Old School Vs New School Hip Hop. What's The Difference?

When it comes to modern hip hop, there are many different genres mixed in to create that undeniable sound so many of us love. From rap to r&b, there are even some rock influences thrown in for good measure and it all combines to create a sound that is so distinctive, that it has been differentiated from the hip hop sounds that came before it.

So today we have old school and new school hip hop, each with its own distinctive sound and each one remarkably different than the other. So, what’s the difference between old school and new school hip hop? We are going to take a look:

Old School Vs New School Hip Hop. What's The Difference?

The main difference between old school hip hop and new school hip hop is in the beats. Old school hip-hop typically has 2-3 beats laid on top of each other with simple, easy to understand verbiage. New school hip hop has 6-8 beats per track, ad-libs, and a wide range of edited sounds including re-verb and echo. The verbiage is also much more complex with the lyrics being delivered almost twice as fast as they are in old school hip hop.

Old School Hip-Hop

Old school hip hop is characterized by its diversity, quality, innovation, and influence. Some popular old-school hip-hop performers include Public Enemy, KRS-One and his Boogie Down Productions, Eric B. & Rakim, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, and the Jungle Brothers. There is also a period in hip hop history which is known as “mid-school” hip hop, and it covers acts like Gang Starr, The UMC’s, Main Source, Lord Finesse, EPMD, Just Ice, Stetsasonic, True Mathematics, and Mantronix.

New School Hip Hop

New school hip hop was initially characterised in form by ‘drum machine led minimalism, often tinged with elements of rock.’ Listeners would hear taunts and boasts about rapping, typically delivered in an aggressive, self-assertive style. This changed as listeners weren’t interested in the street b-boy attitude anymore. New school hip hop artists soon found that what their audience wanted was shorter songs, more radio play, and more cohesive LPs. This helped establish new school hip hop as a fixture of the mainstream music industry.

Contact Horizons Music

To learn more about the differences between old school hip hop and new school hip hop, contact Horizons Music today and shop a wide selection of new and vintage vinyl.

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