I was recently at a gaming party/event with a dance floor and a DJ. The DJ pretty much played rap and hip hop all night, and I presume that he probably knows a lot more about the genre than me (someone who listened to rap in the 90's and early 2000's but has since tuned out).
At some point late in the evening the DJ gets on the mike and asks "Who here likes old school hip hop?" Everybody in the crowd yells, squeals, and whoops enthusiastically. The DJ says something like, "Alright then, here's some old school comin' at ya." He then proceeds to play Ruff Ryders' Anthem by DMX. And then follows it up with Hypnotize by Notorious BIG. Huh?
I was expecting some music that was at least from the 80's. Stylistically, DMX and Biggie don't even seem that far removed from the rap that gets released today.
Wikipedia defines old school hip hop pretty rigidly as music that was recorded and released between 1979 and 1983.
At the same time, the signature tracks from DMX and BIG are nearly 20 years old at this point. Most people in the young-ish crowd probably remember them as tunes from long before they started seriously listening to music. To them those songs evoke a sense of nostalgia and times long past.
Amongst serious hip hop enthusiasts, is "old school" a moving target? Does it basically refer to anything that's old relative to current day? Will Kendrick Lamar be considered "old school" two decades from now? Or should the term "old school" be restricted only to artists and groups that were a part of the 80's rap heyday?
I suppose you see a similar issue with rock n' roll, where sooner or later Led Zeppelin is going to become an "Oldie" and Nirvana will become "Classic Rock".
At some point late in the evening the DJ gets on the mike and asks "Who here likes old school hip hop?" Everybody in the crowd yells, squeals, and whoops enthusiastically. The DJ says something like, "Alright then, here's some old school comin' at ya." He then proceeds to play Ruff Ryders' Anthem by DMX. And then follows it up with Hypnotize by Notorious BIG. Huh?
I was expecting some music that was at least from the 80's. Stylistically, DMX and Biggie don't even seem that far removed from the rap that gets released today.
Wikipedia defines old school hip hop pretty rigidly as music that was recorded and released between 1979 and 1983.
At the same time, the signature tracks from DMX and BIG are nearly 20 years old at this point. Most people in the young-ish crowd probably remember them as tunes from long before they started seriously listening to music. To them those songs evoke a sense of nostalgia and times long past.
Amongst serious hip hop enthusiasts, is "old school" a moving target? Does it basically refer to anything that's old relative to current day? Will Kendrick Lamar be considered "old school" two decades from now? Or should the term "old school" be restricted only to artists and groups that were a part of the 80's rap heyday?
I suppose you see a similar issue with rock n' roll, where sooner or later Led Zeppelin is going to become an "Oldie" and Nirvana will become "Classic Rock".
