Best of hip house Songs

Hip House: Where House Met Hip-Hop (and Got Weird)

Hip house, the bastard child of house music and hip-hop, was born in the late 80s, a time when DJs were experimenting with anything they could get their hands on. Imagine a world where breakbeats met booming basslines, and samples of Run-DMC bumped against the smooth melodies of Chicago house. That, in essence, is hip house.

It was an unlikely pairing, yet it ignited the dance floors of the world, with artists like Boogie Down Productions, The Bomb Squad, and DJ Kool Herc leading the charge. They mashed up the raw energy of hip-hop with the infectious grooves of house, creating a sound that was both familiar and revolutionary.

Here are some fun facts about the hip-house scene:

The “Hip House” label: Though seemingly obvious, the term “hip house” was coined by DJ Pierre, a key figure in Chicago’s house scene. Before that, the music was simply known as “house with a rap vocal.” Talk about a catchy name, eh?
The king of the samples: One of the most famous hip-house tracks, “The Horn Song” by The Bomb Squad, featured a sampled horn riff from “The Message” by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, one of the most iconic hip-hop songs of all time. It’s like the ultimate crossover moment, paying homage to the pioneers while pushing the boundaries of music.
A “weird” evolution: Hip house quickly branched out, leading to subgenres like “techno house” and “jungle,” which experimented with even more breakbeats, samples, and sonic experimentation. It was a time when DJs were throwing anything and everything into the mix, creating a chaotic yet exhilarating soundscape.

Hip house was a short-lived phenomenon, fading out in the early 90s. It was a flash in the pan, but its influence is undeniable. It paved the way for other electronic genres like drum and bass and helped to break down barriers between music scenes, showing that even the most unlikely combinations can create magic.

So next time you hear a track with a thumping bassline and a catchy rap vocal, remember hip house – the music that dared to be different and brought the party to a whole new level.