Yo yo yo Hip Hop History community! We’re still in the time machine, but we’re getting closer to the present, closer to that half century. The maximalist/backpacker/regional/hip hop takes over the cultural landscape of the late 1990s through the beginning … Continue reading 30 Day National Hip Hop History Month Challenge Day 20: I don’t dance now, I make money moves

Greetings, Hip Hop History Month time travelers! HP back again to give space today to the 2000s. I think about this decade as the victory lap for hip-hop: over the 30ish years of its existence the music continued to push … Continue reading 30 Day National Hip Hop History Month Challenge Day 19: We gonna make it

What’s good, Hip Hop History Month community! One fascinating thing has become very clear very quickly as we work our way through the chronological decades of hip hop history: the development of the genre is far, far from linear. And … Continue reading 30 Day National Hip Hop History Month Challenge Day 18: Cash Rules Everything Around Me

Happy Friday, Hip Hop History community: HP here to keep the time travel going today-it’s 80s day! While the 1970s were a foundational era in which many of the foundations of hip hop culture and music were being formed using … Continue reading 30 Day National Hip Hop History Month Challenge Day 17: Rock the bells

Yo, Hip Hop History Month community! Let’s get to it and address the ‘History’ part of this challenge. We’re gonna start with the 70s today. Back in August, plenty of us here at the Avocado came together for a block … Continue reading 30 Day National Hip Hop History Month Challenge Day 16: Rapper’s Delight

Aww yeah, again and again! Here we are, halfway through the month- we’ve had bars, we’ve had samples, we’ve had DJs, we’ve introduced each other to hip hop, we took a trip around the world, and hopefully we’ve heard some … Continue reading 30 Day National Hip Hop History Month Challenge Day 15: It was a clear black night, a clear white moon

What’s good, Hip Hop History community: HP here with a hefty challenge today! Back when hip-hop was in its infancy, it wasn’t about the MC, but the DJ. They were the crate diggers, the beat makers, the innovators- unmatched on … Continue reading 30 Day National Hip Hop History Month Challenge Day 14:Endtroducing..

Hey there! So here it is, Monday- a new week, new challenges, new convos, new discoveries, etc. Let’s go ahead and get this part over with- of COURSE Sean ‘Puff Daddy/P Diddy/w/e’ Combs did not invent the remix! Did he … Continue reading 30 Day National Hip Hop History Month Challenge Day 13: You’re all I need to get by

Hello, Hip Hip History Month readers/contributors/community members/interested lurkers! A dozen days, a dozen and more ways to pay tribute to a cultural force that has shaped popular culture around the world for half a damn century! In a way, today … Continue reading 30 Day National Hip Hop History Month Challenge Day 12: Who but us, to supply ya with the fire

Good morning, good afternoon, happy weekend, etc! HP in the building, sipping coffee and thinking about another element of hip hop music that is integral to our enjoyment of the genre, to the culture, and to the artistry of the … Continue reading 30 Day National Hip Hop History Month Challenge Day 11: La-di-da-di, we like to party

Here we are, Hip Hop fans, neophytes, and everyone in between- Day 10! I hope you all have been as excited and moved as I’ve been at this challenge thus far. Big up to everyone reading, everyone posting, and everyone … Continue reading 30 Day National Hip Hop History Month Challenge Day 10: I let my tape rock ’til my tape popped