By
A.M.
Rap music is one of the most popular
genres of music today. When most people
think of rap, they think of the funky beats and course language we as Americans
have grown to love and enjoy. However,
rap is only a part of the culture of Hip-Hop. Hip-hop culture includes rap music, but it
also includes other things such as breakdancing and graffiti. We see hip-hop culture in all races of people
in America, but how and where did it originate?
The purpose of my blog post is to explain the origins of this hip-hop
culture. This will take us back to the
1970s in the South Bronx, also known as the “home of hip-hop culture”.
During the 1970s there was a period
of deindustrialization in which nations across the world had a growth of
multinational telecommunication networks and economic competition. Many factories in New York City were
converted to real estate and luxury housing.
With this conversion, the gap between the wealthy and middle class
increased, and many workers lost their jobs.
They simply couldn’t afford this luxury housing. In addition to this, Robert Moses completed
the Cross-Bronx Expressway in 1972, which made a path that required the
demolition of hundreds of residential and commercial buildings. About 170,000 people were relocated, and many
blacks and Puerto Ricans were forced to move to the “slums” of the South Bronx.
South Bronx 1970s
http://georgiapoliticalreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/gman-park-jam2.jpg
With this condemnation came the emergence of hip-hop culture in the younger residents of this area. According to authors Ernest Morrell and Jeffrey M. R. Duncan-Andrade, hip-hop “…represents a resistant voice of urban youths through its articulation of problems that this generation and all Americans face on a daily basis.” The culture of hip-hop was established as an identity for these urban youth, an identity which was recognized as one’s status in a local group or “posse”. Rappers and DJ’s copied their music onto tape-dubbing equipment, and they played on portable “ghettoblasters” or boom boxes in the streets. School budget cuts restricted the access to instruments, so the youth relied on recording sounds for the music. In addition to rap music, graffiti and breakdancing were also part of the hip-hop “identity”. Africana Studies Professor Tricia Rose stated that “developing a style nobody could deal with…that has the reflexivity to create counter dominant narratives against a mobile and shifting enemy- may be one of the most effective ways to fortify communities of resistance and simultaneously restore right to communal pleasure.” With this new culture, black and Hispanic youths were able to rebel against the wealthy in New York, and with this revolution came a totally new genre of music and style that has risen to the top of American culture today.
Works Cited:
Rose, Tricia. Black Noise: Rap Music and Black Culture in
Contemporary America
Wesleyan University Press, New
England (1994) Print.
Morrell, Ernest, and Jeffrey M. R.
Duncan-Andrade. “Promoting Academic
Literacy with
Urban Youth
Through Engaging Hip-hop Culture”. The
English Journal 91.6
(2002):
88–92. Web.
What do you think the stigma of hip-hop culture is today (positive or negative)? Do you feel that this stigma stems from the origin of hip-hop culture, or do you feel that there is new ideas about hip-hop culture today?
ReplyDeleteDo you believe that the different hip-hop cultures found in different parts of the United States helps to bring solidarity between the black and Hispanic communities or drive them apart?
ReplyDeleteDo you feel as though hip hop as changed and evolved to better suit our current times? Does today's hip hop still represent an identity for urban youth, as it had for those in the Bronx in the 1970s? Or has it it lost its main roots?
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteIt was very interesting to see how and why hip hop came about. Today, it is recognized as a genre that dominates the music industry, many "favorite celebrities" being rappers. You explain how in the 70s, the hip hop "identity" was not only music but graffiti and breakdancing. What do you think the "identity" of hip hop is today? To begin, do you think hip hop has evolved?
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ReplyDeleteAlthough many musicians use their music as a form of expression and a way to portray their identity, a lot of current Hip Hop and Rap music today advertises sex, drugs, and illegal activities. Do you think that the symbolism and representation of Hip Hop and Rap music has changed? DO you still think these musicians create music as a way to stand up to the social norms of society?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteGreat job! I also wrote about something along the same lines. It is great to see another person respond to something similar. I am wondering if you think the purpose of hip-hop has changed? Like you said, it was a way to rebel against the rich whites in society. Has that changed in today's hip-hop culture?
