Hip-Hop

Hip-Hop Culture

Hip-hop refers to both the culture and the musical genre associated with that culture. It is important to make this distinction because hip-hop culture encompasses much more than rap music. The elements that comprise hip-hop culture are graffiti art, break dancing, DJ-ing, and MC-ing, better known as “rapping.” Graffiti art is made by drawing on or spraying aerosol cans on various public surfaces, such as the outside walls of buildings. Though it has been criticized as being an obstruction to the beautification efforts of city government officials, it is generally considered mainstream now and has been celebrated in various art museums. Notably, one can find graffiti memorial art in various urban minority neighborhoods that commemorate deceased residents of that specific area. Break dancing is another visual art that reached prominence within the culture before branching out into the mainstream. It is an athletic form of dancing that borrows from martial arts forms. Today, “hip-hop dance” is seen as its own category and it differs in aesthetics from traditional break dancing. DJ-ing and MC-ing are the musical accompaniments to hip-hop dancing. DJ-ing is an example of the West Indian influence on the culture. Mobile disc jockey units were very popular in Jamaica, and Jamaican immigrants who settled in the Bronx brought this equipment with them. MC-ing, or “rapping,” is the stylistic lyricism that complements the DJ's music. It heavily borrows from African oral traditions and the Puerto Rican genres décima and plena.

Hip-Hop as Music

A dancer in San Francisco, California, shows off his b-boy skills to a crowd in 2007. B-boying, also called breaking, is one of the major elements of hip-hop culture. It borrows heavily from many other cultures, including 1930s-era street dancing.

The commercialization of hip-hop began in 1979 with the release of Sugar Hill Gang's “Rapper's Delight.” Not only did the song garner success but it also motivated other musicians to add rap [Page 1074]to their music. When black hip-hop group Run D.M.C. collaborated with white rock group Aero-smith in 1986 for a remix of “Walk This Way,” the media deemed it to be musically groundbreaking and a sonic testament to the breaking of racial barriers. It further proved that rap could have crossover appeal and be marketed to white audiences. White artists would continue to incorporate rap into their music, but the first white hip-hop group, the Beastie Boys, would release their first rap album in 1986 and subsequently become rap icons. Another notable white rapper is Eminem whose first single in 1999 was an immediate hit. He is currently one of the biggest-selling hip-hop artists of all time.

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