Hip-hop culture was always represented as an authentic identity and lifestyle, but also as a social innovation and alternative pursued by impoverished people in urban environments. Is there a need for hip-hop inspired concepts and projects in contemporary cities and how authentic, progressive and successful are already existing trials? BA (Hons) Architecture Cultural Context 3 (CARC 6003/4) Gracjan Labowicz Student ID no. 1103165 Word Count: 6526 Contents Page 1. Introduction/ Thesis Statement 2-4 Social Context surrounding upbringing of hip-hop culture in America in 1970’s. The daily life of community, South Bronx, 1979. 5-11 What is it really Hip Hop culture/movement? 12-13 Hip Hop Space, and Place 15-18 Hip Hop Industrial Art Concept- Hip Hop inspired concepts and project 19- Hip Hop culture doesn’t require much... 20-22 Conclusion 23-24- Bibliography Introduction/ Thesis Statement Hip Hop Culture and movement were born surrounded by daily life struggles and lack of alternative for youth of Afro American population in housing projects in America in 1970’s. Authenticity included in all elements of Hip Hop culture (DJ’ing, Breakdancing, MC’ing, Dressing and Graffiti) offered an original form of expression. It offered an alternative lifestyle to poor societies dominating housing projects and neighbourhoods across America at the time. Through music, dancing, art, fashion and way of expression it quickly went global. Hip Hop culture marks itself on the maps of American and European urban environments today. Since it’s beginnings it alters the cities as urban spaces as well as has social impact on communities in contemporary American and European cities. In this thesis I am looking at examples of hip hop inspired design concepts and projects and looking at historic grounds to hip hop movement and social attachement to them. What are hip hop inspired concepts and do we need them in contemporary cities? How hip hop works as social and cultural innovation of 21st century? 1 Social Context surrounding upbringing of hip-hop culture in America in 1970’s. The daily life of community, South Bronx, 1979. Looking at “80 Blocks from Tiffany’s” I have drawn myself into South Bronx, New York. To be exact between Tiffany’s jewelry store in Manhattan and the South Bronx. Presence of graffiti on the trains, abandoned cars with parts stolen off, sound of gunshots and a horizon of high tower blocks cluttered one next to another was a pretty normal sight if you have happened to live in South Bronx in 1979 when the documentary is filmed. The documentary is focused on social problems that occupants of the neighborhood have faced everyday as a consequence of developments of Cross Bronx Expressway. This development was blamed for decay of low-income neighborhoods in South Bronx; mainly due to property values drop. In the film we come across “Fly”, “Crazy Joe” and “D.S.R” members of “Savage Nomands” gang. These young individuals are desperate in trying to get a better life through violence, stealing and crime. In my opinion word “gang” in the situation of these people was used inappropriately to describe their relationship by media. “Brothers and sisters”, together they dealt with the situation they were facing in an extraordinary violent way, in order to survive. The struggle and the will to help each other out brought them closely together- their image- “Nomands Gang” came along afterwards. Growing up in South Bronx between 1960’s and 1980s’ made them individually strong characters. As growing up teens there were no places to go for them- no basketball courts, no facilities, rare youth centers. They grew up on streets, and what they have witnessed, changed their perception of way at looking at life. It is important to look closely at the word “streets”. We are not really looking at public through fare surrounded by built domestic environment, but at an identity of people of such kind who associate themselves with the street life. It was guns, which mattered, drugs, and alcohol, in many cases money chase. Adding prejudiced, unfair police and courts, which could put them to prison for 3 years for graffiti, the youth of South Bronx were aggravated and rebellious. 