Introduction to hip hop culture
Hip hop is a subculture that has spread rapidly over the past 30 years, pioneered by the DJ Kool Herc who introduced hip hop music in the Bronx, New York City, from where it has spread across the globe to listeners and performers, gathering a solid fan base along the way. There are four primary elements of hip-hop culture: MCing, DJing, graffiti, and breakdancing. Other secondary elements of this culture are beatboxing, hip hop fashion, and hip hop slang.
DJing
DJing existed before hip hop did, but hip hop’s contribution to the concept of DJing was significant because it gave it greater scope and more techniques than it previously had. Kool DJ Herc was the first hip hop DJ as he separated “breaks” in albums, i.e. the part which emphasized the beat, and created hip hop this way. Following his techniques, other DJs such as Grandmaster Flash, Grand Wizard Theodore, and Grandmaster Caz also introduced new elements such as scratching.
Scratching is a technique which in hip hop culture is used to gauge the expertise of a DJ, as he is expected to produce new sounds simply by moving a record back and forth while it is playing on a turntable and at the same time manipulating with the crossfader on a DJ mixer. DJ Grandmaster Flash described scratching in Toop (1991, p.65) as “nothing but the back-cueing that you hear in your ear before you push it [the recorded sound] out to the crowd.”
As convention dictates, DJs usually use two turntables at the same time, which are connected to many other electronic musical tools and equipment such as a DJ mixer, an amplifier, and speakers. The DJ then produces distinctive sounds by manipulating and working tricks on the two albums playing simultaneously such as isolating breaks or scratching. Hence the two songs then become one unique sound.
When hip hop first originated, the DJs were very popular, and considered the stars of hip hop, but since 1978 MCs have taken over this status largely due to the contribution of Melle Mel, who was part of the crew of DJ Grandmaster Flash (Rosen, 2007).
Nevertheless, in recent times there have been a number of noteworthy DJs who have gained a massive following. Popular names include, aside from the above mentioned, Mr. Magic, DJ Premier, DJ Scratch, DJ Jazzy Jeff, DJ Scott La Rock, DJ Pete Rock, DJ Muggs, DJ Clue, and DJ Q-Bert. The popularity of turntablism, described as “A phonograph in the hands of a ‘hip-hop/scratch’ artist who plays a record like an electronic washboard with a phonographic needle as a plectrum, produces sounds which are unique and not reproduced – the record player becomes a musical instrument” (Cox & Warner, 2004), has led to a renewed focus on the skills of the DJ.
MCing/Rapping
MCing is also known as Emceeing, Rapping, Spitting, Rhyme spitting, and even simply as Rhyming. This is one of the most fundamental aspects of hip-hop culture in general and hip-hop music in particular. In the 1960s, the word rap was present in the African American English dialect and it meant “to converse”. Soon after, it became associated with the musical style which has originated with the West African folk poets who were known as griots. Rapping is accompanied by a beat and can be delivered even without one, simply as rhythmic verses (Toop, 2000).
Graffiti
Graffiti is another cultural pillar of hip hop. In the 1960s it was used as a tool of expression by people wishing to make a political statement, such as activists, as well as by street gangs to ensure that their territory is well-marked. Around the late 1960s then, Philadelphia graffiti writers Top Cat, Cool Earl, and Cornbread started to produce their signatures on graffiti, from where the movement spread to New York City.
Raki 183 and Taki 168, one of the founders of graffiti in New York would write their nickname and street number, and put their graffiti all over a train, where it was carried by subway all over the city. Writers from the Bronx started by using bubble lettering, but the art of graffiti was eventually characterized by the elaborate Brooklyn style referred to by Tracy 168 as “wildstyle.” In later years, Dondi, Futura 2000, Daze, Blade, Zephyr, Crash, and Lady Pink became popular graffiti artists (Toop, 2000).
Graffiti and hip-hop culture are closely related because the early graffiti artists were avid practitioners of other elements of hip hop as well, and graffiti had a definite presence in areas where other cultural aspects of hip hop were slowly emerging. In the same way that breakdancing is termed the physical expression of rap music, graffiti is viewed as the visual expression of the same. Hip hop graffiti gained mainstream acclaim through the book Subway Art (Copper & Chalfant, 1984) and the TV show ‘Style Wars’, first shown in 1984.
Breakdancing / BBoying
Breakdance is a central part of hip hop culture and is one of the initial forms of hip hop dance, where dancers show off their dance skills in a form of a contest, without there being any physical contact between the adversaries. It is also known as B-boying (or B-girling for women) or breaking. While b-boying is often associated with other funk dancing styles which emerged around the same period, i.e. the 1960s, in California, such as “popping”, “ticking” and “boogaloo”, it is distinct from these. It originated in the South Bronx similar to other aspects of hip hop (Palmer, 1981).
