Hip-Hop

The Bronx

Hip-hop originated in the South Bronx during the 1970s. At this time, in the Bronx as well as in major cities across the nation, deindustrialization and urban [Page 619]renewal were having a negative impact. Manufacturing jobs during the 1950s and 1960s were low skilled and did not require a postsecondary degree; in addition, they paid well and afforded residents a working- and middle-class lifestyle. However, with deindustri-alization, companies were taking factories out of urban areas and moving them to other countries, such as Mexico and India, where cheaper labor could be hired. This produced high rates of joblessness; in the South Bronx alone, 600,000 manufacturing jobs were lost, with unemployment reaching 40% overall and youth unemployment ranging between 60% and 80%.

At the same time, various urban renewal and slum clearance programs that harmed inner-city individuals were implemented. Robert Moses, an urban developer, led the charge for reenvisioning the Bronx. He created the Cross-Bronx Expressway, which allowed travelers to drive from the suburbs of New Jersey through the Bronx and Manhattan to the suburbs of Queens. However, the building of this road displaced 60,000 Bronx residents. Without any say, their homes were torn down and residents were forced to move into public housing developments in the South Bronx.

Many of these apartment buildings were run by slumlords who profited from the residents by withholding heat and water as well as other services. Some scholars note that multiple landlords engaged in chicanery by hiring thugs to destroy buildings so that they could collect on the insurance. Due to the destruction of property, state and federal authorities took the view that the residents in these areas did not want to maintain their neighborhoods. Subsequently, a decrease in social services occurred. This, in turn, exacerbated the marginalization felt by inner-city inhabitants.

The alienation and growing lack of trust for authorities further pushed some individuals, especially young males, to join gangs. Although violent and prone to engage in illegal activities such as theft, robbery, and drug selling, gangs appealed to disenfranchised youth because they offered them a sanctuary. Ostensibly, gangs were “families” that accepted the downtrodden and poverty stricken and understood their plight. Those who did not have the strength to fight for themselves could become gang affiliated and instantly have ten or twelve other individuals who protected them and came to their aid when necessary. Moreover, in many cases gangs provided food, shelter, and income for displaced urban residents. These are the conditions in which hip-hop formed as a music and a culture.

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