Hiphop
Right, to you guys who had been asking me about what I know about hiphop here's the summary I promised -
History of Hiphop
Hip Hop in the beginning started out as a form of expression which was a reaction to economic, social and political conditions. In the mid 70's almost all of the people participating and even going to the early parties were Black and Puerto Rican meaning 'Black'. The first break dancers were all Black and Puerto Rican. Zulu Nation was all Black and Puerto Rican.
There were many white deejays but they were mainly spinning disco. One of the main reasons why whites were not really introduced to the culture was due to social tension. In the Soundview and South Bronx section of the Bronx where early Hip Hop took birth, one did not venture North of Zerega Avenue. That was the dividing line. It was near Castle Hill projects. To do so was to ask for major trouble. You didn't venture into places like Throgs Neck, Pelham Bay, Country Club Road, certain parts of Riverdale [West Bronx] and Van Cortland Park, and certain parts of Moshulu Parkway. Except for the mostly Black and Puerto Rican housing projects found in those areas there was no Hip Hop going on. There was no intermingling of the races.
Back in the late '70s hardly any young people owned or drove cars. First the driving age in New York City was 18 and having a car was more of a liability then a convenience. That meant public transportation was the way to go. You probably won't see a white kid was getting on a train going through Harlem into the notorious crime ridden South bronx, getting off late at night and walking to one of the housing projects to attend a block party or a Hiphop Gig at a Community Center.
Evolution of Hiphop
Nowadays, the majority of people who create hiphop see it as a business and a tool for getting out the ghetto. The new concept being advocated to youths is - If you act 'ill' or foul enough or play up your oppression and pathological conditions you may find yourself being purchased by zealous white kids who like to live vicariously through your songs.
Follow the formula and these youths may find themselves reviewed in white owned hiphop magazines and shown on white owned video shows and played by white DJs on hip hop radio shows across the country.
Whites didn't get into Hiphop until around 1980 or 1981 when groups like Afrika Bambaataa started performing at clubs like The Roxy. The whites who did get down were from the punk rock community. These were kids who were expressing themselves musically as a way to be seen and heard. There was that similarity between them and the early Hip Hoppers.
These punk rockers were the ones who were most open to this new form of Black expression. They were marginalized by mainstream society like their African American counterparts. Now if we really want to take all this a step further we can look at the impact that London had on American punk rockers. If we do go and check things out we will find that much of Punk Rock's cultural and musical expressions are rooted in the Black/African expression of the people who lived in London.
In other words, I can speak French, write French, have my own slang, cook French delicacies but in the end of the day I would not consider myself French or attempt to insert myself into the French History. So when I mean I'm dancing hiphop doesn't have to mean I have to act 'ill' or consider myself as a'Hiphopper' but I'm basically expressing a lot of respect for the culture. Think about the Brazilian Capoeira, their martial arts was incorporated with dance moves to disguise the fact that they were secretly training from their oppressor's knowledge. But over the years it became institutionalised with their culture and their way of expressing their freedom. Similarly hiphop is actually the pioneer's way of expressing their injustice and how their culture was evolved from the streets - not as a form of propanganda in encouraging youths to commit crime and be seen as 'bad' so that they can be considered as 'hiphop' culture.
Elements of Hiphop
The main elements of Hiphop are mainly Breakin' [Break-dancing], Emceein [Rap], Graf Artists [Hiphop Graffiti] and Turntabling [DJ Mixing]. The above elements listed are found under Ol' Skool. New Skool [or so it is called] has evolved slightly for Breakin' being called simply listed as "Dance" because it is no longer just Breakdancing but it involved Dance Funk [mixture of Jazz & Hiphop elements also which I'm doin now], Lock & Poppin and the traditional Breakdancing. However a light difference between Ol' Skool Funk and New Skool Dance Funk is traditional funk emphaises mainly on the floorwork and techniques and the 'Feel' while Dance Funk emphasises much more in terms of turns, flips, floorwork, chereography, techniques and of course still 'Feel' as well. You can try to spot the difference for example by looking at Ol' Skool whose main emphasis is on the shoulders while Dance Funk is attempting to co-ordinate all different body movements within one rhythm.
References -
For Ol Skool, the best movie to watch would be Flashdance. Take note of their dance for the song "Manhunt" as those moves are classically Ol' Skool. For Dance Funk is of course the recent hot movies "Honey" and "You Got Served" where their moves have undergone modification from Usher, Janet Jackson and Michael Jackson as well. While we still see some Ol' Skool scenes from both movies, chereography on the whole has been brought to a new level in terms of style and techniques.
*Whew*
I hope this post has been detailed enough yet without making it sound too long-winded. Till then, I'll seeya guys around.
