The Origin of the Hip Hop Language - Research Paper Example

Hip-Hop Language Introduction Hip-Hop currently entails a broad corporation of artistic forms that originated within the ostracized subcultures of black and Latino youths during the 1970s.These subcultures were mainly located on the south Bronx and Harlem in New York City. This research paper looks at the etymology of hip-hop, its history, the elements that form hip-hop, the social impact that it has had its heritage and finally the validity of the language. Hip Hop is characterized by four elements all of which are a clear representation of the culture. The oral element is represented by the rap music, while the aural element of the culture is represented by turntablism (Alim, Ibrahim, & Pennycook 5). Breaking and graffiti art represent the other two elements, physical and visual respectively. DJ Kool Herk is credited as the father of hip-hop while his other counterpart DJ Afrikana Bambaataa of the Zulu Nation is said to have outlined the four pillars of the hip-hop culture (Rabaka 49). These two have been recognized to have formed the basis of hip hop culture. History The rise of hip-hop is highly credited to DJ Kool Herk. In the 1970s, this underground movement begun to develop among the Black and Latino subcultures, in New York City. The movement was manifested by emceeing, break beats and house parties. From the house of Dj Herk, the movement spread to the streets and finally engulfed the whole of America. What began as merely a small undertaking was now a broad thing built upon the Jamaican impromptu tradition of toasting, boastful poetry and speech over music (Terkourafi 39). This was primarily the formation of the blueprint to the hip-hop culture and language. Emceeing became a huge part of hip-hop music. A DJ would randomly interfere with the rhyme and word play in order to allow for other elements of the culture such as dance to take effect, this move of allowing dance to take part while the music was in progress led to the emergence of break-boys and break-girls who entertained the crowd by their dancing moves (Rabaka 56). DJ Herk’s beat-breaking deejaying formed the basis for the emergence of rap, which is an integral part of the hip-hop culture and language. It is evident that hip-hop culture went through the same steps that other forms of music took. Calypso music, reggae and rock all had a small foundation that later formed a broad ending (Rabaka 83). There was further development of hip-hop with the emergency of new DJs to collaborate Herk in the advancement of hip-hop. DJs such as Grand Wizard Theodore, Jazzy Jay and Grandmaster Flash refined and developed Herks’ break beats and included cutting and scratching (George 27). Rap music had now a large following and its popularity was on the rise. By the late 1970s, the media had started to recognize hip-hop, a magazine was printed and it mentioned some significant figures such as Dj Herk. The aggressive and violent urges of the street gangs that were associated with hip-hop, could be turned into creative results with competition encouraging the determination of each gang to come up with the best dance moves, graffiti and rap music. An example of such a gang was the Zulu nation founded by Dj Afrikana Bambaataa, which played a big role in the development of the hip-hop culture and language (Rabaka 129). In 1981, Debby Harry and Nile Rodgers, a white group, released a single called rapture. They were the first whites to release a single containing the rap element. The song did very well and it signified the beginning acceptance of the hip-hop among the whites and across the whole of America. In 1982, Dj Afrikana Bambaataa and Soulsonic force further contributed to the development of hip-hop by releasing a track “planet rock”. The improvement of the drum machine at that time led to bambaataa creating an electronic sound that gave the track a new feel and added to hip-hop. The 1980s saw a lot of activity in the hip-hop movement with many new songs encompassing the elements of hip-hop being released. The “Human Beatbox” also emerged with the making of beats, rhythm and musical sounds using body parts such as the mouth. During the 1982 and 1985, there was the emergence of the hip-hop videos and films. This removed the restriction that hip-hop culture had in New York and the culture spread to other parts of the world through these documentaries and films (George 42). Hip-hop was now being embraced by youths as far a Europe. Within the America society, hip-hop accommodated many violent American youths and saved many lives. It formed a platform where these youths could air their in-built rage instead of unleashing it on the innocent people (Alim, Ibrahim, & Pennycook 34). Through rap and breakdancing competitions, angry teenagers were drawn out of violence and gang lives and made to focus on more things that are constructive. Hip-hop further offered a platform through which social issues such the housing conditions in the projects and the civil right of the people could be aired (George 145). Hip-hop further provided employment for the many jobless American youths and was a source of finance; therefore, reducing many social crimes. The advancement of hip-hop language and generally the culture has without a doubt had a log of contribution and impact on not only