The Hip-hop Corner May 2023
The 4 Elements of Hip-hop: Hip-hop as a Force of Nature course, what do young people do when they have tons of time to kill, they rebel and do things that make adults angry.
MADHATTER
According to Greek Philosophy, the universe consists of four elements: earth, air, fire, and water. These elements are all forces of nature that have come together to create all matter on the planet. Without these forces interacting, we would not have this beautiful blue planet we all share. Pressure builds diamonds, and Hip-hop culture is that diamond that was created out of the stress of poverty and urban renewal in the 1970s South Bronx, NY. The South Bronx was on fire and falling apart when a new cultural movement began to rise from the rubble. The new art form, Graffiti, was displayed on subway trains and New York City walls, and DJs were setting trends and blazing a new music path by transforming the turntable into an actual instrument. The DJ introduced rappers to keep the party entertained with witty rhymes, while on the dance floor, B-Boys showed off their moves with a new form of dance called Breaking. Graffiti, Emcee (Rapper), Disc Jockey (DJ), and Breakdancing all came together during desperation and abandonment. Through racism, politics, a high unemployment rate, and greed, The South Bronx was allowed to be destroyed by rapacious slum lords who were encouraged through police corruption to enable their properties to be set on fire for the insurance money. Hip-hop Culture is a fantastic example of what happens when you attempt to destroy a class of people bound together through poverty and despair. With a large population of youth struggling to find jobs, they found themselves with a lot of time on their hands. Of
10
THE HEAT SEEKERS MAGAZINE
GRAFFITI Graffiti, tagging, and street art are all names created out of the desire to be seen by a generation of youth who were considered forgotten. Graffiti ranges from simple words to complicated wall paintings. While Graffiti is primarily created with spray paint, graffiti artists have utilized many different forms of color and markers to create their pieces. Although there were a few people already practicing this new art form called “graffiti,” a young Greek-American “tagger” who went by the tag name “Taki 183” was making a name for himself and Graffiti by getting his name in the New York Times in 1971. Graffiti began to take off and get recognized by the mainstream contemporary art scene. Notable graffiti artists such as LADY PINK, IZ THE WIZ, DONDI, and FAB FIVE FREDDY were among the first to bring Graffiti to the mainstream. Movies such as “Wild Style” shows the interconnections between music, dance, and art in the evolution of hiphop culture. Unfortunately, Graffiti became synonymous with gang culture. This “art” was considered vandalism causing city officials to pass strict laws prohibiting the sales of markers and spray paint to minors and implementing stiff jail sentences for people arrested for practicing Graffiti. Today, street art, aka Graffiti, has grown worldwide and is recognized by contemporary artists as a legitimate art form. Museums have emerged to showcase this great new form of street ghetto expression.
Issue #2
BREAKDANCING (B-BOYISM) With music comes to dance, and with a new form of music, it is only natural that you have a new form of dance emerge. Breakdancing or “B-Boying / B-girling” is an extremely physically demanding type of dance broken down into four types of moves, top rock, down rock, power moves, and freezes. Most commonly, breakdancing is done to Hip-hop music, but funk, r&b, and soul music have all been backdrops to this fantastic new dance form. Jeff Chang writes in his critically acclaimed book “Can’t Stop Won’t Stop,” “During the 1970s, an ./array of dances practiced by black and Latino kids sprang up in the inner cities of New York and California. The styles had a dizzying list of names: ‘up rock’ in Brooklyn, ‘locking’ in Los Angeles,
Breakdancers in 1984. Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
‘boogaloo’ and ‘popping’ in Fresno, and ‘strutting’ in San Francisco and Oakland. When these dances gained notice in the mid-’80s outside their geographic contexts, the diverse styles were lumped under the tag ‘break dancing.’ Jeff Chang 2005. Breakdancing took over the world when movies like “Wild Style,” “Breakin’ & Breakin’ 2 Electric Bugaloo” and “Beat Street” showcased this stunning new art form. Breaking was born at the same time as hip-hop. DJs developed the “Breaks” for dancers to perform. The dance form has since expanded globally, with various organizations and independent competitions supporting its growth. Breaking will now be featured as an Olympic sport, debuting in the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics.
