THE EVOLUTION OF HIP HOP CULTURE. . .”TRAP MUSIC”

Sipho Ramaru

Just like everything else in life. . .Hip Hop will also evolve, especially now as a genre that’s starting to be dominated by new skool cats, whom are also known as cool kids.

Well it isn’t necessarily a bad thing it’s just that with some people, it takes time to acclimatize to modification of any form…I’m one of them!

Old skool rap will always be the closest to my heart and be an instrument of education in a way as back in the day, it was more about lyrical skills and dropping knowledge.

Now it has changed to more of a platform for hommies to brag about swag, hitting girls, blowing money and popping bottles.

I’m not the one to judge though, we now live in an era where one can express themselves through channels they are comfortable with and however way works best for them. Even back then, you would find rappers that used to rap about such things but then there was more of conscious and underground rap than today’s popular “Trap Music”.

Trap Music is a genre that originated back in the early 1990s in the States…Where almost everything starts. This is that one genre that is epitomized by its aggressive lyrical content and sound. It is your typical 808 kick, heavy bass lines and hi hats and cinematic stings.

Rappers and groups like Bobby Shmurda (for now things don’t look too good for the hommie), Young Thug, Migos and Rae Sremmurd just to name drop a few….are growing the Trap music culture and definitely raising that flag up high! Again, I’m not the one to judge, times have changed. This genre has the youngsters bobbing their heads whenever they hear that kick and snare drops! It has its target market and people who love and can relate. Because at the end of the day…That’s what matters.

Just like in our local scene…We have our very own rappers, originating their own genres within the Hip Hop fraternity.

The first I remember is Zulu-Boy with Skhandi-Hop, a mixture of Maskhandi music and Hip Hop, then the likes of KO came with Skhanda-Rap, which is classified as Hip Hop mixed with your classic old Pantsula culture.

And you now have your BOYZNBUCKZ with Umswenko and other very cool stuff…It’s all about moving and keeping up with the times and keeping it fresh! Trend-setting is what it’s all about.

Old skool lovers aren’t necessarily captivated by this genre and these innovative approaches but one needs to understand that just like everything else, there will always be changes, expansions and progression.

Yeah every music lover had a stereo-cassette back in the 1990s and it was the coolest invention because it was portable and was convenient to travel with. You could bump your favorite music in a cab or wherever you were, but you had to have a collection of your cassettes with you…and now things have changed and other great inventions took place and people are now rocking music from their ipods and smartphones without carrying cassettes with them. We cannot avoid modifications and modernizations…They will always be there.