It was at DJ Kool Herc’s parties that the term B-boy first came into being because the dancers at these parties would always get in front of the audience at the break section of the song, and dance their very best moves in an entirely unique and frenetic way. The documentary “The Freshest Kids”, the fictional film “Beat Street” and the TV program “Style Wars” have all documented this style, which is one of the most crucial elements of hip hop culture.
In the 1980s, b-boying was very common and popular among people and it was not unusual to see a group of people with radio, on a sidewalk or playground, showing off their skills to an audience. Today hip hop as a dance form is gaining popularity and while Bboying was the starting point for hip hop dance, the latter has now evolved to include a larger number of moves than just the breaking ones. Hip hop dance differs from most other dance forms because it has little structure if any at all, and very few rules regarding steps or positions (Chang, 2005).
Beatboxing is regarded by many as the fifth element of hip hop, said to be the vocal expression of the culture. Beatboxing refers to the art of creating rhythms, melodies, and beats by simply using the human mouth, and it got its name from the very initial drum machines, which were called beatboxes. It is a method of creating hip-hop music and at times is accompanied by rapping. In the 80s, beatboxing was a very popular art form and artists such as Darren “Buffy, the Human Beat Box” Robinson and Biz Markie were famous for their beatboxing skills. Then in the late 80s, its popularity started decreasing but towards the turn of the 21st century, the release of Rahzel’s “Make the Music 2000” contributed to the renewed taste for this form of hip hop expression (Chang, 2005).
Today hip hop has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry and while the elements above might form its core, there are various other aspects that also have a significant role in defining its scope. Hip hop today is a genuine political and cultural movement, according to KRS-ONE, an important figure in the hip hop community and founder of the Temple of Hiphop, which includes the elements mentioned above, as well as hip hop fashion, hip hop slang, street knowledge, and street entrepreneurship. The Temple of Hip Hop is a Ministry, Archive, School, and Society with the goal to maintain as well as promote hip hop culture (The Temple of Hip Hop).
History of Hip Hop
Throughout American history, the African American community has always had some version of verbal acrobatics or chanting which involves rhymes. Some of these rhymes have been called various names such as Shining of the Titanic, Signifying, Testifying, prison ‘jail house’, and double Dutch jump rope.
The Bronx in New York City is the place where the roots of hip hop can be found, particularly in the large block parties held in NYC in the 1970s. Back in the 1930s, a significant number of the residents of Harlem belonged to the West Indies and the block parties of the 1980s reflected this association by being astonishingly similar to Jamaican parties.
These celebrations were large, held outdoors, where music was loud and came from expensive stereos, and people would start conversing with lyrics or engage in toasting, which refers to talking or chanting over a rhythm or a beat. As the RM Hip Hop Magazine states, “in the South Bronx, the half speaking, half singing the rhythmic street talk of ‘rapping’ grew into the hugely successful cultural force known as Hip Hop.” Jamaican immigrants such as DJ Kool Herc and poets who spoke rather than sang lyrics or poetry such as Gil Scott-Heron were the leading innovators in early hip hop.
As DJs competed with each other and isolated percussion breaks, which dancers loved to show their best moves on, MCs started chanting or talking over the beats, this was the beginning of rap music. These percussion breaks which were isolated and lengthened also led to the evolution of a similar style in Jamaica known as dub. Nevertheless, rap music of this time consisted of both, good quality material by experts, as well as mediocre or poor quality material hurriedly put together in order to earn a quick buck. As Lil Rodney Cee of Funky Four Plus One (which was famous because it was the first Hip Hop group from the Bronx to have gotten a recording deal) put it, Cowboy of Grandmaster Flash and Furious Five is regarded as “the first MC that I know of…He was the first MC to talk about the DJ”.
The first few rap songs ever recorded include “King Tim III (Personality Jock)” by Fatback Band and “Rapper’s Delight” by the Sugarhill Gang, which was a massive hit as it attained the 36th spot on the Billboard charts (Toop, 1991).
Rap became very popular because it just like the verbal/rhyme jousting and games that had been popular in the African American community, it gave the New York youth a chance and a medium to freely express themselves. Also, an important reason why rap caught on was that it was accessible for everyone regardless of how much money or resources they had. It was a verbal skill, which anyone who was interested in could practice and perfect the art of.
It also became popular because they were no rules or restrictions, and hence, there were unlimited challenges to be original and produce new, unique rhymes to go with the beat of the music. The ideal end goal was to be regarded as ‘def or good by peers. Rap also allowed people to stay true to themselves, as it allowed one to adapt the technique to their own personality, and then their personality would reflect in their rhyme and beat. Hence it definitely served as a medium of expression, which played a major role in its popularity (Chang, 2007).
Incidentally, all of the four basic elements of hip hop described earlier had this factor in common. Their popularity was in large part attributed to their serving as a form of self-expression, the driving force behind them being people’s need to be seen and heard.
