Differently Similar Paths: The Emergence, Proliferation, & Cultural Significance of Go-go & Hip-hop.

My paper seeks to contextualize the journeys of two noteworthy art-forms and cultural movements. Both Hip-hop and Go-go surfaced in the early 1970s, with their appeal and success emerging out of major urban centers, the South Bronx, New York for Hip-hop and Washington D.C. for Go-go. Both art-forms emerged and proliferated during the tenures of Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, whose administrations both severely cut school funding which specifically targeted "the arts," in a deplorable effort to remedy economic recession and deindustrialization. In the absence of needed structural venues for artistic expression for young people in cities plagued by urban decay, miraculously yet indicative of the African-American experience, meaningful cultural aesthetics flourished. Young people resorted to creating new forms of music with minimal resources, reflecting their brilliance in the face of impoverished circumstances. The elements of Hip-hop required the usage cardboard, spray paint cans, building and subway surfaces, and their parents' record players. Go-go relied on the ingenious rhythmic usage of pots, pans, trash cans and other household percussion items. Both Hip-hop and Go-go both employed the usage of the West African retention of "Call and Response." The emergence of both art-forms is further rooted in the West Indies' cultural tradition, transported to the US east coast through immigrant pioneers of the art. Despite their significant similarities, the two genres are located in drastically different spaces today. Go-go has survived and thrived along-side hip-hop, yet remained regional within the Washington, D.C. area, juxtaposed to hip-hop's world-wide growth. My paper will evaluate the significance of their distinctive journeys, addressing, "Why and How did Go-go remain only regional, untainted by the impulses of industry and commercialization, unlike its cohort hip-hop." Finally, I will examine the significance of art and consumerism, as rap music and hip-hop culture created by African Americans, now consist of consumer bases that are significantly non-black; while Go-go is created by African Americans, yet reflects a consumer base that has always been and continues to be overwhelmingly African-American. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]