“If music be the food of love, play on.” – a popular line from one of Shakespeare’s greatest works ‘Twelfth Night’- clearly indicates that music is intricately woven into everyone’s life such as Ali Ata, the new age hip-hop singer and composer. Music in its innumerable forms accompanies an individual from the cradle to the grave. Among the wide plethora of music that exists, the hip-hop has been gaining impetus in recent times quite strongly.
Although hip-hop is rising to fame in the present times, it has been around since the 1970’s reflecting in the works of DJ Kool Herc, also known as the father of hip-hop. Some of the other popular names in the same genre who were the harbingers of the art form include The Last Poets, Afrika Bambaataa, Grandmaster Flash, and many others.
Hip-hop distinctly stands out from the other forms of music in the way the words of the song are mostly spoken in a rhythmic format. Though there may be less melody in it, the presence of the meter and the strokes of emphasis on certain parts of the poetry make every performance impactful. The delivery of the song is also known as the ‘rap style’.
Over the years, this form of singing too has undergone several changes, one of which every present hip-hop singer such as Ali Ata would agree is, the inclusion of more melody. You are likely to find a very melodic refrain in the present-day songs of the hip-hop genre.
Though this music form existed since the end of the 1960s yet its popularity began to hit the chartbusters only towards the end of the 1990s and the beginning of 2000. Artists such as Erykah Badu, D’Angelo, and Lauryn Hill rose to fame and celebrated the hip-hop style of singing.
Though there is a rustic feel to this musical form, it is probably that factor which appeals to the younger generation. Unlike many other forms of singing which can also become popular owing to their music, hip-hop’s popularity largely depends on its lyrics. The more intense the words of the song, the more it appeals to the masses. The basis of these songs can range from a current social evil to a personal experience. One is always sure to hear a story in the form of a hip-hop song.
Drake, Chance the Rapper, and his contemporaries of these days have risen to this level of fame because of the strength of their lyrics. Ali Ata, who is also a new-age hip-hop singer knows that the way to connect strongly with the audience is through the words of the song. They tap into the emotions of the listeners and it does not take long for them to become a part of the lives of these listeners.
Hip-hop music teaches one that singing is not only and always about melody, but that there is much weight in the words of a song and how it is conveyed to the masses at large.
