“Introduction to Hip Hop” Series Part I of III—The Roots (origin, not the group)

A few weeks ago I went to The Grammy Museum at LA Live and absolutely loved it. I loved it so much that I became a member and started to check out all the events and programs the museum offers. On the list of available programs, the museum’s “Introduction to Hip-Hop” series caught my eye. The free event is a three part class led by cultural and music historian Bob Santelli (right). Santelli is the former vice president of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum and now is the executive director of the Grammy Museum. With experience as an author, music journalist, and music historian (primarily in African American music) Santelli has a profound understanding of the music world and specifically the hip hop industry.

For this series, Santelli divided the classes into three parts: the roots, the golden era, and gangsta rap to today. Within the first class (audio below), the roots, Santelli explained the unique attributes of hip hop as a cultural movement with its inclusion of trends, fashion, colloquialism, and emotion—all things that genres such as rock and roll or pop do not fully contain. Santelli describes hip hop as “astonishing” and states that “there is no comparison anywhere on the planet as to the amount of music that was created, the number of new music forms that were created, the brilliant artists that come of age, and the overall impact it makes…on the entire world” . To substantiate this idea, Santelli takes the audience though the hip hop world starting with with the first hip hop record “Rappers Delight” by Sugar Hill Gang (1973) in Bronx, New York. Not to disregard the world of Motown, soul, or funk music of the 1960s, Santelli and historians alike note the introduction of “Rappers Delight” as the point in time where hip hop landed on the map. Starting with the Sugar Hill Gang to discussing the epicenters of hip hop and continuing to the innovative style brought by Jamaican Clive Campbell (aka DJ Kool Herc) the first night gave a detailed introduction of how hip hop started and highlights the immediate fathers.

What makes the series a hit is that it is not the type of class where the teacher speaks until he turns blue. Instead it’s an interactive class where the audience can interject with questions and comments, where videos and tracks play alongside the dialogue, and where the subject matter is presented in order for the audience to create their own judgments. Contrary to the ordinary, this class offers a great platform for discussion to give listeners a better understanding of the essence of hip hop, the innovators of the genre, and the music that gave us a majority of what we have today. It’s the type of event to go to if you feel you know everything, need to know a bit more, or know absolutely nothing about hip hop. If you fall into one of those categories, you definitely need to sync it to your Outlook calendar. The last class is Tuesday, April 12, 2011; 7:30pm, RSVP with programs@grammymuseum.org or 213.765.6800 to get on the list.

Santelli’s Innovators to Know

1.        Gil Scott Heron
2.       The Last Poets
3.       Marvin Gay
4.       Grand Wizard Theodore
5.       Grand Master Flash

Santelli’s Tracks to Check

1.        “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” by Gil Scott Herrin
2.       “When the Revolution Comes” by The Last Poets
3.       “What’s Going On?” by Marvin Gaye
4.       “Disco Inferno” by The Trammps
5.       “Saturday Night Fever” by The Bee Gees
6.       “Love Train” by The O’Jays
7.       “Rappers Delight” by Sugar Hill Gang

Turn Up the Volume!

If you weren’t able to attend, you can listen to the audio of the entire class below.