On August 11, 1973, DJ Cool Herc and his sister Cindy started a new genre of music in a lounge at 1520 Sedgewick Avenue in the Bronx, New York. Herc’s Party represented the coming together of music and the beginning of something new. The Bronx crowd didn’t like the dancehall sound that Herc had pioneered. So, Herc changed the sound and used the key switch to light up like a strobe-light to add atmosphere. Little did he know that his program would be embraced by the worldwide hip-hop fraternity as the starting point of what would become one of the most important creative movements of the last century. This year, members of the hip-hop community, spanning multiple generations, will celebrate key elements of hip-hop culture.
Graffiti, breaking (or breakdancing), DJing and rapping that have flourished over the past 50 years
1973 is known as the year of hip-hop’s birth, but it wasn’t until 1979 that the first rap records associated with hip-hop culture were recorded. Fatback’s King Tim III (Personality Jock) followed in the spring of that year, followed by Sugarhill Gang’s Rapper’s Delight in late summer. Over the next three years, a series of disco-oriented rap records followed, connecting hip-hop culture through vinyl. The six years between 1973 and 1979 were critical to the development of hip-hop. Grandmaster Flash, DJ Mean Gene, Grandwizard Theodore, DJ Breakout, and DJ Baron of The Brothers Disco, Afrika Bambaataa, and Cool Herc headlined hip-hop jams in their respective Bronx neighborhoods. MCs and rappers, such as Coke La Rock, Grandmaster Caz and M.C. GLOBE also developed the rap style.
How hip-hop became famous around the world
Breakers also went on to break dance moves, styles, and forms in response to breakbeats—those parts of a record where the rhythm and beat are changed. Cool Herc developed the merry-go-round, a method of continuing a break using two copies of the same record, thus creating a music where the breakers could dance longer and in more creative ways. While it all flourished in America, it took nearly a decade for hip-hop culture to reach other countries. The Sugarhill Gang’s Rapper’s Delight and Curtis Blow’s Christmas Rappin’ (1980) were hits overseas. However, hip-hop was introduced globally through appearances in the Buffalo Gals music video by punk impresario Malcolm McLaren and the world-famous Supreme Team. It was also aided by The New York City Rap Tour in 1982.
Hip-Hop has been accused of not making the right music
Throughout its history, hip-hop has been accused of not making the right music. Its early incarnations, from cover versions of funk and disco jams to records and studio bands playing rhythms over programmed drum machines and digital sampling, did not sit comfortably with 20th-century music. MCs were accused of rapping because they couldn’t sing. Braking was named after an old fad, because kids like yo-yoing or jumping on pogo sticks. Hip-hop challenged the norms of mainstream music. Still, we enjoy a cultural movement here that continues to evolve.
Today, people are getting employment from hip-hop
The importance of hip-hop is multifaceted, but one of the most important is its ability to create confidence, self-expression, and identity for its participants. By practicing the elements, hip-hop practitioners learn new ways to create art. Although formal education in visual arts, dance and music is unnecessary, owning a musical instrument or having access to a dance or art studio is not required. Aspiring hip-hop artists learn from each other, and the ethos of “each one teaches the other” — as the African American saying goes — applies across the culture. Related to notions of identity, hip-hop also draws lessons from black history—history that has not traditionally been taught through traditional Western school curricula. It is often called the fifth element of hip-hop.
Breakers also went on to break dance moves, styles, and forms in response to breakbeats—those parts of a record where the rhythm and beat are changed. Cool Herc developed the merry-go-round, a method of continuing a break using two copies of the same record, thus creating a music where the breakers could dance longer and in more creative ways. While it all flourished in America, it took nearly a decade for hip-hop culture to reach other countries. The Sugarhill Gang’s Rapper’s Delight and Curtis Blow’s Christmas Rappin’ (1980) were hits overseas. However, hip-hop was introduced globally through appearances in the Buffalo Gals music video by punk impresario Malcolm McLaren and the world-famous Supreme Team. It was also aided by The New York City Rap Tour in 1982.
Hip-Hop has been accused of not making the right music
Throughout its history, hip-hop has been accused of not making the right music. Its early incarnations, from cover versions of funk and disco jams to records and studio bands playing rhythms over programmed drum machines and digital sampling, did not sit comfortably with 20th-century music. MCs were accused of rapping because they couldn’t sing. Braking was named after an old fad, because kids like yo-yoing or jumping on pogo sticks. Hip-hop challenged the norms of mainstream music. Still, we enjoy a cultural movement here that continues to evolve.
Today, people are getting employment from hip-hop
The importance of hip-hop is multifaceted, but one of the most important is its ability to create confidence, self-expression, and identity for its participants. By practicing the elements, hip-hop practitioners learn new ways to create art. Although formal education in visual arts, dance and music is unnecessary, owning a musical instrument or having access to a dance or art studio is not required. Aspiring hip-hop artists learn from each other, and the ethos of “each one teaches the other” — as the African American saying goes — applies across the culture. Related to notions of identity, hip-hop also draws lessons from black history—history that has not traditionally been taught through traditional Western school curricula. It is often called the fifth element of hip-hop. (with language input)