Can't Stop Won't Stop (Young Adult Edition): A Hip-Hop History

Tupac Shakur is one of the most prolific hip-hop artists of all time. Born to Black Panther leader Afeni Shakur in East Harlem in 1971, Tupac grew up in the heart of the hip-hop culture. As an adolescent, Tupac experienced the worst of Reagan economics and was forced into what he called thug life to support his sister. He was offered a leadership position with the new Black Panthers but turned it down for a chance at recording music with Digital Underground, which led to a deal with Interscope Records and the start of his official music career in 1990. Tupac released his first single, “Trapped,” in September of 1990. At the same time, Tupac found himself mixed up in his first public lawsuit after experiencing abuse by police in Oakland. The police department settled, and Tupac was very outspoken about how he had never had a police record until he became a hip-hop artist—as if he was being targeted specifically for that reason.

Tupac began acting in movies as well and released an album and movie called 2Pacalypse Now. As his success grew, Tupac was determined to stay real and true to his roots. He was politically honest about the challenges Black people in America face and the blatant racism that exists within the country. Tupac became friends with the Notorious B.I.G. after hearing Biggie’s first single, and he advised Biggie on how to develop his career. In 1995, when Tupac was on his way to a recording studio where Puff Daddy and Biggie were also recording on the floor above, Tupac was shot in the lobby during a robbery. Although he survived, Tupac accused Biggie of being involved. An East Coast-West Coast feud began in which Tupac and Biggie represented the separate factions. This culminated in the death of Tupac after a Mike Tyson fight on September 13, 1996. Biggie was again accused, and a revenge shooting resulted in Biggie’s death six months later. Tupac’s musical legacy continues to inspire rap artists today. In many ways, Tupac’s story of hip-hop as a way to rise out of violence represents the lives of many Black people in America today. 

Charles “Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace, or Biggie for short, is considered to be one of the foremost hip-hop artists of all time. He was born in 1972 in Brooklyn and grew up with the early hip-hop scene that arose in New York. Biggie started MCing as a teenager and became involved in gang life in his late teens. When he was arrested, he grew tired of the lifestyle and decided to give rap a real shot. Puff Daddy heard his demo tape and signed him to Uptown Records. Biggie released his pioneering album Ready to Die in 1994 to critical acclaim.

After Tupac was killed in 1996, accusations arose that Biggie was partially responsible or at least knew in advance about the shooting. Suspicions grew after his album Life After Death seemed to speak about Tupac’s death. He and Tupac had become entangled in an East Coast-West Coast hip-hop feud after being long-time friends. After the Soul Train Awards in 1997, Biggie was shot and killed through the window of the car where he was a passenger, the same way Tupac was killed six months before. Biggie came into the hip-hop spotlight during a time when the West Coast was ruling rap and East Coast rap had fallen below the radar. He brought East Coast rap back into the mainstream and inspired many artists who came after him. After Biggie died, a conference was held in which hip-hop artists agreed to end the coastal feud.

Afrika Bambaataa was a pioneer DJ and block party host in the birthplace of hip-hop, South Bronx, New York. He was one of the first people to ever utilize breakbeat in DJing and the first to combine electronica and hip-hop together as one with his album Planet Rock. With that album, Bambaataa hoped to unite the world through music. In the Bronx in the 1970s, over 100 gangs formed as youth unemployment rose to unprecedented levels after half of the neighborhood was cleared for a highway with no regard for the community and people residing there. The youth of the Bronx needed an outlet that would take them out of the gang violence and destruction they experienced on a daily basis as well as a way to express their anger and their experiences. Hip-hop served as that outlet. The Black Panthers, James Brown, and the youth around him served as Bambaataa’s inspiration to begin hosting block parties. As a member of the Black Spades, Bambaataa knew firsthand what people of his generation needed. He created the organization The Zulu Nation and took hip-hop around the world. Bambaataa was also responsible for defining hip-hop as being composed of the elements DJing, MCing, b-boying/b-girling, and graffiti. His block parties were the scene of all four.

Run-DMC was pivotal in bringing hip-hop to mainstream audiences and making it approachable to the masses. “In 1984, the biggest rap crew was a trio from Queens—Joseph ‘Run’ Simmons, Darryl ‘DMC’ McDaniels, and Jason ‘Jam Master Jay’ Mizell” (79). They formed the crew Run-DMC and became the first unmanufactured hip-hop crew to have a rap music video, “Rock Box,” aired on MTV. They collaborated with Aerosmith for “Walk This Way,” bridging the gap between rock and hip-hop, between Black and white. Ultimately, Run-DMC was instrumental in “desegregating American culture” (83) and inspired youth with their music. At the same time, Run-DMC was outspoken about politics, racial discrimination, and economic oppression. At one of their shows in Long Beach, a riot broke out, leading to full-scale discrimination against hip-hop artists and future concerts. Many venues cancelled shows, and many more increased security specifically for hip-hop events. This biased treatment of Black culture “was an ominous sign of things to come—not just for rap fans, but for young people all across the country” (87).

