Afrika Bambaataa

1983: “Afrika Bambaataa spins the wheels of steel, his vintage scratching skills and guru-like vibe turning Chic’s Good Times into a mass call-and-response. As fists pump the air and a smile appears on every face, a sweaty Liverpool rock venue is transformed into a euphoric New York block party.” (Simpson). A scene from his 1982 global tour, where Bambaataa brought the principals of his Universal Zulu Nation abroad, Simpson exclaims on how Bambaataa, former gang warlord, founder of the black nationalist

party. The toasts often referred to people in the crowd or to events at the party itself. Dodd took rapping to Jamaica and Herc brought toasting back to the United States, where it quickly became known as rap, the verbal side of hip hop music. Afrika “Bam” Bambaataa fused the R&B music of James Brown, the funk of George Clinton, and even the sometimes synthetic and cold European electronic music of groups like Kraftwerk to create songs like “Planet Rock” and “Looking for the Perfect Beat,” and helped

to many parties in the city of New York. He used two turn tables to blend percussion based beats with older songs and popular dance songs to create a continuous flow of music. Along with Kool Herc other Deejays such as Grand Wizard Theodore, Afrika Bambaataa, and Grandmaster Flash. These Deejays were also known for being the first to isolate the break beat (the part of the song where there is just drums keeping the beat) to open up the dance floor freestyle dancing. This later gained its title Break

communities. The term ‘hip-hop’ was said to have been produced by Keith Cowboy, a rapper within Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, and the subculture apart from this genre of music was said to have been first established through Zulu Nation and Afrika Bambaataa. By now, it is understood that the elements of rapping or ‘signifying’ were primarily developed by African Americans in West Africa and that the music and culture was brought to America around the 1970s. It was at this time that block parties

The 4 Elements that Hip-Hop is comprised of is Graffiti, B-Boying, DJ’ing and MC’ing. Each element played an integral role in establishing the base of Hip-Hop, but also jumpstarting a cultural revolution. It is important to break down each one of the 4 Elements so we can have a better understanding of what each one is and the specific contributions they made. Graffiti was born in Philadelphia in the 1960s and involved artists spray-painting writings or images onto various pieces of property.

beats and the culture expanded to include street dance and graffiti art. Embraced by working class urban and young African-Americans, the music stems from African American forms of music including jazz, soul, gospel, and reggae. Background “Afrika Bambaataa basically is The One”, says Jeff Chang, hip-hop historian and author of the book Can’t Stop Won’t Stop. Bambaataa’s role was carrying the gospel of hip hop. He came of age in the South Bronx during the 1970s and used his charisma to rise to the

Hip Hop first started in the 1970’s in The Bronx, New York at DJ Kool Herc’s apartment. DJ Kool Herc was throwing a house party and used a unique turntable technique to start and develop Hip-Hop. Hip-Hop would start to inspire and become really popular among many young people in New York. Eventually, Hip Hop would evolve into a culture that would include music, lifestyle, and new ways of expression for people. Hip Hop started thanks to DJ Kool Herc. At a party in his apartment complex when he tried

standard for deejaying. In 1974, German electronic music band Kraftwerk released the 22-minute song "Autobahn", which takes up the entire first side of that LP. Years later, Kraftwerk would become a significant influence on hip hop artists such as Afrika Bambaataa and house music pioneer Frankie Knuckles. During the mid 1970s, Hip hop music and culture began to emerge, originating among urban African Americans and Latinos in New York City. The four main elements of hip hop culture were MCing (rapping)

DJ Kool Herc, also commonly known as Kool Herc is credited for hosting the very first hip hop house party in 1973. Although, this party consisted of playing mostly funk records by James Brown, he radically transformed the way records were played through incorporating only the instrumental version of a song and then quickly switching to the break in a separate song. This way of DJing completely revolutionized the term for the next generations to come and laid the foundation of what current DJ’s follow

The 4 Elements of the Movement of Hip Hop The Urban Dictionary’s definition of Hip Hop is: A name for the 4 elements of the late 70 's New York City renaissance which includes break dancing, emceeing, (rapping) graffiti, and turntablism. Wikipedia’s definition is: Hip hop or hip-hop is a subcultural movement that formed during the early 1970s by African-American and Puerto Rican youths residing in the South Bronx in New York City. Hip hop is truly several forms of art used to express emotions visually