Hip Hop History
Post by Caleb Rockwell, Jun 23, 2011 at 12:03 pm
Hip Hop
Turntables, Speakers, Microphones and a Lot of Rhythm and Beat
Hip hop is not a genre.
Hip hop is not a form.
Hip hop is not a style.
Hip hop is a culture…a way of life.
The Birth of Hip Hop
During the years of his early life on the island of Jamaica, Clive Campbell, aka DJ Kool Herc, regularly observed the local practice of toasting — the verbalization of ad hoc prose and poetry over music. Years later on August 11, 1973, DJ Kool Herc used elements of the Jamaican tradition as part of his deejay gig in South Bronx, New York.
During this particular gig, DJ Kool Herc decided to extend the break of funk songs to entice partygoers to dance more. He did this by using two different turntables and two records of the same song. By playing the first record from the beginning and cueing up the second to the point in the song where the break would start, he was able to make the pause in lyrics last as long as he pleased. During these breaks, DJ Kool Herc would manually stop and start the turntables, mixing the two records in and out of one another. Mixing became a regular part of his gigs. Eventually, instead of mixing two songs that were the same, DJs moved on to mixing two different songs, merging them into one.
After a while, rather than having a purely instrumental break, DJ Kool Herc started to say things like, “This is the joint,” or “You don’t stop,” or “To the beat, y’all.” This was done in a similar fashion as the Jamaican toasts he heard as a youngster. The foundations of rapping in the hip hop culture were built upon and evolved from this concept. DJ Kool Herc continued to use this style of DJing at outdoor parties and it eventually became a way for youngsters to express themselves in a non-violent manner. In fact, early hip hop was said to reduce inner-city violence and gang activity. Rather than gang fighting in the streets, the youth of South Bronx started to set up DJ wars and competitions instead, channeling their frustrations in a more positive way.
The Cornerstones of Hip Hop
In the late 1970s, DJ Kool Herc’s style of DJing was adopted by many deejays in the New York area and different elements were developed and added into the routine. Afrika Bambaataa, a local DJ, founded a street organization called Zulu Nation and the hip hop culture started to gain media attention. Bambaataa’s goals centered around drawing youth away from gangs and providing them with a place to express themselves and belong. Even though it began as an underground movement, hip hop started to gain popularity with DJs around the United States, specifically in impoverished urban neighborhoods. As the culture evolved, Bambaataa identified four cornerstones to hip hop and to this day, they are seen as the primary elements.
DJing
From the culture of hip hop came the term “turntablism” which represented the techniques used by DJs. The breaks that were integrated by DJ Kool Herc evolved into scratching, segment repetition, remixes and the like. DJs started to physically lay their hands down on the records and move them back and forth while the turntables continued to try to move forward. A local New York DJ, Grandmaster Flash, started to mark up his records with crayons, grease pencils and fluorescent pens to identify the spots where he would manipulate the turntables.
Eventually, DJing in the hip hop culture moved beyond the mere extension of the funk jam breaks to include DJ Grandmaster Flash’s invention, Quick Mix Theory. The Quick Mix Theory included back-spin, phasing, back-door, and double-back as the major techniques. This allowed DJs to touch the records, gauge their revolutions and create their own rhythms and beats.
MCing
During the earlier years, the words expressed by DJs during the breaks represented the tough life youth were living in the inner-city neighborhoods. They chanted about social issues affecting their lives such as civil rights for young African and Latino Americans, gangs, and a yearning to belong. By the end of the 1970s, emcees approached DJ Grandmaster Flash and asked if they could rap over his beats. As a result, Grandmaster Flash started working with the Furious Five who utilized their rapping abilities to enhance the beats. Melle Mel, a member of the Furious Five and pioneer of the emcee movement, popularized the idea of rapping during breaks. His abilities to engage the audience turned MCing into an integral part of the hip hop culture.
As an offshoot of rapping, emcees started to create rhythm by using parts of their bodies to produce different sounds. This percussion technique, known in the hip hop culture as beat boxing, became a huge part of the process. Some of the pioneers in this area include Doug E. Fresh, Buffy from the Fat Boys, and Biz Markie. They were interesting to watch as they used their mouths, tongues, lips, voices, and other body parts to create rhythm and beat.
Today, MCing, rapping, or chanting rhyming lyrics against an accompaniment of rhythm is very much a part of the art of the hip hop culture. Much of the content being expressed has moved, however, away from a focus on social issues. More recently, topics are mostly surrounding drugs, violence, and misogyny.
Graffiti
As DJs and MCs were practicing their art, graffiti artists started to engage in the hip hop culture. Even though graffiti has been in America since the late 1960s, it wasn’t until it became a part of hip hop culture did it become recognized internationally as art. Books published, such as “Subway Art” and “Style Wars” were the first exposures to hip hop graffiti for the general public. In essence, graffiti is the visual representation of the hip hop artist’s expression of rap music.
Initially, hip hop graffiti was relatively small and difficult to make out as the words were as big as the spray can nozzle. Over time, artists figured out how to use the caps of their cans to make the letters bigger. They also figured out a variety of ways to use other colors to enhance their words and make them more prominent. Today, there are many masterpieces created by such graffiti artists as SUPER KOOL 223 and WAP. Graffiti became a way to express a rap artist’s message rather than a gang or territorial tag.
