By Hector Richardson
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ETHNICITY, RACE & CULTURE
n August 11, 1973, at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue DJ Kool Herc through his “Back to School Jam” a musical form of expression and culture was born: Hip Hop!. When we say the word Hip Hop, we’re talking about: Braking,Mcing, graffiti writing and DJing. These are called the 4 core elements of Hip Hop established by African Bambata in 1974. The reason why we do Braking,Mcing, graffiti writing and Djing is for peace,love,unity and safely have fun. That’s the reason why Hip Hop was created. In the 1970s, New York experienced a severe economic downturn brought on by the middle class’s exodus to the suburbs and a national recession that particularly severely struck the city’s manufacturing sector. Crime and drug abuse were rampant all through the city. Residents of the Bronx would escape to parties in order to explore musically and escape the rising gang culture outside. A complete opposite of what’s going on today, where crime and drug abuse are celebrated along with gang culture.
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130 gangs were reported to be active in the Bronx in 1973. Over 30 homicides, 22 attempted murders, 300 attacks, 10 rapes, and 124 muggings were all linked to them. There were around 1,500 arrests made that were directly tied to gang activity. According to the police, these groups comprised of 9,500 individuals, with ages ranging from 13 to 30 years of age. Understanding the State that New York City was in when Hip Hop was born, you’ll realize what makes Hip Hop so special. In 1973 the Vietnam war was still going on and Heroin was everywhere. The FBI through their COINTELPRO program designed by J. Edgar Hoover planted the seed that would become an epidemic in the inner cities throughout the 1970’s. Hip Hop was an escape, if you could Breakdance( B Boys/B Girls), DJ, Tag(Graffiti Writing), MC or do what Kool Herc was doing which was basically picking the needle up and dropping it again in front of the break. Needle dropping was how he would start and restart the breaks is what evolved into what we call cutting and scratching today.
