Folkhop

Folkhop is a genre of music that came about after the decline of bhangra in the mid-1990s. It is diametrically opposed to bhangra music in that it is not live music but instead relies on pre-recorded musical parts with only the vocals being sung live along to a live repetitive dhol drum. The pre-recorded music consists of primarily looped rhythm parts from both eastern and western percussion instruments and little to no melody on instruments. It borrows heavily from hip hop, however it is more traditional than its predecessor, bhangra which rebelled against tradition and authenticity. Traditional folk instruments like dhol and tumbi are central to folkhop productions.[1] Folkhop songs tend to be heavily produced by DJs on computer software. In the beginning, all songs start out as vocal only recordings that the folk singer records in India. This 'vocal only' recording is then sold on websites involved in the buying and selling of folkhop music. The DJs then pay a small sum for the rights to these vocals, and then set the music using looped samples of both hip hop and traditional folk instruments. The quintessential folkhop artist is the bedroom DJ. Folkhop albums typically feature no credits on musicians, instead liner notes simply feature 'big ups' to online friends of the folkhop DJ.

Folkhop
Stylistic origins	Traditional Punjab and contemporary hip hop music styles
Cultural origins	Mid-1990s, Canada and US
Typical instruments	Vocals, laptop, music software, dhol, Internet, looped beats
Derivative forms	Urbanasian
Subgenres
FOB hop

Music of India
A Lady Playing the Tanpura, c. 1735 (Rajasthan)
Genres
Traditional Classical Carnatic Hindustani Folk Borgeet Baul Bhajan Odissi Rabindra Sangeet Thumri Dadra Chaiti Kajari Sufi Ghazal Qawwali Modern Bhangra Bhangragga Blues Filmi Bollywood Ghazal Qawwali Chakwood Goa trance Dance Indi-pop Asian Underground Jazz Rock Bengali Raga
Media and performance
Music awards	Filmfare Awards Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
Music festivals	Saptak Festival of Music Chennai Music Season Dover Lane music festival Purandaradasa Aradhana Tyagaraja Aradhana Harivallabh Sangeet Sammelan
Music media	Sruti The Record
Nationalistic and patriotic songs
National anthem	Jana Gana Mana
Regional music
Andaman and Nicobar Islands Andhra Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh Assam Bihar Chhattisgarh Goa Gujarat Haryana Himachal Pradesh Jammu and Kashmir Ladakh Jharkhand Karnataka Kerala Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Manipur Meghalaya Mizoram Nagaland Odisha Punjab Rajasthan Sikkim Tamil Nadu Ancient Tripura Uttar Pradesh Uttarakhand West Bengal

Whereas bhangra music was centered on bands delivering live performances with focus on instrumentation (as evidenced by bhangra videos), folkhop shares with rap and hip hop "common textual aspects, as well as similarities in their onstage and video performance practices: an obsession with materialism, or an expressed desire or boasting of "bling", in the form of jewelry, wealth or clothing"[1]

It also features an obsession with farming and rural lifestyle such as livestock, tractors traditional clothes etc. Many folkhop videos showcase rappers and folk singers in the midst of farms or riding on tractors.

References

1. Mellisa Ursula Dawn Goldsmith and Anthony J Fonseca (29 July 2013). "Crossing Traditions: American Popular Music in Local and Global Contexts" (Hardcover: 185 pages). Scarecrow Press.

External links