Elements of Hip Hop Essay Example

Hip hop, for a long time, has always been associated with race. Since it began, hip hop has always been classified in many different classes. It first started in Bronx, New York in the early years of 1970,s. The economic environment played an important role to catalyse the development of hip hop due to changing economy. The time during which hip hop was developing, the environments had different views which were not determined. The most common groups involved were the youths from African, Latin and European origins (Gale 1). There are four major elements of Hip hop that will be discussed in this paper as described below.

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First is graffiti which was a part that was popular among the youth. Some people viewed it as the highest form of urban decay among the youth. They risked their lives from arrest, limb and arrest for the sake of Graffiti. Graffiti began in Philadelphia in the early 1960s when there were Cornbread and Cool Earl whose names were all over the city. Then from the street was onto the cars that made it hard for a person to see outside the window because of the paintings from outside. For authors, they used to write their names above all five boroughs they were commonly known as Kings and queens. Graffiti is common even in the buildings in the city, websites and the internet. It has become a worldwide phenomenon and what remains is the people who invented graffiti and those who observed as it was developed and as it grew and became popular among the people. The names well known are those that were seen on the walls and city buildings say D Ehrlich and G Ehrlich in their article "Graffiti in Its Own Words".

Second is DJing; it is an electronic music group that existed before hip hop's period. There is a vast majority of the groups that use hip hop and have to come up with an interesting level of technique in music. Uzeki in his article "the four elements of hip hop" gives the other types of DJing as beat making and turntablism that were among the pillars that founded hip hop. Hip hop was among the first music genres that invented beat drops also including scratches and matching beats to the leading front. Some other aspects like remixes also came about as a result of hip hop and started to develop in the 1950s.

Third is MCing that goes hand in hand with DJing. Uzeki in his article "the four elements of hip hop" says that today it is popularly known as rapping, spitting, cyphering or rhyming. It was started from poetry ideas through which a lot of people would discuss their thoughts and feelings or whatever that they were going through in their lives. In the long run, rapping became the most common one until today which is still so popular among the hip hop artists. Most of the kids who grew up in slums were able to find something positive to do during their free time which was MCing. It is a significant part of hip hop until today.

Finally, it is breakdancing which is a popular dancing style among hip hop music and artists. It existed even in the old school form the most common techniques were b-boy style says Adams in his article "Hip Hop Turns 40". Other types are "windmills, krumping, clowning, twerking, dance hall wilin', the liquid that was also known as trick-hooping. This dance is simple and plain many people learn it very easily" (Uzeki). The dance, however, differs from one person to another depending on the flexibility that they are talented with. There are very many dance moves that dancers display as they are on the dance floor enjoying music and dance. It is through breakdancing that the true inner spirit of hip hop music is displayed. Just like MCing and DJing, it is also used to express a person's love for music and show emotions through dancing. It varies from a personal perspective and the religious perspective.

Conclusion

In conclusion, hip hop music has changed the lives of many from a social and personal perspective. Through it, some people have become celebrities and made the best of their lives. Others have become the best dancers that the world has known still using the same dancing styles and music. Music is an interesting way to kill our leisure time and helps us to learn new ideas and also express our emotions more interestingly and excitingly. It has also helped the youth living in the slums to discover their different talents for example by doing graffiti.

Works Cited

Adams. Hip-Hop Turns 40. The Record. 2013. Retrieved on 31st January 2019 from https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2013/08/11/211115072/hip-hop-at-40-is-a-shell-of-its-younger-self

Dimitri & Gregor. Graffiti in Its Own Words. Old-timers remember the golden age of the art movement that moved. 2007. Retrieved on 31st January 2019 from http://nymag.com/guides/summer/17406/

Gale. Hip-Hop Culture. 2008. Retrieved on 31st January 2019 from https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/hip-hop-culture

Uzeki. The 4 Elements of Hip Hop. Though not discussed in today's mixes, the four elements of hip hop are as present today as ever. Retrieved on 31st January 2019 from https://beat.media/the-4-elements-of-hip-hop