Old-school hip hop

Old-school hip hop (also spelled "old skool") describes the earliest commercially recorded hip hop music (approximately 1979–1984), and the music in the period preceding it from which it was directly descended (see Roots of hip hop). Old school hip hop is said to have ended around 1984 due to changes in both rapping technique and the accompanying music and rhythms.

The image, styles and sounds of the old school were exemplified by figures like Afrika Bambaataa, The Sugarhill Gang, Grandmaster Flash, Rock Steady Crew, Spoonie Gee, Newcleus, Treacherous Three, Funky Four Plus One, Kurtis Blow, Busy Bee Starski, Lovebug Starski, The Cold Crush Brothers, Kool Moe Dee, Warp 9 and Fab Five Freddy. It is characterized by the simpler rapping techniques of the time and the general focus on party related subject matter. There were however, exceptions, such as Brother D's "How We Gonna Make the Black Nation Rise", and Kurtis Blow's "Hard Times", (both released in 1980) that explored socially relevant ideas. The release of The Message in 1982 by Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five marked the arrival of hip hop as social commentary, making it possible for future artist like Public Enemy and N.W.A to create an identity based on socially conscious themes.

Old school

In slang, "old school" or "old skool" can refer to anything that is from an earlier era or anything that may be considered "old-fashioned". The term is commonly used to suggest a high regard for something that has been shown to have lasting value or quality.

It may refer to:

Music

Ice cube

An ice cube is a small, roughly cube-shaped piece of ice (frozen water), conventionally used to cool beverages. Ice cubes are sometimes preferred over crushed ice because they melt more slowly; they are standard in mixed drinks that call for ice, in which case the drink is said to be "on the rocks."

Origin

American physician and humanitarian John Gorrie built a refrigerator in 1844 with the purpose of cooling air. His refrigerator produced ice which he hung from the ceiling in a basin. Gorrie can be considered the creator of ice cubes, but his aim was not to cool drinks: he used the ice to lower the ambient room temperature. During his time, a dominant idea was that bad air quality caused disease. Therefore, in order to help treat sickness, he pushed for the draining of swamps and the cooling of sickrooms.

Methods of production

Ice cubes are produced domestically by filling an ice cube tray with water and placing it in a freezer. Many freezers also come equipped with an icemaker, which produces ice cubes automatically and stores them in a bin from which they can be dispensed directly into a glass.