History of Hip Hop Hip hop began in the Bronx in New York City during the late 1970s.

The
origins of the word are often disputed. Some argue whether it started in the South or West
Bronx. While the term hip hop is often used to refer only to hip hop music (also called rap), hip
hop is four elements are considered essential to understand hip hop musically. Afrika
Bambaataa of the hip hop collective, Zulu Nation outlined the pillars of hip hop culture, coining
the terms: “rapping” (also called MC or Microphone Commander), a rhythmic vocal rhyming
style (orality), (turntablism), which is making music with record players and DJ mixers
(aural/sound and music creation), b-boying/b-girling/break dancing (movement/dance), and
graffiti art.

Elements of hiphop subculture beyond the main four are: hip hop culture and historical
knowledge of the movement (intellectual/ philosophical); beat boxing, street entrepreneurship;
hip hop language and street knowledge among others. Even as the hip hop movement
continues to expand globally, the four foundational elements provide coherence and a strong
foundation for hip hop culture. Hip hop is simultaneously a new and old phenomenon; the
importance of sampling tracks, beats, and basslines from old records to the art form means that
much of the culture has revolved around updating classic recordings, attitudes, and experiences
for modern audiences. Sampling older culture and reusing it in a new context or a new format is
called “flipping” in rap culture. Hip hop follows in the footsteps of earlier African-American-
rooted musical genres such as blues, jazz, rag-time, funk and disco. It is the language known to
urban environments of America. According to KRS-One, “Hip hop is the only place where you
see Martin Luther King Jr.’s ‘I Have a Dream Speech’ in real life.” KRS also mention that hip hop
is beyond something as race, gender, or nationality; it belongs to the world. In 1990, while
working with the rap group “Snap!”, Ronald “Bee-Stinger” Savage, a former member of the Zulu
Nation, is credited for coining the term

“Six Elements of the Hip-Hop Movement” by being inspired by Public Enemy’s recordings. The
elements are: Consciousness Awareness Civil Rights Awareness Activism Awareness Justice
Political Awareness In the 2000s, with the rise of new media platforms and Web 2.0, fans
discovered streamed hip hop through Myspace, YouTube, WorldStar Hip-Hop, SoundCloud, and
Spotify. Elements of Hip hop In the beginning, the house of Hip Hop was built on five
fundamental pillars - MCing, DJing, Breakdance, Graffiti, and Knowledge. A house built on rock
must stand.

The pillars ushered Hip Hop into the 21st century as a cultural phenomenon was formulated by
DJ Afrika Bambaataa of the hip-hop collective, Zulu Nation. The knowledge of the five elements
might not be widespread, but its structural significance should not be understated. With a
myriad of styles to hip hop, the “elements provide coherence” to the genre. Let’s break them
down: DJing (aural) - This was a new found manipulation of sounds that was used to create
music. The innovative breaks and isolation of the percussive beat gave hip hop its initial rise.
Kool DJ Herc, who was the first to create hip hop in the 1970s, started this new form of DJing. In
the early days, the DJs were the stars and later rappers such as Kurtis Blow and Grand Master
Flash with their ingenious rhymes took the spotlight. MCing (oral) - Manifested from the social
conditions of the time. This form of “poetic and verbal acrobatics” was derived from ancient
African culture and oral tradition. Also known as “rapping” this element removed the veil that
isolated the wider culture from the social conditions of may under-served urban communities.
The rapid fire wordplay, spoke the truth of stories that weren’t being told and gave rise to a
new urban narrative. Breakdance (physical) - Groups such as Shaka Zulu Kings, Zulu Queens and
the Rock Steady Crew gave rise to B-Boying/B-Girling Breaking can be described as “poetry in
motion”. Its acrobatics style with influences of gymnastics, Capoeira, martial arts and other
cultural influences speaks to the innovative wave ushered in by hip hop culture. Graffiti (visual)
- This is one of the most controversial of the elements. As most graffiti artist leave their artwork
in public and “tag” it by leaving their names. TAKI 183, made this a form of artistic
representation famous and in neighborhoods such as Wynwood, Little Haiti and Opalocka, we
can see this art form’s widespread integration with bursts of energy and vibrancy on buildings
throughout the cities. Knowledge (mental) - This element is the thread that weaves all the other
elements together. “Knowledge off self” refers to the Afro-diasporic mix of spiritual and
political consciousness designed to empower members of oppressed group,” according Travis
Gosa in his book entitled The Fifth Element of Hip Hop: Knowledge. This quote merges with the
vision that Bambaataa had of hip-hop as a force for social change. Bambaataa states that
“America has systematized our minds to be into materialism”, but instead of buying intoo this
notion, we should think about how we can give back to our communities.

Hip hop Music Hip hop music or hip-hop music, also known as rap music, is a genre of popular
music developed in the United States by inner-city African Americans, Latino Americans and
Caribbean Americans in the Bronx borough of New York City in the 1970s. It consists of a
stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech
that is chanted. It developed as part of hip hop culture, a subculture defined by four key stylistic
elements: MCing/rapping, DJing/scratching with turntables, break dancing, and graffiti writing.
Other elements include sampling beats or bass lines from records (or synthesized beats and
sounds), and rhythmic beatboxing. While often used to refer solely to rapping, "hip hop" more
properly denotes the practice of the entire subculture.

The term hip hop music is sometimes used synonymously with the term rap music, though
rapping is not a required component of hip hop music; the genre may also incorporate other
elements of hip hop culture, including DJing, turntablism, scratching, beatboxing, and
instrumental tracks.
 Hip hop as both a musical genre and a culture was formed during the 1970s when block parties
became increasingly popular in New York City, particularly among African American youth
residing in the Bronx. At block parties DJs played percussive breaks of popular songs using two
turntables and a DJ mixer to be able to play breaks from two copies of the same record,
alternating from one to the other and extending the "break". Hip hop's early evolution occurred
as sampling technology and drum machines became widely available and affordable. Turntablist
techniques such as scratching and beatmatching developed along with the breaks and Jamaican
toasting, a chanting vocal style, was used over the beats. Rapping developed as a vocal style in
which the artist speaks or chants along rhythmically with an instrumental or synthesized beat.
Hip Hop Artist Eminem Kanye West Gorillaz Beastie Boys Black Eyed Peas OutKast JAY-Z The
Roots Cypress Hill Nas Wu-Tang Clan 2Pac M.I.A. A Tribe Called Quest Snoop Dogg DJ Shadow
Dr. Dre Common