Hip-Hop is considered to be of the largest and the most popular cultures in the whole world. It took its roots in the 70s and had undergone a long way before gaining its popularity and becoming one of the most influential cultures. Afrika Bambaataa, DJ Herc and Grandmaster Flash are known as the founding fathers of hip-hop music. Their talent and dedication to what they were doing definitely brought hip-hop on a new level. All in all, it is essential to learn their history in order to understand the process of the development of hip-hop culture.
Surprisingly, but it all started in the Southeast Bronx with gang movement with Bambaataa being one of the gang members. However, Bambaataa was not a typical gang member. He was not interested in shootings and constant terror. Instead, he showed a great interest in music and politics. He had a number of various records with all kinds of music. Especially, he was fascinated by DJ Herc’s funky music. Herc played his music at various parties talking on the microphone during them. Furthermore, Herc's music gave rise to a new movement - “break-dance”. The dancers were called B-boys - the ones that break. At first, they used simple moves which later became more and more sophisticated. Indeed, “break – dance” turned into a large movement as well. Inspired by this movement, Bambaataa formed a social group Zulus which was an extension of the B-boy style and managed to substitute gang movement. Thus, Hager in his article “Afrika Bambaataa’s Hip Hop” states that “while the intense competition between DJs was considerably less dangerous than the gang scene, it could capture the excitement of a rumble” (Hager). No one was interested in violence any longer. Therefore, it is possible to say that the appearance of the hip-hop culture was essential for the society. It appeared just at the right time.
Another important figure that influenced the development of hip-hop is DJ Grandmaster Flash. It is mainly Flash who began to revolutionize rap music. It is important to note that Flash started his DJ career in local parks providing the public with free concerts. The DJ played short cuts from different records keeping to a steady dance beat. He was also one of the first people who started to experiment on beat box. Recalling on this period, Flash claims that for him “the beatbox was an attempt to come up with something other than the techniques I created on the turntables to please the crowd” (qtd. in George). The DJ wanted to create something different. Moreover, “depending on what type of record he used, Flash discovered he could produce a variety of weird effects using the scratching technique” (Hager). It should be also noted that Flash collaborated with a group of rappers (Furious Five). This collaboration gave his music more rhythm and rhyme. As Hager states, “relying on an inventive use of slang, the staccato effect of short words and unexpected internal rhymes, the Furious Five began composing elaborate rap routines, intricately weaving their voices through a musical track mixed by Flash” (Hager). Bambaataa also successfully collaborated with MC groups.
It is also worth of note that graffiti had a certain influence on the development of hip-hop culture. As Bambaataa states, “the gangs would've started dying down, but you still had the graffiti crews coming up into the hip-hop culture” (qtd. in George). Once Bambaataa received a call from a graffiti artist and was asked to perform at the opening of the gallery. It became a great experience for the DJ and he became truly impressed by the enthusiasm of the crowd and by their special energy.
All in all, it is clear that hip-hop is a unique culture. According to Hager, “the B-boys, rappers, DJs, and graffiti writers develop their unique artistic vision in almost complete isolation from the rest of the world” (Hager). They were continuously making new records that would stir the audience’s imagination. They had great electronic experience and always improved their skills working on something new.
It is clear that hip-hop totally changed the mass media culture. In fact, in order to explain it, it is essential to learn its history and the history of its founding fathers. Hip-hop came to the world in the 70s and since that times it became one of the most widespread and influential cultures in the world. This culture belongs to people who were extremely creative and were ready to share their enthusiasm with the rest of the world. Hager believes that “few New York subcultures in the past decade have been so relentlessly creative as the one that has given us rap music, graffiti writing, and break dancing, perhaps the first youth culture to put its highest premium on individual imagination” (Hager). Thus, for a good DJ it is not enough merely to make a record – it should definitely touch the audience. For any graffiti writer it is not enough simply to write one’s name or some abbreviation. They are ready to spend hours and hours to write a breathtaking and spectacular mural. They always use their imagination and always want to achieve more. Probably, that is the main reason why hip-hop culture is so popular in the modern world.
Works cited
Hager, Steven. “Afrika Bambaataa’s Hip Hop”. And it don’t stop: the best American hip-hop
journalism of the last 25 years. Ed. Cepeda, Raquel. New York: Foreword, 2004. 12-26. Print.
George, Nelson. “Hip-Hop’s Founding Fathers Speak The Truth”. Pdfspath. n.d. Web. 10
Feb. 2016
