What is Hip Hop?

Hip Hop has often mistakenly been defined as merely “A style of popular music of U.S black and Hispanic origin, featuring rap with an electric background.” But actually encompasses an entire cultural genre steaming from the lower and marginalized working class African American youth. Hip Hop became a voice for many young blacks to express their feelings of alienation from mainstream society more freely than ever before. Hip Hop transforms feelings of alienation and defeat to the concept of self assurance. The entire Hip Hop culture rejects the oppression of African American and Caribbean history, identity and community, by providing opportunities for many of these people to express themselves freely without suffering from psychological oppression inflicted upon them.

The root of Hip Hop is in West Africa and African American music. The griots of West Africa are a group of traveling singers and poets, whose musical style is reminiscent of Hip Hop and rap must mention the contributions of the last poets and Jalal Mansur Nuriddin, whose jazzy and poetic spiels commented on 1960’s culture. True Hip Hop arose during the 1970 when block parties become common in New York City, especially in the Bronx. Block parties were usually accompanied by music, especially funk and soul music. The early DJs at block parties began isolating the percussion breaks to hit songs, realizing that these were the most danceable and entertaining parts. This technique was then common in Jamaica and spread via the substantial Jamaican immigrant community in New York City. Hip Hop composed of four subcategories; universally know as “Elements.” The elements are dance commonly referred to as breaking or break-dance, graffiti is the second element also knows as writing, Djing and rapping. These four elements developed along different time lines each have their own history under the umbrella of Hip Hop culture. Rap music has developed at a faster rate than all the other elements and as a result can claim a number of sub-genres.

The word rap derived from a 1960’s slang word for conversation, generally consists of chanted often improvised, street poetry accompanied by a montage of well know recording usually discos or funk. Detractors have criticzed most rap music as a boastful promotion of violence and misogyny. Others have admired it as an inventive manipulation of cultural idioms and credit many rappers with an acute social and political awareness. Early rap groups included Grandmaster Flash and Beastie Boys. Rap has influenced many forms of popular culture, particular film and has been increasingly incorporated into pop music.

Another element of Hip Hop is Ding. Disc jockey is an individual who selects and plays pre-recorded music for the enjoyment of others. In the circles of cultures where reggae and related musical styles are prevalent such as Jamaica, Panama, and other parts of the Caribbean and Latin America, the word of the “Deejay” is divided up and can also refer to MC or rapper. The word “selector” is used as the title of the person who chooses the records, the disc jockey playing them. Thus what Jamaicans call deejaying, chatting or toasting may be called rapping in other part of the world. DJs can be heard on the radio and at any number of social gatherings, such as weddings, nightclubs, art openings, warehouse parties, and high schools dances. As the result there are many different types of DJ, each fitting into a particular niche defined by performance setting (broadcast booth or nightclub) and intended audience (jazz or hip hop fans). A DJ’s performance style and the techniques he or she employs must reflect these considerations. For instance, wedding DJs play music but are often expected to act as a master of ceremony who introduce the bride and the groom, lead dances or invite guests to play games. A DJ at a rave would instead be expected to introduce a greater technical element to their performance by manipulating the songs they play in order to maintain a given tempo and energy of level. Some consider deejaying to be a single action but rather a series of actions that depend on situation and expectations.

The third element of Hip Hop is graffiti. One of the earliest and most crews was the savage seven later as they increased in number, the Black Spades. The Black Spades were followed by many others crews and graffiti art arose to mark boundaries between them, among others purposes. Graffiti as an urban art form had been know since at least the 1950s, but began developing in earnest in 1969 and flourished during the 1970. Graffiti consists of inscription, slogans and drawings scratched, scribbled or painted on the wall or other public or private surface. The word “graffiti “ was the Latin word “graphium” which means to write the term graffiti was originally used by archaeologists to describe drawings and writings found on ancient buildings or monuments in Egypt and Rome. In the Hip Hop culture graffiti became a way of life with it own code of behavior, secret gathering places, and slang and esthetic standards for hundreds of New York City youth. Graffiti writing was mainly written with spray paint until the invention of the magic markers in the sixties. The magic marker helped the spread of graffiti writing because it was easier to conceal and at the same time left an indelible mark on just about any surface as did the spray paint. Graffiti was used to make political and social commentary, as well as gangs to mark territory.

The last element of hip hop is break-dance. The term break dancing is associated to breaks in Hip hop music and the movements that can be performed in these breaks. It was first performed in the Bronx New York during a block party in the very late 1960’s and early 1970’s usually as s result of a break in a record. When this occurred, dancers would fill the break in the record with corresponding moves. Ironically enough, with regards to musical genres and as cringe worthy as it may now be some hardened break-dancers but their dance’s birthplace was on the floors of New York disco scenes. Break dancing soon moved from the clubs to the streets, were rival gangs in the south Bronx would theory replace actual fighting and disputes with a dance breaking battle. The theory was sound often with the best dancers being the best fighter due large quantities of strength needed both activities but more often no fight would break out after the results were issued by the judging audience. Break dancing have a large extent replaced fighting and violence.

In conclusion Hip hop is a culture. The term is loosely used when referring to commercialized rap music. However hip hop is more than just music, it is the heartbeat of American ghetto youth. Who claimed their self expression and used it to rise above their physical circumstances. Hip hop culture has it roots in pride, truth, courage and self-determination. As a result it has grown to influence almost every segment of the planet.