A Brief History of Hip Hop

Hip Hop is a culture with its birth circa 1970 consisting of four elements:

​Graffiti

The art of spray paint began on the subway cars of New York. Artists like Seen, Dondi White, Futura, Zephyr and many more were some of graff’s early pioneers. If you are interested in the history of graffiti art’s beginnings, I suggest you watch the cult classic film, Style wars. This film documents the early beginnings of an art form that has now spread world wide.

​Emcee or MC

The art of words to a beat, also known as rapping. Master’s of ceremonies or MC’s for short, would use clever wordplay to the breakbeats DJ’s would play during block parties and at club dancehalls, and then eventually recorded on wax. Some early pioneers of Rap are artists like Grandmaster Caz, Fab Five Freddy, and The Furious Five.

DJ

Pioneered by the likes of Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa, and Grand Wizard Theodore among others, used the breakbeats off records to keep the party rocking all night long. Using two turntables (The One’s and Two’s) and juggling the beats back and forth was what gave hip hop music its sound.

Break Dancing

A style of dance created for when the DJ would play break beats, hence the name. Breaker Boys, later shortening their title to B-Boys, use their bodies to twist, twirl and spin to the beat. B-Boys would often set down a large sheet of cardboard and battle other B-Boys to see who was the most fresh. Some notable B-Boys are Crazy Legs and Frosty Freeze, both of the Rock Steady Crew.

Other elements worth mentioning that are not listed here are:

Beat Boxing
Street Fashion
Beat Making/Production

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