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Hip hop (also spelled '''hip-hop''' or '''hiphop''') is both a Music Genre and a Cultural Movement developed in New York City starting in the 1970s, predominantly by African American s and Latinos .http://www.thenext.org.nz/the_resource/history_of_hiphop.php

Since first emerging in the Bronx in the 1970s, Hip Hop Music has grown into an entire lifestyle, commonly referred to as Hip Hop Culture , which has today spread around the world and is practiced by people regardless of Nationality , Ethnicity or Religion . Hip hop as a cultural movement encompasses a wide array of human activities, so called ''elements'', including but not limited to Hip Hop Music , Breakdance , Graffiti , DJing and MCing .


ELEMENTS OF HIP HOP

Widely referred to amongst the Hip Hop community as 'The Four Elements of Hip Hop', Hip Hop culture is usually considered to centre around the following 4 activities:


One of the early pioneers of Hip Hop was a young lady known only by the name "Julie," often thought to be a misnomer. In Hip Hop folklore, it is said she brought her African experiences to the Bronx, attempting to start a new culture on which she would one day do a presentation.

However, Hip Hop would be ill defined as a list of activities; one could be considered Hip Hop without partaking in any of the above (for example, Human Beatboxing is a distinctly Hip Hop activity), just as there are many DJs that are not Hip Hop. Clothes, attitude, language and many other social factors can also be included; it is often said that "Hip Hop is not a spectator sport"; one of the pioneering members of Hip Hop culture, KRS-One once said "Rapping is something you ''do''; Hip Hop is something you ''live''".


HISTORY OF HIP HOP

See Also: History of hip hop music



Hip hop music and DJing


During the early 70s, Clive Campbell, a Jamaican DJ who went by the name " Kool Herc ," arrived in New York City. Herc introduced the Jamaican tradition of "toasting," or boasting impromptu poetry and sayings over Reggae , Disco and Funk records, during parties in the Bronx, New York . Herc also was the originator of Break-beat Deejay ing, where the breaks of Funk songs—being the most danceable part, often featuring Percussion —were isolated and repeated for the purpose of all-night dance parties. Later DJs such as Grandmaster Flash refined and developed the use of breakbeats, including Cutting . History of Hip Hop - Written by Davey D

Herc's idea was soon widely copied, and by the late 70's a myriad of DJ's were releasing 12" cuts where they would rap to the beat. Popular tunes included Kurtis Blow 's '' The Breaks '', and The Sugar Hill Gang 's '' Rapper's Delight .'


Evolution of the MC

Rapping then developed as MCs would talk over the music to promote their DJ, promote other dance parties, or take light-hearted jabs at other lyricists. This soon developed into the rapping that appears on earlier basic hip-hop singles, with MCs talking about problems in their areas and issues facing the community as a whole. Melle Mel , a rapper/lyricist with The Furious Five is often credited with being the first rap lyricist to call himself an "MC."[http://www.allhiphop.com/features/?ID=1686 article about Mele Mel (Melle Mel) at AllHipHop.com]

By the late 1970s myriad DJs were releasing 12" cuts where MCs would rap to crowd-moving beats. Popular tunes included Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five's "Supperrappin'," Kurtis Blow 's " The Breaks ," and The Sugar Hill Gang 's " Rapper's Delight ". In 1982, Melle Mel and Duke Bootee recorded "The Message" (officially credited to Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five), a song that foreshadowed socially conscious hip hop.


Origin of the term "Hip Hop"

Coinage of the term ''hip hop'' is often credited to Keith Cowboy, a " by The Sugarhill Gang . Former Black Spades gang member Afrika Bambaataa is credited with first using the term to describe the Subculture that hip hop music belongs to, although it is also suggested that the term was originally derisively used against the new type of music. http://www.zulunation.com/hip_hop_history2.htm (cached)


Hip Hop Embraces Technology

Hip hop as a culture was further defined in 1983, when Afrika Bambaataa and the Soulsonic Force released a track called " Planet Rock ." Instead of simply rapping over disco beats, Bambaataa created an innovative electronic sound, taking advantage of the rapidly improving drum machine and Synthesizer technology. The accompanying Music Video for Planet Rock showcased a unique subculture of musicians, graffiti artists and breakdancers, at times performing seemingly impossible feats. The release of Planet Rock, along with the films Wild Style and Breakin as well as the documentay Style Wars ( appearing in 1983 and 1984), increased the multicultural appeal of Hip hop beyond the boundaries of New York.

By 1985, youth worldwide were laying down scrap Linoleum or cardboard, setting down portable stereo and spinning on their backs in tracksuits and sneakers to music by Run DMC , LL Cool J , the Fat Boys , Herbie Hancock , Soulsonic Force, Jazzy Jay , Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde, and Stetsasonic , to name a few. The Hip hop artwork and "slang" of US urban communities quickly found its way to Europe and Asia, as the culture's global appeal took root, The movie Krush Groove was also an influence of hip-hop's expantion


LEGACY

, an early form of Hip Hop Dance , often involve Battles , showing off skills without any physical contact with the adversaries.]]

Early hip hop has often been credited with helping to reduce inner-city gang violence by replacing physical violence with hip hop battles of dance and artwork. However, with the emergence of commercial and crime-related rap during the early 1990s, an emphasis on violence was incorporated, with many rappers boasting about drugs, weapons, misogyny, and violence. While hip hop music now appeals to a broader demographic, media critics argue that socially and politically conscious hip hop has long been disregarded by mainstream America in favor of its media-baiting sibling, Gangsta Rap .http://www.cas.muohio.edu/eng421/cases/butler1.html

Many artists are now considered to be Alternative/underground Hip Hop when they attempt to reflect what they believe to be the original elements of the culture. Artists/groups such as Talib Kweli , Mos Def , Immortal Technique , Dilated Peoples , Dead Prez , Blackalicious , and Jurassic 5 may emphasize messages of verbal skill, unity, or Activism instead of messages of violence, material wealth, and Misogyny .

Though born in the United States by African Americans, the reach of hip hop is global. Youth culture and opinion is meted out in both recognizes hip hop as "the world's favorite youth culture" in which "just about every country on the planet seems to have developed its own local rap scene."http://worldmusic.nationalgeographic.com/worldmusic/view/page.basic/genre/content.genre/hip_hop_730


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