The Hip Hop Culture

In the early 80s in South Bronx, hip hop culture was created as a way people expressed themselves to make a statement of some sort of art form that was diffused within the local community without outside influences orally and through localization. Commercialization changed and evolved these cultures making the producers not equal the consumers; globalization diffused these cultures with mass communication with the media. Spatially, hip hop used to be concentrated within a local community and it spread through relocation of the subway graffitti, while now it’s urbanized around the globe. In terms of social characteristics, rap has always been there as a way to express oneself through art forms such as b-boying, graffiti, and rapping; now it’s

Hip hop, the creation of electronic sound and enticing language is a style born from the African American and Hispanic cultures. It formed in New York City from block parties and the participation of the youth culture. This style of music began as a minimal change in rhythm to a globally popular culture consisting of graffiti art, dancing, and music. Hip hop was not only a type of tasteful music, but it also became a benchmark in history. When this style of music was created, it served as an outlet for those who did not have a voice, particularly the minority groups. These groups were given rights that they deserved just like everyone else. In the 1970’s is when hip hop began to spread, creating not just

Hip Hop was birthed in the neighborhood, where young people gathered in parks, on playgrounds, and neighborhood street corners, to verbalize poetry over spontaneous sounds and adopted melodies. Hip Hop was not just the music; it was also a way for the young to show their skills in break dancing, gymnastic dance style that was valued, and athleticism over choreographed fluidity. Hip hop was also fashion such as: hats, jackets, gold chains, and name-brand sneakers. Hip Hop was a form of graffiti, to a new way of expression that engaged spray paint on the subway walls as the canvas. In addition, today’s hip hop have changed as where the DJ was once is now the producer as the key music maker, and the park is now a studio.

In order to understand hip-hop dance, it is important to recognize hip-hop music and where it came from. Many scholars of rap music relate the founding of rap to African and African American oral and musical traditions, specifically African griots and storytellers. They link the rhythm of rap to the use of drums in Africa and to African American music in the United States, from slave songs and spirituals to jazz and R&B. Scholars have found very interesting connections between rap music and Black nationalist traditions (traditions historically practiced by black people that serve as part of their racial identity). Rap is similar to the “call and response of the black church, the joy and pain of the blues, the jive talk and slang of the hipsters and jazz musicians, the boasting of street talk, the sidesplitting humor of comedians, and the articulateness of black activists.” All of these African American oral traditions, including rap, can be traced back to West African oral traditions. In traditional African societies, the spoken word and oral culture included poetry, storytelling, and speaking to drumbeats. The links between rap music and African American oral and musical traditions demonstrate that hip-hop music represents more than just sound. It represents history. This aspect of it, in my opinion, makes this type of music very unique and makes it carry more value.

Hip-Hop is a complex cultural movement formed during the early 1970s by African Americans in the slums of South Bronx, New York (Dyson 6), it propagated outside of the African American community in late 1980s, and by the opening of the 21th century it became the most spread culture in the world. Hip-Hop consists of four elements: Deejay, Break-Dancing, Rapping, and Graffiti. (Kenon 112)

In the early 70's, a Jamaican, DJ known as Kool Herc attempted to combine his Jamaican style of disk jockey, that involved reciting improvised rhymes over the dub versions of his reggae records (Davey 1). He also invented turntables, which kept the music going, with the occasional voice on the top of records, which started the roots of rap music. Over time, the culture broke into mainstream, spread around the world, and young people who did not have much to do, created not only multi-million industry, but have also created a way we can speak to each other all around the world. Hip hop is linked to other music such as rap which is embraced by urban black population. It is raw self-expression, sometimes features expletive lyrics, and violence. “Hip hop artists spoke to despair and pain of urban youth and the poor who were often without a voice. The rappers themselves were, the product of that reality, and it was conveyed through their lyrics” (Muhammad 1).

Hip Hop has been a thread of music that is deeply rooted in the struggle within the black communities of America. It acted as a window for people outside of the black community to acknowledge and experience, to an extent, what endeavors those communities encounter. Although Hip Hop’s central purpose is to denote the subjugation that was implemented on the black community, Hip Hop began as a mere offshoot of 1970’s jazz, funk, and soul.

