Hip Hop Roots in the 70’s We will be able to make connections between personal/community identity and hip-hop culture by expressing and supporting opinions in writing and discussions
Evolution of Rap
Evolution of Hip Hop 8I
Free Write – 5 Minutes “The thing about hip-hop is that it’s from the underground, ideas from the underbelly, from people who have mostly been locked out, who have not been recognized.” -Russell Simmons, co-founder of Def Jam Recordings “Rap is a gimmick, but I’m for the hip-hop, the culture.” - Method Man, hip-hop artist, member of the Wu-Tang Clan “Hip-hop is a vehicle.” - Talib Kweli, hip-hop artist, founding member of Black Star
So what is Hip Hop? Music? Art? Subculture? Lifestyle?
Evolved from a cluster of cultures, ideas, talents and circumstances of urban youth in New York in the 70’s Combination of elements like deejaying, emceeing, break dancing, beat boxing and graffiti
A minority creation Bronx, New York *3 major events led to this new sub culture
Event Parks Commissioner Robert Moses started building an expressway through the heart of the Bronx Middle class Italian, German, Irish and Jewish neighborhoods disappeared overnight Businesses and factories relocated and left the Bronx What happens next? Replaced by poor black and Hispanic families- then crime, drug addiction and unemployment rise
Event 2 Completion of a 15,382 unit apartment complex Accelerated the middle class exodus from comfortable and well kept apartments Skyrocketing vacancy rates forces good landlords out and slumlords in- lots of un kept and vacant buildings
Event 3 7 teenage boys terrorized the vicinity near downtown Bronx *groundwork for surge of street gang activity Savage Seven ---- Black Spades Appearance of street gangs
These street gangs peaked in ‘73 then declined because of drugs, rival gangs, and large numbers that detracted people from joining
Start of graffiti Demetrius aka TAKI 183 Where did this tag name come from? Lettering style gained prestige What would your tag name be?
1976 – peak of subway car murals Transit Authority Handball courts
Is that still the case for graffiti today? Graffiti was a defacing of something to re-create a different image - to recreate a decrepit or decaying space into something with a new meaning
Styles of Rap Boast raps Insult raps News raps Nonesense raps Party raps
Spoken poetry over different mechanical sounds and borrowed melodies More about the skillful production of sounds rather than arrangement of instruments
The Paley Center for Media “From its beginnings, the music had been defined by the artists’ anger. Anger at being poor, black, disenfranchised, abused, stereotyped, blamed, mistreated, ignored. Hip- hop music has been built, too, on the rejection of middle- class values; the refusal to be incorporated into larger (white) society; and an insistent allegiance to the rules of “the streets,” where despite the problems, people live without the hypocrisy and corruption endemic to “the system.” Of course, hip-hop is often joyful, silly, amusing, even exuberant. But for thirty years, this music has served as the primary mode of artistic expression for poor, urban blacks, and anger has been a major defining characteristic.”
HipHop Declaration of Peace
HW On the internet, research a hip- hop artist or group that offers a unique point of view. Choose one of the artist’s songs, listen to it, and read the lyrics. Write a one page summary.