Hip Hop, The History
Hip-hop has always been about making something out of little or nothing. Few knew that that something would become the biggest pop music innovation since rock and roll in the 1950s.
Hip-hop was born in New York City in the mid-1970s as a vehicle for inner-city youth to throw parties on their blocks and at area clubs, and for them to make money as DJs and promoters. Early hip-hop was largely a "throw-your-hands-in-the-air" music, however, hip-hop remained largely ignored outside of New York City's ghettoes until 1979 when the crossover success of the Sugar Hill Gang's "Rapper's Delight" brought hip-hop national and international attention. It wasn't long before hip-hop pioneers like Afrika Bambaataa, Grandmaster Flash and Kurtis Blow were making records.
Now a billion-dollar industry, hip-hop has become the voice of young people on the planet breaking down racial, ethnic, gender, class, language and regional barriers. Hip-hop is manifest everywhere, pushing the sales of entities as different as high profile designers and soft drinks, and turning rappers like Will Smith and LL Cool J into box-office stars. Like rock and roll in the 1950s, hip-hop has become the great cultural bridge in these times.
LOOKIN' FOR THE PERFECT BEAT.
The hip-hop DJ's original mission overall was rocking the house, and to do this he or she needed an arsenal of beats (records). The DJ's ability to keep a dance floor packed relied on his selection of records. Not only did he have to have radio favourites, he also had to keep up with the latest beats the other DJs had. In addition, he had to have his own collection of obscure beats and this wasn't an easy task. It was only a matter of time before the other DJs would find out the names of your beats. So, to keep your uniqueness, you had to constantly search for new beats. Thus begun, "The Quest for Beats!"
There wasn't any place that the hip-hop DJ wouldn't dig for beats. It could be mums, dads, aunts, uncles, cousins, neighbours or even friends. No one's record collection was excluded. If there were mountains with caves full of vinyl, you would find a DJ mining for hip-hop gold.
Once you collected enough beats you had to remove any part of the record label that revealed the artist or the name of the song. Then, you had to subconsciously find where the new beats would fit in your set. Next was practicing - the new beats had to be played in a way that wouldn't give away the artist. If it was just a drumbeat, it was hard for other DJs to know who made the record. So cutting the beat before the other instruments or singers came in was critical. This meant that you had to be fast and precise, and the fastest way to go from one part of a song to another is needle dropping (placing the needle in the same groove at will). This was the ultimate hip-hop DJ skill and was truly mastered by only a few.
HIP HOP VERSUS RAP
Hip-hop is the culture from which rap emerged. Initially it consisted of four main elements: graffiti art, break-dancing, djing (cuttin' and scratching) and emceeing (rapping). Hip-hop is a lifestyle with its own language, style of dress, music and mind set that is continuously evolving. Because break dancing and graffiti aren't as prominent, the words 'rap' and 'hip hop' have been used interchangeably. However it should be noted that all aspects of hip-hop culture still exists, they've just evolved onto new levels.
If you ask most people to give a definition of "rap", they're likely to state that it's the reciting of rhymes to the best of music. It's a form of expression that finds its roots imbedded deep within ancient African culture and oral tradition. Throughout history there has always been some form of verbal acrobatics or jousting involving rhymes within the Afro-American community.
Hip-hop continues to be a direct response to an older generation's rejection of the values and needs of young people. Initially all of hip-hop's major facets were forms of self-expression. The driving force behind all these activities was people's desire to be seen and heard. Hip-hop came about because of some major format changes that took place within Black radio during the early 70's. The introduction of rap records in the early 80s put a new meaning on hip-hop. It also provided participants a new incentive for folks to get busy. Rap records inspired hip hoppers to take it to another level because they now had the opportunity to let the whole world hear their tales.
EMCEE AND DEEJAY
DJs emerged at a rapid rate to supply music to the growing demand of b-boys and young eager "hip-hoppers." It was the DJ who supplied the sound system and decided when the first MCs would use their catchy phrases. The DJ was responsible for any break in the flow of music. The MC was there to put a little extra on it. The main job and function of the MCs were to blow up the DJ and big up the crew. By 1977 the MC had become a fixture in every hip-hop crew. As the number of MCs continued to increase, competition rose. Just as the DJs had battled and raised the standards of excellence, turning their hobby into an art form, so began the MC craft.
As a DJ, a person has to feel the rhythms and identify them as being a natural part of their existence. Either the force is with you or it isn't. Feeling rhythm is a skill that cannot be taught. This was a sign of a true beat hunter - someone who could instantly feel the rhythms. After 400 years of displacement out of Africa, the true hip-hop DJ can still feel the rhythm of the drums of Africa. Once you've established a vast music collection, now you have to know how to work it! Not only does a DJ have to know the music on the record; a DJ must also know exactly where the rhythm is on the record. Developing DJ skills requires hours of practice and listening. Techniques such as needle dropping, cueing records, backspinning, scratching and the like are skills that have evolved out of pure hard work and creativity.
One way or another, people all over the world have been affected by the impact hip-hop have had on society. At the core of all the excitement, the MC. At a closer look, the role of the MC has not changed much. They are still inventive, informative and entertaining.
GRAFITTI
The late 1960s and early 70s during a time period of political debate, racially heated atmosphere and struggle, black and Latin power let their voices be heard. Writing became a voice of many of the youth in the inner cities of New York.
Graffiti was used primarily by political activists to make statements and by street gangs to mark territory. The history of the underground art movement known by many names, most commonly termed graffiti begins in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during the mid to late '60s and is rooted in bombing the writers who wrote their names all over the city gaining attention from the community and local press.
Writing started moving from the streets to the subways and quickly became competitive. At this point writing consisted of mostly tags and the goal was to have as many as possible. Writers would ride the trains hitting as many subway cars as possible. It wasn't long before writers discovered that in a train yard or lay up they could hit many more subway cars in much less time and with less chance of getting caught. The concept and method of bombing had been established.
Writers enhanced their tags (names) with flourishes, stars and other designs, tags got larger and more risk was taken in where your tag was placed and designs were limited only by an artist's imagination.
BREAKDANCING
Some of the earliest dancing by b-boy pioneers was done upright, a form which became known as "top rockin'." Early influences on b-boying/b-girling also included martial arts films from the 1970s. Certain moves and styles developed from this inspiration. African slaves introduced Capoeira, a form of self defence disguised as a dance, to Brazil. This form has some movements that are very similar to certain b-boy/girl steps and moves.
Although top rockin' has developed an identifiable structure, there is always space for individual creativity, often expressed through the competitive nature of the dance. The same is true of all dance forms associated with hip-hop and west coast funk; as long as dancers represent the root forms of the dances, the rest can be coloured in with his/her own flavours.
As a result of the highly competitive nature of these dances, it wasn't long before top rockers extended their repertoire to the ground with "footwork" and "freezes."
Dancers could now move in and out of a freeze, demonstrating control, power, precision, and at times, humour. From the freeze came the floor track, backspin with the use of arms, continuous backspin (also known as the windmill), and other moves. These moves pushed the dance in a new direction in the early 1980s, the era of so-called "power moves." The first spins done in b-boying were one-shot head spins originally known as pencils; hand spins originally known as floats; knee spins; and butt spins.
The advent of "power moves" brought about a series of spins that became the main focus of the media and the younger generations of dancers. The true essence of the dance was slowly overshadowed by an overabundance of spins and acrobatics that didn't necessarily follow a beat or rhythm. The pioneers didn't separate the "power moves" from the rest of the dance form. They were B-Boys who simply accented their performance with incredible moves to the beat of the music that included locking and body popping.