Hip-hop culture began to develop in the south Bronx area of New York City during the 1970s. It had a significant influence in the music industry. Hip-hop music generally includes rapping, but other elements such as sampling and beatboxing also play important roles. Rapping, as a key part in the hip-hop music, takes different forms, which including signifying, dozen, toast and jazz poetry. Initially, hip-hop music was a voice of people living in low-income areas, reflecting social, economic and political phenomenon in their life [1]. As time moves on, hip-hop music reached its “golden age”, where it became a mainstream music, featuring diversity, quality, innovation and influence [2]. Gangsta rap, one of the most significant innovations in

The Hip Hop culture itself varies with individualism and collectivism, along with the power distance experienced with artists collectively starting joint ventures together as well as having polychronic opportunities but having the same monochronic idea, which is make money. This cultural began collectively on empowerment. Artists in this culture use their platform to promote their individuality whether it is good positive rap or “gangsta rap”. The Hip Hop Culture comes together collectively in the advancement of wealth and empowerment but separates through artist’s identity of individuality.

Hip Hop was born in the neighborhood, where young people gathered in parks, on playgrounds, and street corners, to speak poetry over mechanical sounds and borrowed melodies. Hip Hop was always bigger than just the music; it was also break dancing, the gymnastic dance style that valued improvised, angular athleticism over choreographed fluidity. Hip hop was also fashion such as: hats, jackets, gold chains, and brand sneakers. Hip Hop was graffiti, to a new way of expression that employed spray paint as the medium and subway walls as the canvas.

Hip-hop music in today’s world has grown immensely in the past 20 years, first spreading throughout America and now to parts of Europe and Asia. However, this change was indeed a gradual one. What began as a simple expression of dissatisfaction of inner city life has turned into a multimillion dollar industry and thriving culture, with some of its leading artists being people of all walks of life. It began around the 1970’s and 80’s as a means of overcoming the struggles of urban life in the Bronx, New York City. More so than just music, Hip-Hop is a culture with five elements or “pillars” all of which are essential to what is the Hip-Hop “lifestyle”.

Hip-Hop is a cultural movement that emerged from the dilapidated South Bronx, New York in the early 1970’s. The area’s mostly African American and Puerto Rican residents originated this uniquely American musical genre and culture that over the past four decades has developed into a global sensation impacting the formation of youth culture around the world. The South Bronx was a whirlpool of political, social, and economic upheaval in the years leading up to the inception of Hip-Hop. The early part of the 1970’s found many African American and Hispanic communities desperately seeking relief from the poverty, drug, and crime epidemics engulfing the gang dominated neighborhoods. Hip-Hop proved to be successful as both a creative outlet for

Hip Hop music became one of the primary constructive outlets for Black Americans to release their thoughts, pain, and anguish about the injustices and mistreatments of Black people. Even though most of the pioneers in Hip-Hop either were not born in America or are 2nd generation immigrants that proves that common oppression can lead to unity. The fact that that these individuals were impoverished and felt marginalized is what brought them together and lead to the culture today. Deep rooted racism in the United States kept the genre of music suppressed for a while before it was allowed to even be played on the airwaves. Now, in 2011, the main consumers of byproducts of hip hop are White Americans.

The hip-hop cultural movement began in the South Bronx and became popular in the 1980’s and 90’s. Now, hip-hop is one of the most popular forms of entertainment.

Hip- hop has become a phenomenon throughout youth culture. Many believed hip-hop was only a phase of music like disco, but as the genre continued to expand and evolve, it became clear that hip-hop was here to stay. (History of hip- hop: past, present, future) Hip- hop is made up of 2 main elements, DJing and rapping. DJ is short for disc jockey, which is a person who usually uses turntables to make music, and rapping is talking and chanting in an easy and familiar manner. (Hip-Hop: A Short History) In writing this research paper, I will explain the most impactful years of hip-hop, and the events surrounding them, starting from 1979, when Sugarhill Gang released “Rappers Delight”.