Task 6- Research

1. Hip hop is a subculture that originated from an African American community during the 1970s in New
York City, specifically in Morris Heights, Bronx, then later spread its influence to Latin American
communities.While the term is often used to refer to hip-hop music, in its broader sense hip-hop
culture is characterized by the four elements of rapping, DJing, breaking and graffiti.
The origin of the subculture stems from the block parties of DJ Kool Herc at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue,
where Herc would mix samples of existing records with his own shouts to the crowd and dancers.
Kool Herc is credited as the "father" of the art form. DJ Afrika Bambaataa of the hip-hop collective
Zulu Nation outlined the pillars of hip hop culture, including: MCing, DJing, B-boying and graffiti writing.
Since its emergence in the South Bronx, hip-hop culture has spread to both urban and suburban
communities throughout the world. Hip-hop music first emerged with Kool Herc and contemporary
disc jockeys and imitators creating rhythmic beats by looping breaks (small portions of songs
emphasizing a percussive pattern) on two turntables, more commonly referred to as juggling. This
was later accompanied by "rap", a rhythmic style of chanting or poetry often presented in 16-bar
measures or time frames, and beatboxing, a vocal technique mainly used to provide percussive
elements of music and various technical effects of hip hop DJs. An original form of dancing and
particular styles of dress arose among fans of this new music. These elements experienced
considerable adaptation and development over the course of the history of the culture
In the 1970s an underground urban movement known as "hip hop" began to develop in the South Bronx
area of New York City focusing on emceeing (or MCing), breakbeats, and house parties. Starting at the
home of DJ Kool Herc at the high-rise apartment at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, the movement later
spread across the entire borough. Rap developed both inside and outside of hip hop culture, and
began in America in earnest with the street parties thrown in the Bronx neighborhood of New York in
the 1970s by Kool Herc and others—Jamaican born DJ Clive "Kool Herc" Campbell is credited as being
highly influential in the pioneering stage of hip hop music, Herc created the blueprint for hip hop
music and culture by building upon the Jamaican tradition of impromptu toasting, boastful poetry and
speech over music. This became Emceeing - the rhythmic spoken delivery of rhymes and wordplay,
delivered over a beat or without accompaniment—taking inspiration from the Rapping derived from
the griots (folk poets) of West Africa, and Jamaican-style toasting. Melle Mel, a rapper/lyricist with
The Furious Five, is often credited with being the first rap lyricist to call himself an "MC"
Street gangs were prevalent in the poverty of the South Bronx, and much of the graffiti, rapping, and
b-boying at these parties were all artistic variations on the competition and one-upmanship of street
gangs. Sensing that gang members' often violent urges could be turned into creative ones, Afrika

2. Bambaataa founded the Zulu Nation, a loose confederation of street-dance crews, graffiti artists, and
rap musicians. By the late 1970s, the culture had gained media attention, with Billboard magazine
printing an article titled "B Beats Bombarding Bronx", commenting on the local phenomenon and
mentioning influential figures such as Kool Herc.

3. Too many people are unclear as to what Hip Hop Culture really is and tend to use the term frivolously.
Hip Hop Culture is commonly recognized by its main elements: Graffiti, Djing, Breakdancing (B-boying),
Mcing (Rapping), and Beatboxing. However, these elements are simply forms of art designed to
express a deeper meaning. At its core, Hip Hop is so much more than mere art and entertainment.
Hip Hop is the constantly evolving spirit and consciousness of urban youth that keeps recreating itself
in a never-ending cycle. It is joy, sorrow, pleasure, pain, victory, defeat, anger, happiness, confusion,
clarity, humor, intensity, dream, nightmare, life, death, and everything else in between. It is the spirit
that connects the past to the present and lays a path towards the future. The spirit of Hip Hop is the
same as Jazz, Reggae, Blues, Doo-wop, Be-bop, and a multitude of other types of expressions, be it
musical or otherwise, that African people throughout the Diaspora have given birth to and introduced
to the world. That very spirit is what breathes life into a simple idea and transforms it into a living
cultural movement. Hip Hop Culture cannot be assimilated, integrated, diluted, watered-down, sold for
profit, or pimped. It will always exist, in this incarnation or another. What the mainstream promotes
as Hip Hop is only a commercial product misleading you into believing that it represents Hip Hop in its
totality.
op Culture is commonly recognized by its main elements: Graffiti, Djing, Breakdancing (B-boying),
Mcing (Rapping), and Beatboxing. However, these elements are simply forms of art designed to
express a deeper meaning. At its core, Hip Hop is so much more than mere art and entertainment.
Hip Hop is the constantly evolving spirit and consciousness of urban youth that keeps recreating itself
in a never-ending cycle. It is joy, sorrow, pleasure, pain, victory, defeat, anger, happiness, confusion,
clarity, humor, intensity, dream, nightmare, life, death, and everything else in between. It is the spirit
that connects the past to the present and lays a path towards the future. The spirit of Hip Hop is the
same as Jazz, Reggae, Blues, Doo-wop, Be-bop, and a multitude of other types of expressions, be it
musical or otherwise, that African people throughout the Diaspora have given birth to and introduced
to the world. That very spirit is what breathes life into a simple idea and transforms it into a living
cultural movement. Hip Hop Culture cannot be assimilated, integrated, diluted, watered-down, sold for
profit, or pimped. It will always exist, in this incarnation or another. What the mainstream promotes
as Hip Hop is only a commercial product misleading you into believing that it represents Hip Hop in its
totality.
It comes from many categories in music, for example: Hip-hop music is made up from other forms of
music like funk, soul, rhythm & blues, jazz, rock heavy metal, salsa, soca (calypso), TV shows, kiddie
shows, horror movies, techno, pop, disco, african, arabic, reggae -etc. . . . and if you use any records
from these categories, you will see that the music is made by people from different races or
nationalities from all over the planet, but it`s roots start with black people.