Are you planning to hire hip hop artists for your party, birthday or festival? Is everything already arranged for your wedding in a few months, except for the entertainment for the big party after dinner? Is your eldest son's birthday coming soon and would you like to surprise him with something special on his big day? Or are you part of the committee that is responsible for the organization of the summer office party this year and are you still not quite sure about music? You may have already considered it yourself, but it might be a great idea to book a hip hop party.
What Evenses can do for you
Especially for people who have never booked a hip-hop act or party before, such a booking can seem a bit complicated. However, it is not, but it is generally smart to call in the help of a party that has experience with such bookings. At Evenses, we have arranged countless bookings for a wide variety of hip-hop acts and parties in recent years, and we are happy to use that experience to help you find and book the hip-hop act that perfectly suits your ideas. Not only can we help you explore the options available, but also help you finish your event. For more on hip hop, see below.
The evolution of hip hop
Hip hop is not only a music genre, but for many people also a way of life, a lifestyle. The genre began to gain popularity in the 1970s, particularly among African-American youth in the Bronx, a then-deprived New York City neighbourhood. The popularity of the music grew not because it was played on the radio, as was the case for much music at the time, but thanks to the so-called block parties.
It is at these block parties that DJs started to mix music, often by connecting the breaks of two copies of the same song together using two turntables. These were the first hip-hop DJs, and thanks to the rapid development of musical equipment and mixing techniques, their work became more famous at a rapid pace. It is also during this period that rapping began to gain fame and popularity. Artists like Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Marley Marl, and Doug E. Fresh were some of the big names of the time.
However, it would take until 1979 before a hip hop record first became popular with the mainstream audience. The first bar of this song, Rapper's Delight by The Sugarhill Gang, is also where the hip-hop genre got its name from. It was also from this moment that hip-hop began to develop outside the United States, where the genre had mostly remained until then. Hip-Hop spread to the UK mainly from Jamaican immigrants.
The eighties and early nineties are also referred to as the Golden Years of hip-hop. A new wave of hip-hop artists, hip-hop songs, and hip-hop movements has been dubbed new school hip-hop. Famous names like LL Cool J, Public Enemy, and A Tribe Called Quest dominated the hip-hop world at the time. At the same time, serious sub-genres of hip-hop began to emerge, including gangsta rap, represented by artists such as Ice Cube and NWA, West Coast hip-hop, with big names like Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, and hardcore rap from rappers like Mobb Deep and Wu-Tang Clan.
Hip-hop's development as a music genre and culture continued into the 1990s, after the 1980s had been a turning point. Hip hop had now become a mainstream genre. Meanwhile, the music continued to diversify and split into new genres, including sub-genres such as Southern rap and Atlanta hip-hop. Hip hop also began to be mixed with other genres of music, in many cases with great success. Good examples of this are singers Lauryn Hill and Erykah Badu in neo soul, and Korn and Limp Bizkit in nu metal.
By the late 1990s, hip-hop was one of the best-selling genres, and at the very beginning of the 2000s, hip-hop started to gain a place in pop music as well. While sales of "old school" hip hop fell, crossover artists like Outkast and Kanye West began to make a name for themselves as pop artists. Decades later, more commercial rappers like Lil Wayne, Soulja Boy, and BoB would also become very popular. These artists paved the way for some of the most famous crossover artists in pop music, such as Nicki Minaj, Drake, and Kendrick Lamar. UK Hip Hop, also called UK rap, is categorised as a style of urban music. Popular British hip hop artists are Skepta, Stormzy and Dizzee Rascal.
Hip hop artists at your birthday party, celebration or festival!
Book a Dutch or British top hip hop artist? We are always here to advise you on which hip hop artist would be the best match for your party. We offer hip hop solo artists, who can provide you with a solo performance like Lady Bee or DJ Dyna. Or perhaps a hip hop band. We have various bands that offer this type of performance. You can request a quote with us which lists all total costs. Evenses offer an all-inclusive price, so you don’t end up with unexpected costs.
View our entire range of well-known urban artists here.