ReplyDeleteOverall, I really liked this piece! You mentioned that "The culture of hip-hop was established as an identity for these urban youth". Over the years the messages of hip hop culture has evolved, while some artists use their platform as a place to speak about the oppressions affecting their communities, other's are often criticized for adding to the hypersexualization and criminalization of their communities. Do you think that this use of hip-hop culture as a source of identity for urban youth is giving a positive identity or a negative one in our current times?
ReplyDeleteDo you think hip hop culture has evolved into something completely different today, or does it bridge a gap between white folks and black folks, or does do you believe these roots of hip hop are still very present today?
ReplyDeleteVery interesting read. I liked how you incorporated how historians saw the emergence of hip-hop culture as a means of expressing their opinions and attitudes about the problems they were facing. I think a topic of interest relating to this question would be if hip-hop in today's society still follows through to those roots. Do you think that people are entering the hip-hop game today in order to try to make it big and become rich and famous more so than to express their grievances with what's going on with the world as they did in the past?
ReplyDeleteVery interesting read. I liked how you incorporated how historians saw the emergence of hip-hop culture as a means of expressing their opinions and attitudes about the problems they were facing. I think a topic of interest relating to this question would be if hip-hop in today's society still follows through to those roots. Do you think that people are entering the hip-hop game today in order to try to make it big and become rich and famous more so than to express their grievances with what's going on with the world as they did in the past?
ReplyDeleteHello, I enjoyed reading your blog post and learning more about Hip Hop culture like how authors interpreted the rise of Hip Hop culture in New York City which eventually spread to most of the world. As I read I wondered if you still see Hip Hop today as reflecting the counter dominant culture of the past and present?
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your post; here is some food for thought if you still want to learn more about it. The birth of Hip-Hop was connected to a reorganization of the minority populations (African-American and Latinos as stated in your post) in the South Bronx. Many of the earliest Hip-Hop artists were also African-American. How would Hip-Hop be different (would it be different?) if it was instead dominated by another minority (say the Latinos for example)? Do you think it plausible for Hip-Hop to reach the same recognition it has today if it was started by another minority? Would Hip-Hop still BE Hip-Hop if it were not created by African-Americans?
ReplyDeleteNice post, this is a really interesting topic. You mentioned some criticisms of hip hop music, do you believe hip hop will remain a staple of African American culture or that it will be absorbed further into the mainstream as time goes on, and in either case, how will the language used in popular hip hop songs change as more and more people become part of its audience? Is it important that we continue to recognize the origins of this genre, and if so how should people be exposed to hip hop for the first time (by listening to classic rap artists or contemporary ones)?
ReplyDeleteI really like how you emphasized in the beginning of the post that rap is not the only thing that defines hip-hop culture. My question is that your argument is that the creation of hip-hop in the societies was due to discrimination and deindustrialization which further separates Whites from minorities. My question is, what is your opinion of todays hip hop and do you think there is a meaning or purpose?
ReplyDeleteBecause rap music is so deeply rooted in hip hop culture do you think white rappers like Eminem and Macklemore are appropriating black culture, and should therefore be stopped? Or is Rap music more of a form of expression and should not be limited to one group of people?
ReplyDeleteI found it very interesting to read how the various environmental circumstances in the 1970s came together to create what we now term Hip-Hop culture. It is strange to think that such a subversive culture only developed because so many unrelated factors fell into place at the same time and affected the same groups of people. I think it would be interesting, given the current debate about the gentrification of hip-hop, to look at present day circumstances which would justify non-marginalized populations becoming a part of hip-hop culture 'legitimately.' I also feel that the aversion to whites entering hip-hop culture tends to revolve around their presence in rap music, but it would also be interesting to look at how they have permeated other facets of hip-hop culture and what affect that has had on hip-hop.
ReplyDelete