(VOVWORLD) - In the US, hip-hop has taken over youth culture. Young kids, from the time they learn to speak, are influenced by hip-hop culture whether they listen to music or not. In this week’s “Cultural Rendezvous” we’ll hear from American hip-hop artists Adrienne Mack-Davis and DJ Julian Heughan, who last year brought hip-hop music to the Bridgefest 2023 Music and Community Engagement Festival in Hue city.
 Photo: Bridgefest 2023 |
Hip-hop music, pioneered by African-American and Hispanic youth in New York’s South Bronx in the 1970s, quickly caught on across the US and eventually around the world.
The genre encompasses music, dance, and fashion and its influence is being felt throughout society. How and why does hip-hop have such a widespread influence? Adrienne Mack-Davis, a singer/songwriter from Rochester, New York, has suggested one reason, “The beautiful thing about hip-hop, right, is it goes with any kind of music.”
You hear country elements in hip-hop, you hear blues elements in hip -hop, classical elements, right, R&B and soul elements. Same thing kind of in EDM music, you know, said Adrienne.
She concluded, “It crosses many different genres and many different kinds of styles and that's why everybody can find a voice in hip-hop.”
Adrienne says hip-hop can change your mood because it can take you to a different place.
“Hip-hop allows room for a bit more individual interpretation and unique self-expression. It is less strict, yes, but even more importantly the notion of being yourself isn't just an idea to ponder. It is an absolute requirement in order to flourish in this style. The combination of the two is what has ultimately created my unique approach to music and the cultivation of my own unique sound.”
 Photo: Bridgefest 2023 |
Meanwhile, DJ Julian Heughan, aka 32 french, a musician from New Port, says that for him, hip-hop can be felt in the way we dress, how we eat, our slang, and phrases that are “lit”.
32french said the most important thing is hip-hop isn't a stagnant thing. It changes and evolves with time, much like all music does.
“You know, country music, yesterday, 50 years ago, it was not country music today. I'm sure Vietnamese music 50 years ago was much different than it is today, right? So hip-hop, as a culture, it changes with the culture, it changes with the times, it changes with the eras.… It's a vibe, but it does evolve and change over time,” the DJ said.
Hip-hop lends itself to the underdog and has the ability to inspire people to show up as the best version of themselves, despite injustice, inequality, and the very real expressions of hate in the world, said Adrienne who, for over a decade, has traveled the world performing over 1,200 live shows and has participated in dozens of international workshops on entrepreneurship, empowering women, and fighting human trafficking.
She told VOV, “Self-empowerment plays a huge role in the music-making process, and it is why I and so many others have been able to develop not only creatively, but also spiritually and emotionally through the ups and downs of real life.”
According to Adrienne, the spreading of love, positivity, and self-confidence through hip-hop is a message that has always been at the center of the genre, but since the mid to late 90s, the exploitation and bastardization of a particular sect of the genre has unfortunately affected its overall standing in the world.
“Though this is the harsh reality, it does not change the fact that the majority of hip-hop artists are not what you see depicted in the movies and on TV in today's popular culture. The truth is that hip-hop provides us all the unique opportunity to look at ourselves in a way that can be best supported in dealing with ourselves,” Adrienne concluded.
Hip-hop offers people space for deeper self-reflection, self-development, and maturity, says 32french, whose music is inspired by video games, classic anime, wrestling, martial arts, and hip-hop.
“It's a beautiful expression of words and sound. It's so easy to do yet so complicated as well. You know what I mean? It could be as simple as boom clap, but it could be as intricate as a drum machine and a keyboard and a sampler and all that,” said 32french, adding, “As I'm coming from a beat side of things. I don't think about words as much. Words have power. And then the beat behind those words can also have power as well.”
 Adrienne performs at the workshop in Hanoi (Photo: Bao Tram) |
Although there has been a long, ongoing debate about whether hip-hop is a negative or positive influence, Adrienne says conscious hip-hop has changed.
“I mean I have always thought of myself as a more conscious rapper because I want to stay present in my life and I want to talk about the issues that affect me. I think that even though it's my own personal experience, everybody, every human, is very similar. Even though we're different, there's a lot of the same-same in terms of what we're all faced with,” said Adrienne.
Adrienne said at a recent workshop called "The Power of Music: Spreading love, positivity, and self-confidence through Hip-hop", held by the US Embassy in Vietnam, that it’s the music that helps her feel more confident traveling and experiencing different cultures abroad, and allowing her music to have much joy. That's her way to spread love and positivity to everyone.