Rap and Hip-hop

1. Rap and Hip-hop A music and culture

2. The Beginnings of the Music • The music truly came about in the 1970’s • Starting at Block parties in New York City • DJ’s used Drum beats from Reggae

3. The Culture itself • Many things rose from the music as well, a whole culture • Break dancing • Flow • Graffiti styles • DJ mixing

4. Break Dancing • A popular style of dancing in the 80’s • Includes complicated movements such as Backflips, Windmills, handstands, kip ups, etc. • There are many styles of Breakdancing such as popping and locking, floating and the traditional • In the elements of hip-hop Breaking is represented as cardboard since many b-boys used cardboard to slide and perform moves on

5. Flow • Flowing is basically rapping off hand • The person flowing is called an MC • The MC raps to a beat provided by a DJ • In the elements Flowing is represented by the mic (microphone)

6. Graffiti • Graffiti, the art side of spray cans • Many times conceived as simple vandalism, is actually an art form • The art is harder to find than oddly written letters on a wall, but representations of ideas made by spray paint • Represented in the four elements of hip-hop as the cans

7. DJ • Many times a DJ is simply playing music at a club, but getting more complicated the transitions and scratching between songs is much more to the point • Many DJ’s also can create new songs from fragments, the Turntables are made into instruments instead of an outdated medium for music playing • This become the fourth element of Hip-hop represented by the Turntables

8. Style • The culture of Hip-hop and rap has spawned a style of clothing as well. • An old generalization was sagging the pants so that waist of the pants are below your own waist by several inches, which has been going out of style • In the 80’s heavy chains, velour jumpsuits, Kangol hats and adidas sneakers were in style, as of late they have seemingly come back and left again • While the 90’s brought sagging, t-shirt and jeans, puffy jacket and some odd fads • The current style is basically the persons style, with mixing generations and new clothing.

9. Evolution of the music • In the mid 80’s there was more of a rise of hip-hop speaking of living life, the world around them and love popular artists include, Will Smith, LL Cool J, Sugar Hill gang, etc • The style changed when Gangsta rap was introduced in the early 90’s, popular rappers of this style are Tupac, Notorious B.I.G, Dr.Dre, Ice Cube • Changing midway through the 90’s and making it about diamonds, money, cars and being a pimp or player. Losing its way from a culture about the music to a music about a culture that wishes

10. Where Hip-Hop is going • In hopes of rejuvenating hip-hop rappers have come back and the popularity of meaningful rap growing with artist such as Jin, Eminem, Nas, Mos Def, Jay Z, etc. • The future is hopefully going back into the hidden messages and love of the music such as the classic Common song I used to Love Her which seems to be a song about a girl he loved is about Hip-hop itself