allAfrica.com
1 October 2007
Hip hop, which started as a music and a culture in New York in the 1970s, was a product of inner city life and has historically been the voice of the Black inner city youth. But it has deep Jamaican and African roots, which can be seen in the rawness of its beats and the rhythm of its lyrics.
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The success and visibility of the older bands -- in the days before Youtube, MySpace, MP3s, streaming and the partial democratization of technology -- was dependent on television exposure, radio spins, fanatical local followings, mainstream breakthroughts or international recognition. They often got plenty of attention (and got paid), but often struggled to be artists in their own right.
The new artists and bands may want all of that, but could care less. They can make music, despite and at the expense of record labels, commercial (and what's left of community radio) or mainstream acceptance. For one, technology has changed. They're all over Youtube, MySpace, Mp3 -- some put all their music online for downloading, while others sell online to fans.
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