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History Of Hip Hop And Influence On American Culture Essay

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The history of hip hop and the influence on American culture “Examples abound of hip hop permeating the entertainment world and beyond, from television and film, various musical genres, clothing styles, dance styles, marketing trends, the use of language, and more.” (Kitwana 109) Can something actually exist that undermines Middle American and family values threatening the assumed superior culture? There may just be such an inferior culture. This culture being hip-hop.
Hip-hop, which originated more than 20 years ago, is a musical art form. It has went through many changes during its lifetime. The music and lyrics have always remained centered in urban settings, with most artists of the music rising up from the inner-city neighborhoods. Beginning with a young generation of African-Americans from the Bronx looking to express themselves, it has since evolved to inspire people from all backgrounds across the world. During a time of segregation where clubs and the music played in them were only for white citizens. Hip hop was created in the 1970s and is defined by four key elements; MCing/rapping, DJing/scratching, break dancing, and graffiti writing. People would learn to breakdance to Afrika Bambaataa, who contributed a series of tracks influencing the hip hop culture.
Evolving from blacks not being allowed on television to now there is a whole network based around black entertainment. The first step in this direction was The Sugarhill Gang performing on Soul Train in 1979.
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