Funk Disco Hip Hop

Several musical styles converged to produce contemporary 'RnB' music


Funk + Disco + Hip Hop


Isaac Hayes made a very influential Funk recording in 1971.


'Theme from Shaft' written for the movie 'Shaft' won a 'Best Soundtrack Oscar. This was the first Oscar awarded to a black composer.









Stevie Wonder made another influential recording in 1972 


Superstition was dominated by a funky electric piano ostinato recorded using a guitar wah wah pedal.

The drum groove (played by Wonder) was  the drum pattern that would dominate Disco in the latter 70's.



The Bee Gees were white artists inspired by the slick production of the soul records made in Philadelphia. They called their music 'blue eyed soul'.

This record that would help define the 'disco'genre has the same rhythmic pulse as 'Superstition'

 


Disco was born in the nightclubs of New York city.


Live music venues were being replaced by 'discotheques' in which DJ's spun records often cross mixing tracks with similar BPM.


Popular dance floor tracks were then released on 12 " records with extended rhythmic breakdowns'









A classic disco track might have some of these ingredients:

1 BPM 100 110 120

2 'Four to the floor' - kick drum crotchets

3 Strong hi-hat rhythms

4 Syncopated Hi-Hat pedal 'shhhips' on the off-beat

5 A strong bass ostinato. 

6 Staccato rhythmic guitar riffs. 

7 'wah wah' EQ filter sweep effects.

8 Textured vocal harmony with Baritone & Falsetto



Even established rock & punk artists felt the need to record songs with a disco feel.

This Rolling Stones Disco inspired song revived their 1970's career:











HIP HOP




 In the late 1970's those with  money went to glamourous discotheques in Manhattan New York.

Across the river in the Bronx district poor young teenagers were also mixing together records. However these DJ's would only use the instrumental 'breaks'.

An MC would then rap over the break.

The most famous example used a sample from 'Good Times' by Chic

Salt n Pepa were one of the first female Hip Hop artists.


This song challenged the macho/sexist male persona of some Hip Hop artists: