-
First Dance Moves
Hip-hop is an artistic cultural expression, and it is shown by the different dance moves, songs, and art. Earl Tucker (also known as Snake Hips) invented his own dance moves that influenced a style of dance today known as breakdancing. This was very popular in youth culture and is an artistic expression of emotion and style. -
The Boombox
Thomas Wong (aka Tom the Great) was one of the first to use a boombox while street dancing. He used "hip" songs to assist his dancing so that the audience would not get bored. Many other performers and people started buying boomboxes around this time, and the boombox is an icon of hip-hop culture. -
The Beginning of Hip-Hop
Clive Campbell (also known as DJ Kool Herc) begin to experiment with different types of beats by mixing different genres together. He is known as "the father of hip-hop" since he was the first to mix with these styles. -
Graffiti
Graffiti began appearing all over cities and towns. A term called "graffiti tagging" was when someone would spray paint their initials or a symbol on a wall or object. Graffiti happens everywhere, and tagging is still a big part of hip-hop culture. -
The Creation of the Scratch
DJ Grand Wizard Theodore accidentally created a technique known as the scratch. He was the DJ at a party and his mother was yelling at him, so he attempted to stop the spinning record which caused the noise known as the scratch. This was a very popular technique in hip-hop during this time, and is still used in some songs today! -
DJ Battles
DJ battles were a big part of the hip-hop culture back then. Two DJs known as DJ Afrika Bambaataa and Disco King Mario were at a performance together, when they invented DJ battling. This is when two different artists go against each other and try to win a music battle using only their turntables. -
Rap Groups
Around this time, many rap groups were created consisting of many different artists and rappers such as "Grandmaster Flash and the Furious 5". Many groups would create tracks and albums together. These groups would often lead to gangs which could sometimes result in violence, which was unfortunately a common thing around this time in hip-hop culture. -
Gangsta Rap
Ice T helped create "gangsta rap" which was a very influential part of hip-hop culture. During the 1900s, most artists rap about gang related activities and topics. This was a violent time of hip-hop. -
Hitting the Media
Rap and hip-hop was soon being broadcasted on the radio and TV. Many new radio stations and tv shows were created such as "KDAY Los Angeles", and "Yo! MTV Raps". Due to this, hip-hop was being portrayed to new audiences and influenced the youth culture. Many magazines were featuring these hip-hop artists on their covers. The first album to receive a Parental Advisory label was Ice-T's second album named "Power". -
Hollywood and Hip-Hop
The Fresh Prince of Bel Air starring Will Smith introduced many elements of hip-hop culture to the media. For example, the theme's genre is hip-hop, and the font for the title is in graffiti art, another element of hip-hop culture. -
Tupac Shakur
The murder of Tupac Shakur (also known as 2Pac) in 1996 shocked everyone in the hip-hop community. Tupac was a big inspiration for many artists and listeners in the hip-hop culture. He was one of the best-selling music artists of his time, and is still ranked one of the most influential and greatest rappers of all time. -
More Forms of Media
Hip-hop was being portrayed in movies such as 8 Mile, a story about the rapper Eminem. Eminem's song "Lose Yourself" also earned him an Oscar for being the theme song for 8 Mile. This movie was seen by millions, and many new audiences were brought into the hip-hop culture. -
Jahseh Onfroy
On June 18th 2018, Jahseh Dwane Ricardo Onfroy (also known as XXXTentacion) was killed by a gunshot wound. This recent death in the hip-hop community has impacted many people all over the world. Jahseh influenced and helped lots of people of every age group by rapping about depression, suicide, and other similar topics. Unfortunately, some forms of violence are still happening in hip-hop culture. -
The Evolution
Hip-hop culture has evolved over time in almost every way. Many rappers and artists in today's culture are young, while they rap about topics such as money, drugs, fame, etc. Many rappers today are talking about problems in our society, or things that they don't agree with. This is why politics is such a big topic for many artists, because they all have their own views on it. For example, a rapper known as "Lil Pump" is only 17 years old, rapping about some of these topics.
