Music is an essential aspect of human cultures all over the world. Music helps guide the listener’s emotional responses and aids in developing the listener’s lifestyle customs. So many different genres of music exists in the world today, varying in tempo, language, general topic, tone, and culture, intended to affect certain religious groups, age groups, situations, or ethnic backgrounds. Genres are not necessarily constant in maintaining one sound; most genres have changed over time to become suitable for contemporary societies. Genres can be created from a combination of two or more different genres or a change in style in one genre. Hip-Hop is a prime example of one of these created genres; it is a unique genre and now wide spread across the world. Countries like China, Mexico, Paris, and more, all enjoy listening to Hip-hop music and even have Hip-hop artists of their own. Hip-hop eventually evolved into more than just a music style but also a lifestyle, relating to art like graffiti and the way people dress. The history and foundation of hip-hop is an interesting topic because hip-hop has undergone changes in style, content, theme, and even purpose. A Jamaican born DJ named Clive Campbell, AKA DJ Kool Herc, is considered the father of hip hop. Clive Campbell’s stage name was inspired by his childhood nickname. When he was younger he had a very strong build so his friends called him Hercules. He embraced this childhood name and became DJ Kool Herc. He is one of the first and most essential pioneers of the hip hop industry. He started the hip hop motion by isolating the instrumental portion of the record which emphasized the drum beat of music to extend it. He was more interested in the break section of the song even though the... ... middle of paper ... ...ould spin their bodies while balancing them on one elbow are two moves that caused many injuries. The most dangerous move in hip hop dancing is the head spin; dancers would rotate their bodies while using their head as a pivot. Despite the dangers of break dancing, it is popular amongst hip hop listeners to perform. Break dancing was entertaining to watch and so popular that people emulated the dancers in many ways; the dancer’s style of dress were the hip hop listeners’ primary source of emulation. In order for the dancers to perform certain moves loose fitting clothes were worn, thus the baggy clothes fad was started amongst hip hop listeners. Also since hip hop was intended to promote originally, fashion trends spread quickly because hip hop fans were putting together unique outfits and constantly coming up with new ideas for clothing combinations and hairstyles.
The hip hop culture began in the suburbs of New York over 30 years ago and has gone through drastic changes over this time. Hip Hop contains four different elements including: graffiti, rap, disc jockey and break-dancing. In the 1970’s, musical artists began to express themselves like Kool DJ Herc. Rap music began to spread through the urban neighborhoods of New York City and people used a new form of expression that gave a chance to sing about anything.
In the words of rapper Busta Rhymes, “hip-hop reflects the truth, and the problem is that hip-hop exposes a lot of the negative truth that society tries to conceal. It’s a platform where we could offer information, but it’s also an escape” Hip-hop is a culture that emerged from the Bronx, New York, during the early 1970s. Hip-Hop was a result of African American and Latino youth redirecting their hardships brought by marginalization from society to creativity in the forms of MCing, DJing, aerosol art, and breakdancing. Hip-hop serves as a vehicle for empowerment while transcending borders, skin color, and age. However, the paper will focus on hip-hop from the Chican@-Latin@ population in the United States. In the face of oppression, the Chican@-Latin@ population utilized hip hop music as a means to voice the community’s various issues, desires, and in the process empower its people.
Break dancing actually originated a few years prior to DJ Afrika Bambataa. Break dancers (B-Boys and B-Girls), would dance during the breaks in the music while steady beats were played. Eventually rap and break dancing united and hip hop began.
Breakdancing, a form of dance that combines acrobatics with dance, also came originated in block parties and house parties. B-Boys, as well as B-Girls, would dance to the breaks in the music, hence the name.
Hip Hop has been around for decades. Due to positive perceptions behind the idea, many DJs and artist started to come about. Hip Hop solely originated in New York city where DJ Kool Herc is the founding father of Hip Hop. The main components within hip hop was Break Dancing, Rap, Beat Boxing, and Graffiti. These components originated from the Ghettos of New York city. Hip Hop culture formed in the 1970s during many block parties and gatherings in New York, where DJs from all over Manhattan and the Bronx came and created mixes and breaks on the turn tables. Alongside Kool Herc is GrandMaster Flash and Afrika Bambaataa who created Universal Zulu Nation, which was music to decrease violence, drugs and get kids involved. Around this time funk,
The longevity of Hip-Hop as a cultural movement can most directly be attributed to its humble roots. For multiple generations of young people, Hip-Hop has directly reflected the political, economic, and social realities of their lives. Widely regarded as the “father” of the Hip-Hop, Afrika Bambaataa named the cultural movement and defined its four fundamental elements, which consisted of disc jockeying, break dancing, graffiti art, and rapping. Dating back to its establishment Hip-Hop has always been a cultural movement. Defined by far more then just a style of music, Hip-Hop influences fashion, vernacular, philosophy, and the aesthetic sensibility of a large portion of the youth population (Homolka 2010).