History of Hiphop
Hip Hop in the beginning started out as a form of expression which was a reaction to economic, social and political conditions. In the mid 70's almost all of the people participating and even going to the early parties were Black and Puerto Rican meaning 'Black'. The first break dancers were all Black and Puerto Rican. Zulu Nation was all Black and Puerto Rican.
There were many white deejays but they were mainly spinning disco. One of the main reasons why whites were not really introduced to the culture was due to social tension. In the Soundview and South Bronx section of the Bronx where early Hip Hop took birth, one did not venture North of Zerega Avenue. That was the dividing line. It was near Castle Hill projects. To do so was to ask for major trouble. You didn't venture into places like Throgs Neck, Pelham Bay, Country Club Road, certain parts of Riverdale [West Bronx] and Van Cortland Park, and certain parts of Moshulu Parkway. Except for the mostly Black and Puerto Rican housing projects found in those areas there was no Hip Hop going on. There was no intermingling of the races.
Back in the late '70s hardly any young people owned or drove cars. First the driving age in New York City was 18 and having a car was more of a liability then a convenience. That meant public transportation was the way to go. You probably won't see a white kid was getting on a train going through Harlem into the notorious crime ridden South bronx, getting off late at night and walking to one of the housing projects to attend a block party or a Hiphop Gig at a Community Center.
Evolution of Hiphop
Nowadays, the majority of people who create hiphop see it as a business and a tool for getting out the ghetto. The new concept being advocated to youths is - If you act 'ill' or foul enough or play up your oppression and pathological conditions you may find yourself being purchased by zealous white kids who like to live vicariously through your songs.
Follow the formula and these youths may find themselves reviewed in white owned hiphop magazines and shown on white owned video shows and played by white DJs on hip hop radio shows across the country.
Whites didn't get into Hiphop until around 1980 or 1981 when groups like Afrika Bambaataa started performing at clubs like The Roxy. The whites who did get down were from the punk rock community. These were kids who were expressing themselves musically as a way to be seen and heard. There was that similarity between them and the early Hip Hoppers.
These punk rockers were the ones who were most open to this new form of Black expression. They were marginalized by mainstream society like their African American counterparts. Now if we really want to take all this a step further we can look at the impact that London had on American punk rockers. If we do go and check things out we will find that much of Punk Rock's cultural and musical expressions are rooted in the Black/African expression of the people who lived in London.
In other words, I can speak French, write French, have my own slang, cook French delicacies but in the end of the day I would not consider myself French or attempt to insert myself into the French History. So when I mean I'm dancing hiphop doesn't have to mean I have to act 'ill' or consider myself as a'Hiphopper' but I'm basically expressing a lot of respect for the culture. Think about the Brazilian Capoeira, their martial arts was incorporated with dance moves to disguise the fact that they were secretly training from their oppressor's knowledge. But over the years it became institutionalised with their culture and their way of expressing their freedom. Similarly hiphop is actually the pioneer's way of expressing their injustice and how their culture was evolved from the streets - not as a form of propanganda in encouraging youths to commit crime and be seen as 'bad' so that they can be considered as 'hiphop' culture.
Elements of Hiphop
The main elements of Hiphop are mainly Breakin' [Break-dancing], Emceein [Rap], Graf Artists [Hiphop Graffiti] and Turntabling [DJ Mixing]. The above elements listed are found under Ol' Skool. New Skool [or so it is called] has evolved slightly for Breakin' being called simply listed as "Dance" because it is no longer just Breakdancing but it involved Dance Funk [mixture of Jazz & Hiphop elements also which I'm doin now], Lock & Poppin and the traditional Breakdancing. However a light difference between Ol' Skool Funk and New Skool Dance Funk is traditional funk emphaises mainly on the floorwork and techniques and the 'Feel' while Dance Funk emphasises much more in terms of turns, flips, floorwork, chereography, techniques and of course still 'Feel' as well. You can try to spot the difference for example by looking at Ol' Skool whose main emphasis is on the shoulders while Dance Funk is attempting to co-ordinate all different body movements within one rhythm.
References -
For Ol Skool, the best movie to watch would be Flashdance. Take note of their dance for the song "Manhunt" as those moves are classically Ol' Skool. For Dance Funk is of course the recent hot movies "Honey" and "You Got Served" where their moves have undergone modification from Usher, Janet Jackson and Michael Jackson as well. While we still see some Ol' Skool scenes from both movies, chereography on the whole has been brought to a new level in terms of style and techniques.
*Whew*
I hope this post has been detailed enough yet without making it sound too long-winded. Till then, I'll seeya guys around.
posted by Inarticulate at 10:09 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home