2 Community disintegrated from the rest of the city, couldn’t cope with unemployment, drugs and prostitution and people robbing each other on a massive scale. Partly it was the community who didn’t stop the precedent, because nobody did anything to stop the robberies, to stop the shooting, to raise their voice and say no. It was “Catch me if you can” situation. Gangs offered protection to local businesses, for a little favor that they did to them. Community generally turned to gangs when in need or favor, because police and government didn’t understand the situation in Bronx and therefore didn’t care. Community worker interviewed in the documentary says: “it is a land of nowhere- unemployment, landlords paying gangs to burn the properties so they can claim insurance money, rubbish and dirt on the streets.” “D.S.R”- one of the gang members says he wants to move on, do something with his life, other than robbing and shooting. Other gang members mention that too. Community including the gang members has got a great deal of respect for each other. Father Gigante, local priest says that when he was young, there were also gangs, from two different blocks, warring each other for one day and next day they would meet in peace and play together. However this friendship-gang culture has escalated to the point where it’s gone wrong. Amongst this chaos I found an element of utopia, real sense of utopia. When block party is organised by local community worker the rules and values are respected. There is no fighting, people enjoying themselves on the streets, talking and dancing and eating food. Dj is playing funk. Even when things started to go out of control a little bit, no fighting rule was respected. 1 1. Gary Weis. (1979). 80 Blocks From Tiffany’s. [Online Video]. 02 July 2012. Available from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDb8Nr_gVcw. [Accessed: 16 October 2013]. 3 This insight into the life of the community at the time helps to understand that not necessary people are to be blamed for the situation. They could live together, however in the presence all of these serious social problems they have developed their own environment in which they could survive. The fact that the low-income neighborhood was separated by expressway, the fact that there weren’t any facilities or places to go and spend time for the youngsters and huge unemployment rate in the area contributed majorly to the creation of this society driven by gang and crime culture to survive. In the chaos and struggle I was able to see the sense of utopia, when everyone was united during the Block party. It felt like they have something in common- the rules they have followed and positive attitudes towards role models, in which case was a community worker who organized the block party. Figure 1 Selection of stills from documentary “80 Blocks From Tiffany’s” From the left: Image 1: Robbery scene, Image 2: Block Party Scene, Image 3: Housing Projects, Image 4: Nomands Gang talking to police, Image 5: South Bronx Urban Decay, Image 6: Travelling Graffiti on the train, Image 7: Gangs of south Bronx- Savage Nomands 4 What is it really Hip Hop culture/movement? As many people think still up to date, Hip Hop culture its not only rap music. Rap music and MC’ing are parts of it, however whole culture consists of 5 elements. It is Dj’ing (Turntablism, Beatmaking), MC’ing (rapping, lyricists), Graffiti (legal and illegal), Breakdancing (b-boying and many modern forms of breakdance: locking, popping, breaking) and dressing which is associated with street fashion. In this chapter I will be looking at history of hip hop beginnings as well as explain 5 elements in more detail. Block Parties: Birth of Hip Hop “DJ Kool Herc said, “1520 Sedgwick is the Bethlehem of Hip-Hop culture.” 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in Bronx is the birthplace of hip-hop culture.1 Dj Cool Herc used to take out sound system and two turntables and play hard funk records whilst mixing them with Latin percussion- which forms the initial structure of hip hop.2 Attending block parties was an alternative activity to violent gang culture present in the areas of South Bronx, but also to upcoming popularity of disco mu- sic and clubbing which wasn’t affordable for most occupants of South Bronx . Dj Cool Herc used Jamaican traditional sound system model for his mammoth speaker setup and labeled b-boys and B-girls- the partygoers. Housing projects occupants had a night out to enjoy themselves whilst dancing to blasting music out in a recreation room in their building. With progression “break” came along.3 It is simply isolation of instrumental in order to emphasize the drumbeat on one turntable and then switch from one break to another. The original vibe, rhythm and sound made people move to it in a certain way- and that’s how break-boys and break girls came along. Dj-ing was spreading through locations of New York. 1 Greg Watkins. (2007). 1520 Sedgwick Avenue to be Recognized as Official Birthplace of Hip-Hop. Available on : http://allhiphop.com/2007/07/18/1520-sedgwick-avenue-to-be-recognized-as-official- birthplace-of-hip-hop/. Last accessed 20.10.2012. 2 Michael A. Gonzales . (2008). The Holy House of Hip-hop. Available: http://nymag.com/anniversary/40th/50665/.