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Hip Hop Culture

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Hip Hop Culture Hip hop Culture I) Hip Hop, The History: (Flo’) Hip hop is a kind of music and cultural movement which developed in New York City in the early 70’s primarily among Africans Americans and Latino Americans. The pioneers of Hip Hop are Afrika Bambaataa, Grandmaster Flash and Kurtis Blow. Hip Hop's four main elements are Mc'ing or Rhythm and Poetry (often called Rapping), DJing, graffiti writing, and break dancing. Other elements include beat boxing, hip hop fashion, and slang. Since first emerging in the Bronx, the lifestyle of hip hop culture has spread around the world. When hip hop music began to emerge, it was based around Disc Jockeys who created rhythmic beats by looping breaks (small’s portions of songs emphasizing a percussive pattern) on two turntables. This was later accompanied by "rapping" (a rhythmic style of singing). An original form of dancing, and particular styles of dress, arose among followers of this new music. These elements experienced considerable refinement and development over the course of the history of the culture. The relationship between graffiti and hip hop culture arises from the appearance of new and increasingly elaborate and pervasive forms of the practice in areas where other elements of hip hop were evolving as art forms, with a heavy overlap between those who wrote and those who practiced other elements of the culture. Beat boxing is a mainly percussive vocal form in which various technical effects of hip hop DJs are imitated. II) Music 1) HIP HOP VERSUS RAP (Marie) Hip-hop is the culture from which rap emerged. Initially it consisted of four main elements: graffiti art, break-dancing, djing (cutting and scratching) and emceeing (rapping). Hip-hop is a lifestyle with its own language, style of dress, music and mindset that is continuously evolving. Because break dancing and graffiti are not 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 exist, they have 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. 2) EMCEE AND DEEJAY (Fabien) 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 a closer look, the role of the MC has not changed much. They are still inventive, informative and entertaining. a. The beatmaking (Marie) The beatmaking is often done using programs or specialized equipment, although at first the MC rapped on the instrumental part of a song looped. The beat was therefore made from samples of disks. A beat may be composed of three sections: the bassline (the form of the bass in the instrumental), melody (the main line, one that will capture the attention), and the drumline (sounds of drums - "percussion"), but the creativity is in order and no rules are set! Several beatmakers prefer to use samples from various sources and mix them to create a melody, but it is equally possible to compose completely. It holds one of the many beatmakers that influenced the hip hop: DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Dr.Dre, RZA, Timabaland, and Scott Storch. b. The human beatbox (Marie) The human beatbox represents several genres of music created using the voice, throat and nose. Invented by Doug E. Fresh , he had great success in the 1980s before declining to return in the late 1990s. One of the most famous is beatboxers Rahzel , formerly of The Roots , whose most famous song is If Your Mother Only Knew (the album Make The Music 2000) combining "the beat and the chorus at the Same Time" ( "The beat and the voice at the same time"). Like the other disciplines of hip-hop, beatbox knows a global resonance of Killa Kela in the United Kingdom, Saian Supa Crew to Ezra in France, the Austrians Bauchklang . Many competitions are made each year either in France or elsewhere. III) DANCE (FABIEN) Hip-hop is the breakdance , dance floor characterized by its figures and freestyle, which is partly based funk styles ( Locking , Popping and Boogaloo ). The term comes from the media breakdance, the correct term to refer to this dance is the b-boying. The dancers are also called breakers or B- Boys & B-Girls, the B meaning "Beat". New styles have emerged as the dance house , the new style , the Hoobs lumps , the step-up or the krump. The funk styles, older than the b-boying , and hip-hop in general, is regarded as also forming part of hip-hop dances. These dances, principally the breakdance, are punctuated by numerous battles and violence is not physical but of art, or real winners of the "conflict" the best of both. The battles can also be group against group, and the best will in the most prestigious competition for breakers: Battle of the Year (BOTY). Today may be cited as B-Boys the best known: Casper, Gassama, Darkness, Junior or the side of the B-Girls: Hurricane, Valentine, Anne, Sun Baby and dancers: Lil Steph (Flying Steps) Dzindzine, Rickysoul. In terms of crews : Rock Steady Crew, Aktuel Force, Black Blanc Beur , Vagabonds Crew, Fatal Attraction, Melting Force, Gamblerz Crew, Jinjo Crew, Flying Steps, Extreme Crew, Phase T, Pockemon Crew, Wanted , figure of speech, 59Krew, Toz Crew, Legiteam Obstruxion, Last 4 One, Top 9, Ekeevoks Crew, Crew and United Ghetto Blaster, Gamblers, Smokemon, Pro phenomen, Fantastic Armada, Main Source. IV) GRAFITTI (Flo’) The late 60’s and early 70’s 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 layup 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.
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