Origin Of Hip Hop

How did Hip Hop originate?

Hip Hop is a culture that connects the audience to the performer, or rapper, by moving the crowd through the tradition of the music, art such as graffiti, and dances such as break dancing and pop-locking. The early days of Hip Hop began in the late 1970s with artists such as Kurtis Blow and Afrika Bambaataa. Hip Hop originated in the Bronx and has spread throughout New York City before it roam across the United States. Since then, additional Hip Hop pioneers such as Run-D.M.C. emerged and stretched Hip Hop globally; however, there has been several instances and disputes of the origin of Hip Hop. Some may say it originated in Brooklyn, queens, or even outside of New York. Jamaica, for example, was believed to be the

A hip hop pioneer, DJ Kool Herc, who’s from Jamaica, also played a big role in the creation of the music by his performance in the Bronx night clubs (Jackson and Anderson 22). Disk jocking (or DJing) as well as “scratching” became apparent during the early 1980s which in turn stimulated listeners, thus creating a larger fan base. “Hip hop culture originally included rapping, breakdancing, graffiti, beatboxing, and looping and scratching (techniques used by DJs to accentuate, repeat, or isolate the beat), and has now expanded to include urban clothing, expensive jewelry (i.e., bling bling) and cars, speech patterns and slang, mindsets, and movement styles” (Jackson and Anderson 22). Kurtis blows spawned a couple of hits such as “The Breaks” and “Basketball.” Hip Hop grew vary large and even reached to its many white audience which spawned a Hip Hop group, The Beastie Boys. Hip Hop then took a turn to a darker path with the rap collective group, NWA as well as the sexual side of Hip Hop becoming more prevalent starting with another rap group, 2 Live

Hip Hop pioneers such as Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaataa, and Slick Rick are originally from the Bronx. Graffiti, break dancing, and beatboxing became very popular thus spreading throughout New York and its cities such as Brooklyn, Harlem, and Queens.

There has been disputes regarding the true origins of hip hop. Many would say that Hip Hop originated outside the country, such as Africa. As Washington indicated, “The terms “rap” and “hip hop” originate in the Wolof language of West Africa. “Hep” or “hip” means to have knowledge or insight; “to open one’s eyes, to be aware of what is going on’” (73). Even if Hip Hop happened to originate in certain meanings and life styles, it still doesn’t defeat the fact that artists from the Bronx helped shaped the culture and shared it to fans across the globe. Jackson and Anderson hinted that, “On a larger scale, it is important to understand that U.S. hip hop culture has expanded to include a vast international audience and to recognize the extent of that expansion” (23).

Finally, Hip Hop originating from the Bronx helped shape the culture and influence