THE ELEMENTS OF HIP HOP
HIP HOP
- - it all started in New York City, in the Bronx, also known as the Boogie Down.What was intially a way for mostly black, inner-city youth to make themselves heard has since exploded into a global phenomenon embraced by millions. Many of the pioneers of hip hop will tell you that never in their wildest dreams did they ever expect the hip hop genre to grow into the juggernaut that it is today.
What, exactly, are the so called elements - - the foundations, if you will - - of hip hop? It depends on who you ask, but just about every hip hop artist and knowledgeable fan can agree on 4 basic elements which make up the foundation of hip hop. They are:
The DJ (from Wikipedia): A disc jockey (also known as 'DJ' or deejay) is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, disk referred to phonograph records, while disc referred to the Compact Disc, and has become the more common spelling. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the source.
There are several types of disc jockeys. Radio DJs introduce and play music that is broadcast on AM, FM, shortwave, digital, or internet radio stations. Club DJs select and play music in bars, nightclubs, discotheques, at raves, or even in a stadium. Hip hop disc jockeys select and play music using multiple turntables, often to back up one or more MCs, and they may also do turntable scratching to create percussive sounds. In reggae, the disc jockey (deejay) is a vocalist who raps, "toasts", or chats over pre-recorded rhythm tracks while the individual choosing and playing them is referred to as a selector.[1] Mobile DJs travel with portable sound systems and play recorded music at a variety of events.
The MC (from Wikipedia): An MC (emcee) is the host of an official public or private staged event or other performance. "MC" is an abbreviation for "Master of Ceremonies". The MC usually presents performers, speaks to the audience, and generally keeps the event moving. An MC may also tell jokes or anecdotes. The MC sometimes also acts as the protocol officer during an official state function. In hip hop and electronic dance music, an MC is a music artist and/or performer who usually creates and performs vocals for his own original material (not to be confused with a DJ, or Disc Jockey, who plays party music and creates music mixes). Shock G of Digital Underground, in the book How to Rap, notes that the term 'MC' in hip-hop "comes from the phrase Master of Ceremonies", which explains "the MC prefix to so many rappers' names".[1]
The B-boy (from Wikipedia): A b-boy (or break-boy) is a male dancer who practices breaking or b-boying, the acrobatic hip-hop dance style, commonly known as "breakdancing." B-girl refers to a female who practices breaking, and the term breaker is gender neutral.
Graffiti (From Wikipedia): (singular: graffito; the plural is used as a mass noun) is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property. Graffiti is any type of public markings that may appear in the forms of simple written words to elaborate wall paintings. Graffiti has existed since ancient times, with examples dating back to Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire.[1] In modern times paint, particularly spray paint, and marker pens have become the most commonly used grafitti materials. In most countries, marking or painting property without the property owner's consent is considered defacement and vandalism, which is a punishable crime. Sometimes graffiti expresses social and political messages and a whole genre of artistic expression is based upon spray paint grafitti styles. To some, it is an art form worthy of display in galleries and exhibitions; to others it is merely vandalism. Graffiti has evolved into a pop culture existence often related to underground hip hop music, b-boying, and a lifestyle that remains hidden from the general public.[2] Graffiti can be used as a gang signal to mark territory or to serve as an indicator or "tag" for gang-related activity. Controversies that surround graffiti continue to create disagreement amongst city officials/law enforcement and graffitists who wish to display and appreciate work in public locations. There are many different types and styles of graffiti and it is a rapidly developing artform whose value is highly contested, reviled by many authorities while also subject to protection, sometimes within the same jurisdiction.