Breaking
The fourth and final cornerstone of the hip hop culture is breaking, also known more commonly as breakdancing or b-boying / b-girling. When DJ Kool Herc first started encouraging partygoers to dance more during the funk breaks, he called them b-boys and b-girls. People started to engage in small competitions during these breaks. These competitions were a great way to channel the youth’s energy away from gang or street fighting to something more positive and less violent. Influenced by James Brown and his good foot dance in 1969, the hip hop culture embraced the art form and developed it into what we see youth doing today with spins, jumps, and fancy footwork. Unlike many other dance genres like the waltz, foxtrot, etc., breaking has transcended generations and is still an integral part of the culture. Breaking can be seen as the physical aspect of the hip hop culture.
The Language and Dress of Hip Hop
Over the years, as hip hop evolved from solely a musical art form to a culture, a language and dress code, per se, were developed. Some of the language used by hip hop artists have made their way into mainstream English, showing up in recent years in Webster’s Dictionary and all over the internet.
The slang used in rap music can now be heard everywhere…on the streets, in casual conversation and in published print materials. Some of the more common words and phrases include dis, homie, what the dilly yo, and Snoop Dogg’s –izzle that was tucked into the middle or end of words. It is normal to hear words like hood, crib, and whip used in everyday conversation.
Today, linguists at a variety of universities are studying the hip hop language as a way to promote social change. In fact, the language has been compared to the great “canon” poets who criticized society using imagery and mood in poetic form. Hip hop texts are extremely rich in metaphor and imagery, making them perfect pieces for instructors to teach irony, diction, point of view, and tone.
Along with language came a form of dress that youth wore during their parties and competitions. Although the baggy t-shirts, baggy pants, and baseball caps are commonly seen on those living the hip hop life, shoes are also huge part of the artist’s expression. Sneakers are part of the general fare, however, breaking shoes made specifically for b-boying or b-girling are also worn by the artists. Graffiti can also be found on the dancers’ footwear as well.
In addition to transcending generations, the hip hop culture has also consistently crossed over ethnic boundaries when it comes to fashion and dress. The baggy pants, baseball caps, extra large rugby or polo shirts and expensive sneakers are worn by youth in African American, Caucasian, Latino, and Asian populations. Hip hoppers around the world are dressed in a similar fashion.
The Controversial Social Embrace of Hip Hop
By the early 1980s, the hip hop culture started to see not just national recognition, but global embrace as well. Even still, there were those who shunned the youth and treated the culture like rock and roll in the 1950s. Specifically, those living their lives in the fast-growing suburban culture were the ones who turned their backs on hip hop. They feared that there was too much obscenity and violence in the songs and didn’t see it as an expressive art form.
Despite the fears of conservatives around the nation, large business corporations started to dial in to the hip hop culture for some of their advertising campaigns. Marketing executives were starting to realize that the culture was here to stay and started capitalizing on the opportunity to reach a wider audience. In 2005, McDonald’s started to look into paying rappers to advertise their products in their music. This concept spread to other industries including automobile manufacturers, shoe companies, and clothing designers. Hip hop graffiti designs have also started showing up on a variety of products around the globe.
Today, there are many variations of the hip hop culture around the world. In Europe, the UK was the first to embrace the culture. In Asia, the pioneering country was Japan. Although the four cornerstones of hip hop are still a part of the culture around the world, the musical styles and selections have changed. Some have strayed from the electro-funk genre and included a more pop/rock rhythm into the music. In fact, those who are purists, and still trying to express themselves using the original elements, are now seen as the “underground”.
As far as anyone can tell, the hip hop culture is here to stay. It has continued to be an expressive venue for the world’s youth and has gone beyond being a phase or fad. It has become a huge money making industry as well. Some successful hip hop moguls include Russell Simmons, the owner of Def Jam Records, Sean (P. Diddy) Combs, and Robert Diggs (RZA). They have done very well performing, producing, and marketing the hip hop culture so that it is, in fact, a way of life.
The Legends of Hip Hop
Some legendary hip hop artists include:
DJ Kool Herc (Clive Campbell)
- Considered the brains behind hip hop, bringing his Jamaican heritage to the forefront
- Started the break beating trend in the world of DJing with hard funk, rock, and Latin percussions
- Shared announcements during his break which eventually turned into the art of rapping
Afrika Bambaataa (Kevin Donovan)
- A hip hop pioneer
- Developed Zulu Nation
- Wrote “Planet Rock” which became a hip hop centerpiece. Bridged the gap between rap and new age.
Grandmaster Flash (Joseph Sadler)
- One of rap’s earliest technical pioneers
- Local South Bronx DJ who took DJ Kool Herc’s ideas and ran with them, creating the Furious Five to use as his emcees
- Brought “cutting”, “phasing” and “scratching” of records into the culture
- Brought in the mixer as part of the technology
Doug E. Fresh (Doug E. Davis)
- Beat box pioneer, imitating drum machines and sound effects using his mouth, tongue, and a microphone
- Popularized a form of street dance called “The Dougie” and taught Wolf Blitzer on the Soul Train Awards in 2010
- Produced and performed on albums with the Get Fresh Crew
LL Cool J (James Todd Smith)
- One of the most popular rap artists in the world
- Has 13 studio albums and two compilation albums in his repertoire
- Moved on to acting both on the big screen and on television
Queen Latifah (Dana Elaine Owens)
- First well-known female rap artist – beat boxer
- Strayed from hip hop culture for a while and got into soul / jazz before returning to her roots and
- Moved on to acting both on the big screen and on television
Russell Simmons
- Co-founded Def Jam Records and Rush Productions, major recording labels in the world of hip hop
- Started off promoting street beat music and eventually became known as the top hip hop mogul
- Helped bring his brother’s band, Run DMC, to the forefront of the industry