D (n.d) discusses how at the time before hip hop originated, New York’s Black radio station started to change their positioning in order to cater to an older, more affluent, and primarily whiter audience. Due to this, young people were left with not much to listen to especially when “bubble gum and Europeanized versions of disco music began to hit the airwaves.” This was because many people perceived this style of music to lack a certain personality and soul, and seemed mechanic and formulaic.
In the time before hip hop music evolved, like Afrika Bambaataa (a DJ, community leader in the Bronx, as well a pioneering force in the early development of Hip Hop throughout the 1970s) said, that New York’s relationship with funk music weakened. Black radio started patronizing “established rock acts doing generic-sounding disco tunes” while Black artists such as George Clinton and James Brown were nowhere to be found on the airwaves. At this time, a void was created in music and hip hop emerged to fill this gap. Simply put, “hip hop was a direct response to the watered-down, Europeanized, disco music that permeated the airwaves.”
Hip Hop Fashion
Hip Hop fashion refers to a particularly unique style of dress which, similar to other elements of hip hop culture, originated with the Black and Latino youth living in the Bronx, and it was later developed further as it was influenced by the hip hop culture of Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and the South among other areas. The fashion is very reflective of the attitude that the hip hop culture emanates, and while it may have as its founders the African American youth, today it has been embraced by all ethnicities and nationalities (Chang, 2005).
When fashion giants such as Adidas, Nike, and Kangol started producing styles and clothes in the 1980s associated with the hip hop scene, this fashion truly became a style of its own. In this decade, hip hop fashion was characterized by tracksuits of bold colors, jackets made of leather or sheepskin, Dr. Martens boots and sneakers, large eyeglasses, and name belts. Heavy jewelry was also very popular and to this day it is a defining element of hip hop fashion, especially gold necklaces and rings, as they are a sign of prestige and wealth (Chang, 2005).
In the late 1980s and 1990s, traditional African clothing, hairstyles, etc. were a dominant part of hip hop fashion and hip hop artists promoted blousy pants, hats made of kente cloth, Africa chains, and dreadlocks. Gangsta rap, which is one of the genres of hip hop music and “reflects the violent lifestyles of some inner-city youths” (Adaso, n.d) was one of the most dominating influences on hip hop fashion as the styles of prison inmates and street gangsters became popular. Baggy pants which were worn low and without a belt, black ink tattoos, bandanas, and a “homeboy” mentality were all elements that had been taken on by the African American at first and then had spread to the hip hop community in general.
Conclusion
Hip hop as a culture comprises a lot more than just hip hop music or fashion. It is an attitude that has been taken by global media companies, who have partnered with fashion giants, beverage brands, and sports franchises to package it into a complete lifestyle. But as Chang (2007) points out, “the most interesting element driving hip-hop’s global appeal is its cultural and political resonance.” While hip hop may have proved to be an “astonishing moneymaker”, it has also proved to be a powerful medium of youth expression and empowerment. And therein lies its true strength. Young people who find themselves on the outside looking in have chosen this as their voice, and this is what differentiates hip hop from other forms of popular cultures in recent times.
What is also interesting is that these young people have been, more often than not, African American. According to Chang (2007), “Whereas record labels in the 1950s, for example, used personalities like Elvis Presley and Boone to soften rock-and-roll’s edges, rap music has remained, by and large, a defiantly “black” musical form.”
While other ethnicities and nationalities have adopted rap and other elements of hip hop culture, what this means is that hip hop in its most authentic way is very much connected to the prevalent social and political realities. Hip hop culture has become what it is today because it is the voice of the streets, regardless of where in the world these streets exist. It gave the powerless a voice, and connected with them in a way that could not have been predicted and could definitely not have been controlled.
References
Adaso, Henry. “Gangsta Rap“. About. 2008. Web.
Chang, Jeff. Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2005.
Chang, Jeff. “It’s a Hip Hop World. Foreign Policy”. 2007. 58-65.
Copper, Martha & Chalfant, Henry. Subway Art. Thames & Hudson, 1984.
Cox, Christopher & Warner, Daniel. Audio Culture: Readings in Modern Music. The Continuum International Publishing Group Inc, 2004.
D, Davey. The History of Hip Hop. Web.
Palmer, Robert. “Pop: The Sugar Hill Gang“. The New York Times. 1981. Web.
Rm Hip Hop Magazine 1986. “The Roots of Hip Hop.” Web.
Rosen, Jody. A Rolling Shout-Out to Hip-Hop History. The New York Times. 2006. Web.
The Temple of Hip Hop. Web.
Toop, David. Rap Attack, 3rd ed., London: Serpent’s Tail, 2000.
Toop, David. Rap Attack II: African Rap to Global Hip Hop. New York: Serpent’s Tail, 1991.