Jan

11

2012

Way Back Wednesday: The Hip-Pop Revolution

Written by Trent | Filed under Aaliyah,Da Brat,Janet Jackson,Mariah Carey,Missy Elliott,Nicki Minaj,Timbaland,TLC,Way Back Wednesday

Long before Beyonce, Nicki Minaj, Rihanna and Drake rose to popularity, there was a group of artists who reformatted the music scene and laid the foundation for the success of almost every Urban act in the industry today. By mixing Pop, R&B and Hip-Hop in new ways, these performers helped to create a special subgenre that changed the landscape of popular culture – Hip-Pop.

From the incredibly random yet exciting ‘Fantasy (Remix)’ collaboration between Mariah Carey and Ol’ Dirty Bastard to the innovative production styles of Missy Elliott and Timbaland, these were artists who opened the door for Hip-Hop to become a permanent fixture on mainstream radio. Indeed, the once despised Hip-Pop sound has become the dominant force in music today.

Check out some of the songs that defined the Hip-Pop Revolution in this special Way Back Wednesday below:

Aaliyah – ‘Are You That Somebody? (Ft. Timbaland)’

Janet Jackson – ‘Someone to Call My Lover (Remix) (Ft. Jermaine Dupri)’

Mariah Carey – ‘Fantasy (Remix) (Ft. Ol Dirty Bastard)’

Mariah Carey – ‘Heartbreaker (Remix) (Ft. Da Brat & Missy Elliott)’

Missy Elliott – ‘Sock It 2 Me (Ft. Da Brat)’

TLC – ‘No Scrubs’

Although rappers and singers have been collaborating since the 1980s, the true development of the Hip-Pop genre occurred in the mid-1990s. The commercialisation of Hip-Hop rapidly increased thanks to the efforts of Diddy – then called Puff Daddy – and many of the other music moguls who foresaw the potential of the music to go far beyond the club scene.

Of course, the track that many critics regarded as the record that gave the Hip-Pop movement its definitive sound was Carey’s ‘Fantasy (Remix)’, which included an unlikely contribution from ODB. Yes, artists such as Mary J. Blige had been working with rappers for years but none of Carey’s predecessors had the Pop appeal, writing skills or musical sensibility that she possessed to have the young girls of middle America singing along to the jarring vocals of ODB.

Carey had experimented with Hip-Hop and New Jack Swing since her debut album – she even rapped two verses on ‘Prisoner’ – but she perfected a previously undeveloped brand of music with ‘Fantasy’. Indeed, TLC’s Left-Eye, Toni Braxton and several other artists have credited Carey has the mastermind behind the sound that Beyonce and Christina Aguilera have used throughout their careers.

Still, it is important to stress the difference between Hip-Pop and Hip-Hop/Soul. Though the lines between the two genres are quite vague, it has always been helpful to put faces to the sounds.

Carey and Elliott represent Hip-Pop – readily played on Top 40/Pop radio because of their use of colourful melodies and radio-friendly productions. Conversely, Blige and Faith Evans are Hip-Hop/Soul – grittier and more niche to the Urban formats. In other words, Hip-Pop is Hip-Hop/Soul’s cuter little sister; the Destiny’s Child to Xscape.

Before we go, enjoy one of the most successful Hip-Pop songs of the last year, Nicki Minaj’s ‘Super Bass’:

Nicki Minaj – ‘Super Bass’

Thoughts?

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Keys: aaliyah, da brat, janet jackson, jermaine dupri, mariah carey, missy elliott, release date, timbaland, tlc, way back wednesday

23 Comments

1. Ni says:

   January 11, 2012 at 6:25 pm

   Loving this Way Back Wed!!! My only wish is that the video of Janet’s Alright with Heavy D (R.I.P.). I may be the only one but the music videos of the 90′s appears much better even more visual and unique then the music videos of today. I like how Trent pull out the The Trinity of Hip Hop (Missy, Brat and Mariah) because they pretty much dominate Hip Pop/ Hip hop/soul in the 90′s. You are correct about the differences of Hip Pop and Hip Hop/Soul because even today’s music reflects how successful Hip Pop is now.
2. DRB says:

   January 11, 2012 at 6:37 pm

   What was the Toni comment?
3. TheMan4u says:

   January 11, 2012 at 6:40 pm

   isn’t the only difference that its pop acts doing what Mary J pretty much already made popular?
4. Juton-San says:

   January 11, 2012 at 6:48 pm

   ‘Super Bass’ is more pop than Hip-Hop to me.
5. Shea Butter says:

   January 11, 2012 at 6:53 pm

   @TheMan4u – Did you read the article?
6. kris says:

   January 11, 2012 at 6:58 pm

   @DRB Toni said Mariah doesn’t get credit for mixing pop and hip hop. She was talking about Fantasy and Heartbreaker on BET during a Mariah special. It’s on youtube
7. IVY says:

   January 11, 2012 at 6:59 pm

   Who cares? These are allllllll has beens! Beyonce came and snatched their wigs! LOL!
8. Bey Stan says:

   January 11, 2012 at 7:47 pm

   Nice post!
9. kingboy says:

   January 11, 2012 at 7:53 pm

   Im just waiting for Trents biographical novel on Mariah Careys :/ im just sayin
10. Me says:

    January 11, 2012 at 8:36 pm

    I guess any group or artist that came out after Mariah was influenced the the writer acts you would think there were no other acts or singers before Mariah that artist were influenced by seems like music as a whole began with mariah
11. Ugh says:

    January 11, 2012 at 8:41 pm

    i remembered when the Mariah carey joint came with ole dirty. Omg that was the shit. it was so different. i instantly loved it
12. Cindy says:

    January 11, 2012 at 9:47 pm

    Yesss! I love this post, Educate dem Trent! Mariah is not credited enough for bringing rnb & rap to the mainstream attention. That remix fantasy is a classic and it set the pace for RnB&Hip-Hop collabos which are still popular today!!
13. theman says:

    January 11, 2012 at 11:02 pm

    Mariah deserves all of the praise that she gets. She did take this genre to a whole different level. As far as Beyonce snatching anything, lol. We’ll leave that alone. Holla back when she has a diamond album, ain’t gonna happen. Holla back when she does something groundbreaking. Ain’t gonna happen.
14. theman says:

    January 12, 2012 at 12:56 am

    yes i read the article thats why i asked the question, how can you credit mariah with something that was being done 4 years prior? didn’t tlc fuse pop/hip hop in 92 or janet jackson with Alright w/ heavy D in 91? salt n pepa/envogue 93?
15. SparkD says:

    January 12, 2012 at 8:31 am

    Trent, you were so off missing on Janet Jackson’s “Alright” with Heavy D.

    Heavy D. also did a feature on Michael Jackson’s song Jam!

    Alright>>>>>
16. Ms Boss says:

    January 12, 2012 at 8:34 am

    @theman you clearly didn’t READ the article because Trent never said Mariah did it first. He said that HOW she did was innovative and she made it POPULAR.
17. TheMan4u says:

    January 12, 2012 at 11:45 am

    so were the other songs not hits or popular?
18. ADC143 says:

    January 12, 2012 at 1:03 pm

    Mariah didn’t do shit. There were pop acts incorporating Hip Hop into their sound LONG before she did it. Hell, while this FAKE BITCH was singing about how she didn’t wanna cry, New Kids on the Block had guest rappers on songs like “Games.”

    Go away from me with that bullshit.
19. Mia says:

    January 13, 2012 at 12:36 pm

    LOFL @ The idea of Mariah being innovative that way, sweetie in the 80′s (you know that decade where Mariah didnt exist) Janet, Whitney & other pop acts were doing the hip hop sound. Have you never heard Janets song Nasty? Or Whitney’s My Name Is Not Susan where she had a rapper? Mariah didnt start shit, she is and always has been a bitch with a voice, no originality there.
20. Kevin says:

    January 13, 2012 at 1:06 pm

    Y’all are fucking IGNORANT.

    FACT: Mariah POPULARIZED the inclusion of HIP-POP.

    OTHERS DID IT BEFORE, BUT NO ONE MADE IT POPULAR.

    I HAVEN’T EVEN HEARD OF “NASTY” OR “MY NAME IS NOT SUSAN.” Others may have INCLUDED hip-hop tendencies, but NOBODY could craft a song that allowed for a Hip-Pop collaboration to become MAINSTREAM.

    From the New Yorker:

    Suddenly, people who would cross the street to avoid listening to hip-hop were bringing rappers into their house, under the cover of Carey. It became standard for R. & B. stars, like Missy Elliott and Beyoncé, to combine melodies with rapped verses. And young white pop stars—including Britney Spears, ’N Sync, and Christina Aguilera—have spent much of the past ten years making pop music that is unmistakably R. & B.

    Read more http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/04/03/060403crmu_music#ixzz1jMJLoHfo

    Fact is, that others were blending hip-hop and other genres, but Mariah was the FIRST to include Hip-Hop and Pop. FACT.
21. Adrian says:

    January 18, 2012 at 3:32 pm

    Yes. Please go back to grammar school because Trent is giving Mariah the credit she deserves. She took that shit to the top of BILLBOARD. It was on MTV,VH1, BET and multiple COUNTRIES went crazy over it. Mariah is the shit so yall really need to come to terms with that.
22. Hot Topic: How Female Rappers Ended Their Own Careers :: The Lava Lizard says:

    January 31, 2012 at 7:21 pm

    [...] By the way, I wrote about the development of the Hip-Pop movement in a previous article so click here to read it while I stroke my own [...]
23. Lord Of The Flies says:

    March 1, 2012 at 11:03 pm

    Salt-N-Pepa, Neneh Cherry, many more. I do have to give Ms. Carey credit for her aggressive business though. She plotted and is largely responsible for this fraud dominating the airwaves in the past few decades. Has some dirty scheme going with just about every company involved in this matter. It took the essence out of Hip Hop, the soul out of music, spit hatred against everything it touched and cost the industry half of its income, but it made millionaires out of two-bit hustlers. I’m sure there’s more to come.