Since hip-hop has expanded from the undergrounds in Bronx in the 70’s it has grew into a popular accepted music genre. Consequently, as it progressed from the golden age it gradually grew away from its original roots. If one were to evaluate the change of lyrics in hip-hop, they would see a difference between early hip-hop and today’s hip-hop. The current state of hip-hop is in a stage where things like hey young world are outdated. Instead of broadcasting out a positive message, hip-hop sends out a message of sex, drug, and violence. The early musicians who helped solidify hip-hop, by producing music that told stories on subjects of race, respect, or even music that had a positive message.
Clive Campbell also known as Kool Herc is one of three major founders of hip hop. Though he is among three of the original founders of the art form, Kool Herc is widely regarded as the Father of Hip Hop itself. Originally from Kingston, Jamaica Clive Campbell moved to the United States at the age of twelve. Campbell used his musical influences from his father and from his home town of Kingston. Campbell began DJing parties using his father's sound system. Over the course of his time as a DJ, Campbell developed a technique known as, the Merry-go-round-of-sound. During the time of its manufacturing, this technique was a revolutionary concept. To create the Merry-go-round-of-sound, Campbell utilized two duplicate records, "back-cueing a record
People say hip hop originated from the south Bronx of New York, but really it came from Jamaica. One man named DJ Kool Herc moved from Jamaica to America too starts a new life. In the 1970’s, he introduced the type of music into a style we know now as rap. He used turn tables and used other records to make longer segments. Soon deejays started to work with other rappers and talk in rhythmic sayings, this became to be known as hip hop. For years popular styles of club deejays like Herc, and Afrika Bambaataa, rapped originally in African American neighborhoods in New York.
Rap music was first a cross-cultural product. Most of its important early practitioners, Kool Herc, DJ Hollywood, and Afrika Bambaataa, were either first- or second-generation Americans of Caribbean background. Kool Herc and DJ Hollywood are given credit for introducing the Jamaican style of cutting and mixing into the musical culture of the South Bronx. Herc was the first DJ to buy two copies of the same record for just a 15-second break (instrumental segment) in the middle. By mixing back and forth between the two copies he was able to double, triple, or endlessly extend the break.
Hip hop culture has been around since the 1970s. Multiple sources all come down to the South Bronx in New York City, as the origin of hip hop culture. The culture began to take its shape within the African American, Afro-Caribbean, and Latino communities. The father of the start of this culture was a Jamaican-born DJ named Clive Campbell but also known as DJ Kool Herc. He brought forth a new sound system and the Jamaican style of “toasting.” Toasting was when Jamaicans would talk or rap over the music they played. This whole new style soon brought what is now known as DJs, B-Boys, MC’s, and graffiti artists (Kaminski).
This will then open up the discussion about the how this has influenced society, and the impact it has had in terms of race issues which hip hop itself often represents through music. Hip hop originated in the ghetto areas of New York during the 1970’s and is a mixture of DJ, MC, B boy and Beat boxing. In his studies of defining hip hop, Jeffries concluded that these mixtures of art forms do not define hip hop but rather that hip hop itself is a culture of these elements. “Hip-hop is like a culture, it’s a voice for black people to be heard. Our own style, our own music” (Jeffries). 2011; 28).
Hip hop music has gone through many changes since the 1980’s and continues to change today with new artists, styles, and sounds. Over the past forty years hip hop music has been a way for fans to relate to artist through their songs because many hip hop artist lived and experience the same things that their fans did. Hip hop has changed over the years because of changes and improvement of the average American. Hip hop music reflects on the current situation in American life and over the past forty years hip hop changes with the current times and views of hip hop fans in America. The improvement of more Americans since the 1980’s has help grow the access to hip hop music as well as the popularity of hip hop music and artists.
From its conception in the 1970's and throughout the 1980's, hip hop was a self-contained entity within the community that created it. This means that all the parameters set for the expression came from within the community and that it was meant for consumption by the community. Today, the audience is from outside of the community and doesn’t share the same experiences that drive the music. An artists’ success hinges on pleasing consumers, not the community. In today's world, it isn’t about music that rings true for those who share the artists' experiences, but instead, music that provides a dramatic illusion for those who will never share the experiences conveyed. This has radically changed the creative process of artists and the diversity of available music. Most notably, it has called in to question the future of hip hop.
Hip-hop music is portrayed by an entertainer rapping over a track that regularly comprises of loops or specimens of other music woven together (Selke INT). Hip-hop originally appeared in the Bronx around the 1970s and steadily turned into the predominant mainstream music structure by the 1990s, representing a multi-billion dollar industry today (Selke INT). Hip-hop music can additionally have some positive impacts. For example, its verbal imagination can motivate audience members to play with dialect, and acknowledge musicality and rhyme (Selke INT). Just like poetry, hip-hop can be a way of expressing oneself.