You might recognize Greg Kantor, aka 5 & A Dime, from his early career in exceptional mash-ups early on during the first influx of new wave electronic music (EDM)  in 2011 & 2012. Now 5 & A Dime is back for more, this time with a new sound that is entirely his own. Some of his notable current releases have been his extremely popular Tempo Series in which 5 & A Dime wows fans with his unheard of amount of tracks all perfectly blended into one 1 hour mix. Not to mention his recent remix of Flux Pavilion’s “Bass Cannon” which combines tropical elements with glitchy dubstep for a wild rendition of an old favorite.

In this editorial piece, 5 & A Dime outlines the influential relationship between hip-hop and electronic music, the current infusion of both genres into much of the popular music, and his predictions for where this transformation may lead us in the future.

The Love-Hate Relationship Between Hip-Hop & EDM

In viewing the music industry as a business, one must understand the trends and catalysts that make up a genre’s growth. During Hip Hop’s life, exponential financial and artistic expansion has occurred, creating the world’s most successful form of music to date. With the recent development of Electronic Dance Music (EDM), the general population’s ears are now focusing on the phenomenon of purely synthesized sounds. A major movement for the DJ has begun: instead of the audience focusing on an MC, singer, or instrument performer, the audience is entranced by a single DJ, which allows the disc jockey to take the forefront for the first time since the 1970’s and 80’s.

THE EMERGENCE OF ELECTRONIC ELEMENTS IN HIP HOP TRACKS

While the influence of Hip Hop on EDM has been instrumental, the tides have turned, and now EDM is a significant influence on Hip Hop’s future. It’s influence in Hip Hop has grown, (as evidenced by the popular subgenre, trap) and will continue to grow in the foreseeable future. This transition is a result of a stagnant period in Hip Hop beginning in 2010, rise in competition in EDM—leaving producers available to work directly with MCs—and the rise of the “club drug” culture.

To understand where the genre of Hip Hop is going, one must first discover how EDM was formed. Electronic Dance Music (EDM) was gradually formed through the synthetic sounds from Disco, not unlike Hip Hop, and the underground parties of New Wave. A variety of performed musical sounds merged, and, “with this, the age of Disco flourished, and led to the birth of EDM” (Myer 8). Ultimately, EDM is a genre of music that evolved from the culmination of Baltimore Dance, Detroit Techno, and Chicago House while incubating a decade in Europe, specifically Germany and The Netherlands (Myer). During the 1990’s, raves and ecstasy helped develop the current ideology behind the massive musical phenomenon: a giant party.

Southern Trap music, which EDM Trap receives most of its Hip-Hop influence, is characterized by prominent 808 patterns, fast snare and hi-hat composition, and an emphasis on adlibs such as crowd chanting. Trap can be described as being, “built on skittering hi-hats, throbbing bass, ominous melodies, and rhymes about money, power, women, and above all, dealing drugs” (Phili). EDM Trap is the combination of Hip Hop and Southern Trap percussion, tone, and melody with EDM production techniques, synthetic sounds, and formatting, ultimately creating a hybrid that links two of the world’s largest genres to the current generation of music listeners.

The introduction of EDM Trap into the Hip Hop world is the next phase of Hip Hop’s music and culture as little innovation during 2010 to later 2011 occurred. 2009 showed incredible promise in the Hip Hop world, with Billboard Top 100 tracks such as Kanye West’s experimental “Heartless,” the introduction of Drake’s musical career with “Best I Ever Had,” and Kid Cudi’s Trip Hop inspired “Day N’ Night.” The year after showed little to no innovation and allowed for some of the most commercially driven “Hip Hop” to be released, such as the Far East Movement’s “Like A G6,” Eminem’s monotonously angry tracks “Not Afraid” and “Love The Way You Lie,” and the use of Hip Hop’s own “King of the South”, Ludacris, in Justin Bieber’s “Baby.”

THE REBIRTH OF “THE LYRICIST”

With no unique talent at the forefront giving the consumer a more exotic product, Hip Hop started to take a step back in terms of its mainstream appeal. Between 2010 and 2011, two forms of revitalization of Hip-Hop were being developed. A rebirth of the lyricist was taking place with acts such as J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar, and A$AP Rocky, who allowed the mainstream media to understand that true Hip-Hop can still be commercially successful without the need to conform to Pop hits. The other phenomenon was the creation of a new rave generation that revolved itself around EDM. While it would take a few more years to truly create the genre of EDM Trap, the building blocks were laid due to the demand for a new style of Hip Hop. With the genre of EDM on the rise, more competition was formed, thus a large number of producers were fighting over who could produce for other artists, specifically MCs and Hip Hop artists.

SUPPLY & DEMAND

This supply of producers from the EDM world created a change in Hip Hop’s technique and technology regarding instrumental production. The technique of Hip Hop production could now take place on a laptop by thousands of possible producers, which allows for greater creativity to the MC or artist. The technology of Hip Hop production is now so advanced that the producer is not limited to samples or a specific form of style, but to the producer’s ability to create any form of music that the Hip Hop artist desires, thus becoming the catalyst for innovation and creativity.

