African American Art Tradition

Listen to the following songs, “Jesse” by Grandmaster Melle Mel and “Push It” by Salt-n-Pepa, that employ various aspects of African American art traditions. Answer the following topics:

1. Identify at least one African American art tradition that is used in each song listed.
2. Explain how the art tradition that you identified influenced rap and hip hop during this time period (1980’s).
3. Correlate the concepts that you identify and discuss in points #1 and #2 to the early innovators of hip hop, such as Grandmaster Flash, DJ Kool Herc, etc.

Separate question: How were women positioned in hip hop during the early days of the “old school”? Reference Chapter 4 attached