I want to start this blog by giving a brief description of what hip-hop is. I feel as though you cannot know where you are going if you don’t know where you have been. So I will start by letting you know that hip-hop is more than just a genre of music but a way of life. It started in the Bronx, New York and there are four main elements of Hip-Hop and they are DJing, MCing, Breaking, and Graffiti.
DJing was where everything started and is the art of creating and playing rhythmic beats by looping small portions of songs emphasizing a percussive pattern called breaks. DJs did this on two turntables. Later innovations such as scratching, a technique used to produce distinctive sounds by moving a vinyl record back and forth on a turntable while manipulating the cross-fader on a DJ mixer, were introduced.
MCing encompasses the vocal aspect of Hip-Hop. This is of course rapping or a rhythmic style of chanting in which the MC delivers rhymes. The MC raps over the rhythmic beat composed by the DJ to move the crowd or entertain the people but rapping can be done without accompaniment. Innovations to how MCing is performed have come as time has passed.
Breaking, also known as B-boying or breakdancing, is a dynamic style of dance which developed as part of the Hip-Hop culture. The term “B-boy” originated from the dancers at DJ Kool Herc’s parties, an early DJ. These dancers saved their best dance moves for the break section of the song, the section that displayed the beat. Breaking is a physical expression of Hip-Hop.
Graffiti was brought to the Bronx, New York around the same time the other elements of hip-hop were evolving as art-forms. It was previously used by political activist and gangs to mark territories but was used by graffiti artists as a visual expression of Hip-Hop. Some modern uses are memorials for pivotal figures in the evolution of hip-hop who have passed away.
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