Public Enemy is a hip-hop crew that formed in 1985 under Def Jam Recordings in Long Island, New York. Its two main members are Chuck D and Flavor Flav, and many others have joined and left over the years. Public Enemy arose as a response to the systemic oppression and police brutality occurring in New York and across the United States during Reagan’s presidency. Public Enemy experienced massive success and was one of the first major hip-hop crews to do regular world tours, helping bring hip-hop to the world stage. Public Enemy has been at the forefront of political movements since their inception. They named themselves after the feeling that Black people are considered the enemy of the public, and they aim to spread political awareness and activism. Public Enemy was one of the first hip-hop groups to go global, which aided in the growth of hip-hop as a culture and musical genre.

Ice Cube began as a member of C.I.A. and hosted parties with Dr. Dre. They later formed NWA, and Ice Cube became one of the most controversial rap artists. Dr. Dre and Eazy-E were also original members of the crew. The crew helped bring West Coast rap into the forefront of hip-hop culture and faced criticism for their often misogynistic and violent lyrics. Ice Cube penned the lyrics for NWA’s album Straight Outta Compton in 1998, which led to the proliferation of gangsta rap—although Ice Cube and NWA do not agree with that term. Ice Cube had a philosophy of honesty and brutality in his lyrics, as he was trying to represent the brutal life of Black people in America as openly as possible. He did not agree with the idea of sugar-coating such extreme circumstances. Ice Cube’s album Death Certificate was banned from many radio stations record stores; “no hip-hop album had ever been as controversial as Death Certificate” (141). Despite the controversy, Ice Cube experienced critical and commercial success. Ice Cube acted in the hip-hop film, Boyz N the Hood in 1991 as well as many other films. Ice Cube was involved in the East Coast-West Coast feud in the 1990s and attended the summit held by Snoop Dogg in 2005 to put an end to the feud and take hip-hop in a new, non-violent direction.

Eminem is the top-selling hip-hop artist of all time. He released his first EP, The Slim Shady EP, in 1998. The multisyllabic rhymes he spun impressed Dr. Dre, who produced Eminem’s first full album, The Slim Shady LP. Eminem grew up in Detroit’s lower east side, largely surrounded by Black people and hip-hop culture; “his success in hip-hop had a lot to do with the fact that he grew up in primarily Black neighborhoods with Black friends and mentors” (249). He worked his way out of poverty slowly and rose to the top of hip-hop fame by the 2000s. Eminem experienced a great deal of criticism for being a white rapper, which he at first rebuffed. However, as time went on, Eminem became humbler and realized his ultimate lack of understanding for what Black people go through and what he owes to them for his own career. Eminem brought hip-hop to new levels of sales and universality and made it more accessible and appealing to white people; this had positive and negative consequences.

Rodney King was the victim of police brutality in Los Angeles on March 3, 1991. The incident was filmed by onlookers and broadcast across the nation. For the first time, Americans were clearly seeing the level of police brutality taking place, and there was no way to argue or deny it. King survived the incident but was badly injured. The next year on April 29, 1992, three of the four officers involved in the beating were acquitted of all charges, sparking outrage in the Black community; “in the case of Rodney King, as in so many other cases of police brutality against African Americans, there would be no justice” (146). Riots broke out in Los Angeles in protest of police brutality and an inadequate justice system. King spoke out against the riots, asking for everyone to get along. Rodney King represented a much larger problem that has been present in America since time of slavery: Black people are brutalized and treated as lesser by white people in power.

Jeff Chang is the co-author of Can’t Stop Won’t Stop and the subsequent Can’t Stop Won’t Stop Young Adult Edition. He is also a historian, music critic, and journalist. Jeff Chang was inspired by the political movements taking place in Los Angeles during the early 90s, particularly at the University of California, Berkeley. He co-founded the record label Solesides under his hip-hop name DJ Zen and produced several renowned hip-hop acts out of the San Francisco Bay Area, where he met David Cook and still resides today. Jeff Chang interviewed several hip-hop artists, political activists, graffiti artists, and gang members and conducted extensive research to write his account of the history of hip-hop.