Throughout punk rock history, technical accessibility and a DIY spirit have been prized. In the early days of punk rock, this ethic stood in marked contrast to what those in the scene regarded as the ostentatious musical effects and technological demands of many mainstream rock bands. Musical virtuosity was often looked on with suspicion. According to Holmstrom, punk rock was "rock and roll by people who didn’t have very much skills as musicians but still felt the need to express themselves through music". In December 1976, the English fanzine Sideburns published a now-famous illustration of three chords, captioned "This is a chord, this is another, this is a third. Now form a band." The title of a 1980 single by the New York punk band Stimulators, "Loud Fast Rules!" inscribed a catchphrase for punk’s basic musical approach.
It’s interesting to me because it kind of makes no sense. Music is much more than just energy coming out of speakers. Refusing it and going against musical virtuosity is like being against Michelin chefs: if you like food, you can’t be against great food. At worse, you ignore it and enjoy your junk food. I never liked the arrogance of thinking that doing something is enough and trying to elevate things is wrong. If you don’t try to get better, you have no goal and you’re just running in circle. It’s not that great of an advice, creatively speaking. Eventually punk music got more musical and ended up mutating to New Wave. The Sugarhill Gang impressed the Clash so hard (funk dance-ish tracks, political lyrics) they made Rock the Casbah back in the UK.
The interesting part of punk rock in the 70s/80s VS hip hop is that it wasn’t a problem of money that lead punk bands to be limited and raw in their musical output. It was a decision, an aesthetic to follow against the “oppression” of Pink Floyd and complex music.
Hip hop on the other side is the pure product of a real oppression, poverty. No money to buy instruments, no money to rent a place to rehearse, no money to tour. Hip hop is born from black people’s ingenuity to make music with nothing but music players. For two genres born around the same time in the same city, both being full of energy but limited musically, one was the product of an obligation the other was the product of a necessity. No wonder why the latter took over the world so hard.
True, deep things often explode and expand. It’s physical.