Hip hop is more than a genre: it’s a cultural movement sweeping up music, poetry, dance, art, fashion, and political philosophy. A lot of people use rap and hip-hop synonymously, but strictly speaking hip-hop is a cultural movement (including music), whereas rap is a specific musical technique often employed in hip-hop music. According to hip-hop pioneer Afrika Bambaata, there are four pillars of ... »
Driving, intense, energetic, and almost always loud, rock music was the most popular form of music for decades before hip-hop went mainstream. Dominating the airwaves for nearly 50 years, rock spawned dozens of sub-genres – everything from intricate, lyrical folk-rock to the most brutal forms of extreme death metal. It’s played in small bars and sold-out arenas, garages and concert halls, and has ... »
What is R&B? R&B stands for “Rhythm & Blues”. It’s a loosely-defined genre of music, and can refer to a number of different genres that are musically very different from each other. All of these artists have at one time or another been referred to as “R&B”: Stevie Wonder, the Rolling Stones, Mariah Carey, Prince, the O’Jays, the Weeknd. That covers a huge range of musical styles! S... »
Jazz is a diverse genre encompassing a huge variety of styles. Of all the genres of popular music, jazz is the most musically complex, and it has a reputation for being hard to follow, especially for people accustomed to more musically straightforward pop music. Jazz was born in dance clubs and now is performed in symphony halls. It was invented by people on the margins of society and is now studi... »
The blues is the trickster of musical genres. It’s a joyful, exuberant music full of upbeat rhythms and playful humor – but it’s also a deeply sad music that deals with suffering and loneliness. It’s a music of dance halls and wooden porches, open fields and grimy factories, the city and the country, the North and the South. The blues captures something deeply familiar, yet impossible to describe.... »