Between 2010 and 2012, EDM had the fastest growth in the United States as a genre (Feinstein and Ramsay). While EDM was very popular in most parts of Europe and South America, the US and Asia are now adopting the music and cultures that were once considered too “underground” of a scene. The introduction of America’s rave craze was in the late 1980’s and early 90’s, but unfortunately died off. EDM resurrected after 2010 and 2011 due to two significant happenings in this genre of music: the release of Avicii’s “Levels,” which ultimately would be the largest steppingstone in bringing the general public into the rave world, and the commercialization of Dubstep, the former fastest growing subgenre of EDM. Similar to the roots of Hip Hop, EDM has a rich history in sampling another artist’s work. “Levels” sampled Etta James’ “Something’s Got a Hold on Me,” which ultimately would be the voice echoed throughout the current generation’s music (“Who Sampled”). It is believed that Dubstep grew exponentially due to several characteristics it shares with many forms of Hip Hop, a heavy bassline, a 2-step kick and snare pattern, deep Jamaican Dub influences, and a much slower pace than traditional EDM.

MAINSTREAM HIP HOP GETS REPLACED BY EDM RAVE CULTURE

With 2010 and 2011 being the years that EDM became mainstream, Hip Hop started to lose its pull on the public youth, thus MCs needed something new to rap on in order to catch the attention of the general audience, which ultimately would be synthetic EDM instrumentals. In order for an audience to adopt this change, a main component must alter in the Hip Hop community in order to fully transition into its next phase. That change would be the instrumentation MCs rhyme over, which is almost necessarily accompanied by its drug culture.

While the Hip Hop community is more commonly associated with marijuana and crack cocaine, the EDM culture revolves around synthetic drugs such as ecstasy and ketamine. This synthetic drug culture allows the user to access mood and auditory enhancing substances at a very low economic cost, which creates a community of listeners who welcome unique sounds and experiences associated with the EDM scene. With regards to ecstasy, researchers have found, “the drug produces feelings of euphoria and energy, and a desire to socialize” (“Music Intensified”). Additionally, researchers, “found low doses of ecstasy did not modify the brain activity of rats if no music was played (“Music intensified”). These findings support the inherent relationship between the drug culture and the EDM scene.

The volume of the EDM audience creates a high demand for these synthetic drugs, thus a cycle of more drugs and louder music is formed. Evidence of synthetic drug use in Hip Hop culture has already begun. One can identify its popularity in Trinidad James’ “All Gold Everything,” where he states, “Pop the Molly I’m sweatin’.” Molly is the current street slang for pure MDMA, a more potent form of ecstasy.

With Hip Hop producers aware of the rise in club culture, they began to adapt their musical stylings to reflect the EDM market. Current EDM Trap stars such as Baauer, Flosstradamus, and Diplo all understand these factors in the market and have increased their quantity of production for Hip Hop acts, knowing that the market will shrink as a form of EDM and grow as a part of Hip Hop. While the future of the music industry is impossible to predict, an educated guess would be the continuation of the trend of merging EDM into the broader Hip Hop market.

THE TRANSFORMATIONS OF HIP-HOP

Hip Hop has transformed from Disco, to G-Funk, to its Modern and Industrial Age forms in order to survive an ever changing market and tastes. EDM’s influence over Hip Hop has grown and will continue to grow until a true hybridization of the two genres emerges. This is the result of stagnant trends in traditional Hip Hop that lack innovation, which, ultimately, a constantly evolving market will leave behind. With the sheer numbers of EDM producers and listeners, the Hip Hop community is beginning to take advantage of the pool of talent the EDM world has to offer. This results in incredible diversity of sounds and creativity of production techniques and the use of technology, in the same way Simon Frith described in Towards an Aesthetic of Popular Music. The latest form is that of the synthetic nature—both in instrumental production and drug culture—which will likely continue its path in the foreseeable future.

Academic Sources:

Feinstein, Danny & Ramsay, Colin. “The Rise of EDM.” Berklee College of Music Business Journal. Berklee College of Music, Oct. 2012.

Frith, Simon. “Towards an aesthetic of popular music.” Music and society: the politics of composition, performance and reception. Cambridge University Press., 1989.

“Hot 100 Billboard Chart 2009.” Billboard. Billboard Magazine, n.d.

“Hot 100 Billboard Chart 2010.” Billboard. Billboard Magazine, n.d.

“Music intensified ecstasy effects.” BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation, 16 Feb. 2006.

Myer, Megan. “Electronic Dance Music and Culture in the Pacific Northwest.” Linfield College, 1 Apr. 2011.

Phili, Stelios. “Fighting Weight: From the Trap to the Treadmill—DJ Scream’s Workout Playlist.” GQ, 8 Oct. 2012.

“Who Sampled Etta James’s Something’s Got a Hold on Me.” Who Sampled. Who Sampled.com Limited, n.d.

[Photo Credit: http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~ggarruba3/atunes/033010/033010short1.html | http://www.joelmeaders.com/ | http://www.ebony.com/photos/news-views/molly-madness-a-club-drug-goes-viral-566#axzz2sJO9hUce]

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