the track "Murder by Dialect" (1991), by P-27 featuring Black Tiger. According to author Pascale Hofmeier, this decision to rap in a local dialect, or "Mundart", indicated a major shift in thinking in the Swiss hip-hop scene. His rhymes often reflect pride and investment in his home city of Basel, and in Switzerland as a whole. Later, Black Tiger recorded an album with MC Rony and established the group Skeltigeron with Skelt from P27 and MC Rony. He then focused on his solo career, his solo album "Solo" is seen by some as one of the best rap albums from the German-speaking part of Switzerland.
European hip hop refers to hip hop music and culture originating from Europe. Emerging in the 1980s following the genre's popularity in the United States, European hip hop has evolved into a diverse and influential musical movement. It encompasses a wide range of styles and subgenres, reflecting the continent's varied cultural landscapes and the experiences of both ethnic nationals and immigrant communities. Notable regional scenes include British hip hop and grime, German hip hop featuring both ethnic German and Turkish artists, and French hip hop, which has undergone several distinct eras of development. Other countries such as the Netherlands, Italy, Poland, and Romania have also produced significant hip hop scenes, each with its own unique characteristics and prominent artists.
Austrian hip hop is not a genre of hip hop music, but covers all hip hop music from Austria. The majority of Austrian hip hop acts do Underground hip hop, as the big radio stations in Austria have no airtime for native hip hop. The only radio station that does so is FM4, which focuses on alternative music.
Bad Balance is a Russian rap group considered to be one of the first rap acts in USSR. The group maintained a devoted underground following during the 1990s. The group made huge contribution to the hip-hop culture in Russia and ex-USSR countries. SHEFF is often considered as original creator of hip-hop culture in Russia, and for years the leader of Russian old school hip hop.
The German-speaking part of Switzerland comprises about 65 percent of Switzerland.
This article summarizes the events, album releases, and album release dates in hip hop music for the year 1979.
| Culture | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| History | |||||||||||||||
| Subgenres |
| ||||||||||||||
| Fusion genres |
| ||||||||||||||
| Derivatives |
| ||||||||||||||
| Regional scenes |
| ||||||||||||||
| Other topics | |||||||||||||||
