In Hip hop music, the DJ acts as a musician playing songs from his/her collection. Hip hop is composed of four elements: rapping, DJing, breakdancing and graffiti writing. Hip Hop stylizes text in ways that form poems and rhymes. The forces of creation have driven Hip hop for over 40 years now. Hip hop began in the 1970s when DJ Kool Herc invented Hip Hop music at a Bronx block party. Hip Hop continued to develop in the South Bronx throughout the 1970s. Hip Hop has many originators, but it was Afrika Bambaataa who founded what is now known as Hip hop culture, through founding The Universal Zulu Nation, which was Hip Hop’s first Hip Hop crew.
Hip-Hop’s four main art forms are emceeing (or MCing), turntablism/djing, b-boying/b-Girling (breakdancing), and graffiti writing. There are several elements that makeup Hip-Hop including rapping (also referred to as MCing/Emceeing), DJing, sampling beats, break dancing and graffiti writing. Hip-Hop is an art form that has been subject to diverse interpretations from every individual Hip-Hopper. Hip-hop music was originally meant for the African American community but was later embraced by people of all races and ethnicities.
Hip Hop music deals with a variety of issues such as the harsh realities in the ‘hood’, police brutality, romance or partying. Hip Hop’s history can be traced back to its African roots where it originated through the griots of West Africa who were storytellers using music as their form of expression. Hip Hop culture takes its name from a term first used in New York City for a dance style involving improvised steps performed mainly at block parties. Hip-Hop was born in the South Bronx and lived in poor communities such as Bronx River and South Jamaica.
Hip Hop is made up of many elements: MCing, DJing, breakdancing and graffiti writing. Hip hop culture grew up alongside Jamaican music and the two styles have influenced each other throughout Hip hop history. Hip-hop’s roots can be traced back to West African griots, who were poets that used music as their form of expression. Around 1979, B-boying arose during block parties when DJs played breaks (small portions) of songs especially drum breaks for dancers to display their talents in a “break” dancing style known as b-boying or breakdancing.
Hip Hip started to gain momentum and thanks to Hip Hip and DJ Kool Herc, Hip Hip entered the music industry. Hip-hop was originally meant for the African American community but it was later embraced by people of all races and ethnicities. Hip Hop’s history can be traced back to its African roots where it originated through the griots of West Africa who were storytellers using music as their form of expression. In the early 1990s Hip Hop faced political issues with artists such as Ice T, NWA and Public Enemy but despite these conflicts, Hip-Hop still became a mainstream success in America.
Hip Hop music and Hip Hop dance are inseparable components of Hip Hop culture. Hip Hop first emerged as a form of African-American and Latin American street dancing in the 1970s, and the music that accompanied it was first recorded and released in 1979. Hip Hop is an umbrella term that encompasses four distinct artforms: rap music, DJing (and turntablism), breakdancing (or breakin’), and graffiti writing. Hip Hop can be used to refer to all four artforms collectively or as individual elements; the earliest example of this usage found thus far dates back to 1983.
Hip hop as a single phenomenon began exponentially growing during the early 1980s, but breaking down into its separate components did not occur until much later. Hip Hop has influenced music, fashion and language internationally since Hip Hip culture emerged from the South Bronx in 1973-1974. In Hip Hop, the four elements of Hip Hop have been fused together to create a culture that also includes: deejaying (turntablism), MCing (or rapping), graffiti art and beatboxing (an instrumental form of vocal percussion). However, not everyone agrees on all aspects; for example, some people agree with only three or even two elements out of these four.
All four attributes require much practice to perfect them and do indeed work well when combined together in unison. [Note to self: add paragraph about how it’s an artform. ] Hip Hop music is very diverse. Hip Hop music began in the South Bronx, New York City in the 1970s, but Hip Hop has also spread throughout the globe. Hip Hop practices and principles have become increasingly popular internationally since its emergence on the global scene in 1990 with DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince’s worldwide hit “Summertime”.
Hip Hop is no longer confined to its birthplace of America; Hip Hop music can now be heard everywhere by people of all races. Hip Hop music itself has gone through many different styles including: East Coast Rap, West Coast Rap, Gangsta Rap/Thug Rap, Old School Hip Hop (1979-1984), Golden Age Hip Hip (Mid 80s-Early 90s), Ghetto Pop, Alternative Hip Hop (Mid 90s-early 2000s), Hip Hop Soul (1979-1984), Hip Hop Boho (Mid 90s-Early 2000s), Dirty Rap, Club Hip Hop (1993-2003/4), Hip House, Broken Beat, Slow Jamz, Crunk (2004+), Digital Underground Hip Hop (2010+) and more.
Hip hop music is not limited to its music alone; Hip Hop dance has also gone through several stages of evolution since the 1970s. The first pioneers of Hip Hop dancing were the people who created a Jamaican form of Dancehall called “Bogging” in New York City in the early 1970s’ Bronx. Breakdancing was a separate genre from Hip Hop music until 1983 when it became part of Hip Hip music as well. Hip Hop dance includes b-boying (or breakin’), popping, locking and other street dancing styles.
Hip Hop dance has also gone through several stages of evolution; Hip Hop dancing has evolved ever since Hip Hip culture first emerged from the Bronx in New Orleans and later spread across the world. These four elements of Hip Hop: deejaying (turntablism), MCing (or rapping), graffiti art and beatboxing are said to have been fused together to create Hip Hop culture by Afrika Bambaataa in the early 1980s during Hip Hip’s Golden Age. The four components of Hip hop can be viewed as being different aspects of a whole rather than four individual parts.
Hip Hop music is very diverse and incorporates elements of many different genres of music. Hip Hop does not always have lyrics or a traditional Hip Hop beat; sometimes it’s simply Hip Hop dancing to an instrumental (or non-Hip Hip) form of music such as jazz or techno. Hip hop dance integrates the movements of other dances such as: tap, ballet, modern, jazz and even gymnastics. Hip hop graffiti art can incorporate several different elements: aerosol spray paint (a type of graffiti), marker pens and digital image manipulation (making Hip Hop graphics).