the American society, but also the entire population that has accommodated the language (Alim, Ibrahim, & Pennycook 17). It is evident that now hip-hop has become the center of music and fashion. It finds good accommodation within the many races across the world with each country developing its own rap scene. Hip-hop has also been seen not to interfere with any religion as it fuses them through it elements. It can, therefore, be concluded that hip hop language through the music and culture has played a big role in unifying the youths of the world. The Hip-Hop Culture It is made of five major elements. They stand out, as the bases of this hip-hop language have been paramount to the development of hip-hop. Djing is one of the elements of the hip-hop language. It involves the manipulation of sounds to create music. It was used by the early deejays to entertain crowd and formed the foundation of hip-hop. MCing is the second element of the hip-hop culture. It involves chanting and speaking of rhymes. It could be categorized according to the content, flow and delivery of the rap. This element of the hip-hop language was used as a podium to tackle important issues in society (Terkourafi 67). Graffiti forms the third element of the hip-hop culture. It was a form of unspoken language that was used to express any political views and mark territory. It is a significant part of the culture, as it clearly displayed what could not be said. Breaking forms the fourth element of the hip-hop culture. It involves dancing to beats that had been created by the deejays. It borrows heavily from many cultures, therefore, bringing together several diverse moves into hip-hop resulting to unity within hip-hop because everyone identifies with the dance moves from their own country. Finally, beat boxing forms the last element of hip-hop culture. It involves creating beats or some kind of rhythms using the human mouth or other body parts. It is an integral part of hip-hop culture as it creates the foundation for rapping. It is an important pillar of the hip-hop culture. Impact of Hip-Hop According to a sociology professor from the Harvard University, hip-hop has a number of social impacts. A global hip-hop culture has resulted because hip-hop dominates most of the mass communication and businesses. The American hip-hop style that was so long ago pioneered by the likes of Dj Herk has influenced many youths around the world into forming their own hip-hop cultures in their own countries (Alim, Ibrahim, & Pennycook 21). Hip-hop has also led to the mixing of traditional values of many cultures with the American hip-hop culture. This will lead to a global exchange that will unite the youths around the world under the same hip-hop umbrella. Through hip-hop, many unheard voices and unseen faces of the rampant oppression that dominates the world have found a platform they can use to air their discontent with the systems of government and the overall administration institutions. They are able to speak on the inequalities, human rights violation and all the social injustices that dominate the modern society (George 62). Hip-hop has ultimately led to the transformation of the key sectors of the society. Hip-hop has further had an impact on society has it continues to exert its dominance. It has led to the creation of hip-hop schools where the different genres of hip-hop can be learnt and explore the whole aspect of the culture. Hip-hop has also led to the diversification of hip-hop music. New sub-genres of music have emerged have emerged and they are still playing a significant role in the entertainment and betterment of society (Terkourafi 29). Hip-hop has supplementary impacted the fashion industry with most of the clothing made to manifest the hip hop culture. Magazines that document what hip-hop is all about have found their position in the hip-hop consuming society rise as the youths all around the world continue to appreciate hip hop culture and all that is associated with it (Terkourafi 33). Hip-hop has also had a huge impact on the media as everything that is aired must contain an aspect of hip-hop or it must be manipulated by hip-hop. The majority of youths, who accommodate hip-hop, have made the media maneuver so that they can please this majority target. Conclusion Hip-hop though born out of the abandoned streets of Blacks and Latinos, it has become in many senses a global language. This is because of its interrelatedness to many cultures. It has been able to find accommodation in many areas in the world. The act that hip-hop is mainly associated with the youths, which has made its spread and acceptance. It is also apparent that hip-hop has several impacts in the political, social and cultural characteristics of the different societies it encounters. The language is powerful and has become the manipulative feature to many human activities. Works Cited Alim, S., Ibrahim, A., & Pennycook, A. Global Linguistic Flows: Hip Hop Cultures, Youth Identities, and the Politics of Language. NY: Routledge, 2008. Print George, Nelson. Hip Hop America. New York: Penguin, 2005. Print. Terkourafi, Marina. The Languages of Global Hip-Hop. London: Continuum, 2010. Print. Rabaka, Reiland. Hip Hop's Inheritance: From the Harlem Renaissance to the Hip Hop Feminist Movement. Lanham, Md: Lexington Books, 2011. Print. Read More